The IBM Watson Health Solution for Child Welfare
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The IBM Watson Health Solution for Child Welfare 1 Table of contents 3. A flexible and modular approach to 8. IBM child welfare modules 18. Citizen-centric, proven technology child welfare solution development that’s modular and outcomes focused 9. Intake 4. Personalizing the child welfare process 10. Investigation 18. Agile deployment of child welfare solutions 5. Opportunities for cognitive computing 11. Case management 19. About IBM Watson Health for child welfare 13. Collaboration 6. Reimagining child welfare 15. Legal case management 17. Resource management 2 A flexible and modular approach to child welfare solution development Many US child welfare organizations are Of all the programs and services regulated, Ultimately, the success of any child welfare transforming their Statewide Automated administered or delivered by government, there IT solution will be measured by the efficacy of Child Welfare Information Systems (SACWIS) are arguably none more important than child the agencies and programs providing care for into the new vision of Comprehensive Child welfare services: child protection, foster care abused and neglected children. Those agencies Welfare Information Systems (CCWIS). Now and adoption. According to the World Health and programs are challenged by demands is a good time to consider how child welfare Organization, 25 percent of adults worldwide for more citizen-centric services, policy organizations gather, manage and use data, report having been physically abused as agendas focused on delivering sustainable and how their systems enable them to protect children.2 The economic cost associated with outcomes and resource-constrained operating children and strengthen families. the consequences of physical, psychological environments. The status quo has been and sexual violence against children is questioned by the public and rethought by Government IT projects have traditionally estimated at USD 7 trillion annually.3 There governments and public-sector organizations. been too big, too complex and too ambitious, are also consequences of abuse and neglect At the same time, fiscal constraints are driving the primary reasons that these projects fail.1 that each individual child experiences. Victims greater efficiency in how social programs are A modular approach—one that includes IT of abuse and neglect experience problems delivered. A modular approach to solution services, software, data and interoperable that include delinquency, teen pregnancy, low development can provide both the fiscal rigor interfaces—can provide organizations with academic achievement, substance abuse and and programmatic efficacy needed. scalability to meet the needs of growing mental health problems.4 These issues are programs. It offers the flexibility to integrate in addition to the more immediate physical, new functionality and business processes emotional and psychological consequences as programs evolve, without the substantial of child maltreatment. investment that an infrastructure replacement might require. 3 Personalizing the child welfare process Since their inception, child welfare case The solution offers many benefits, including: across programmatic or organizational management systems have focused on – Fast, flexible deployment options that boundaries. The IBM Watson Health solution automation to ensure efficient processing provide quick access to deep functions for child welfare puts individuals at the center of child welfare cases. Although this focus while allowing organizations to modernize of services, benefits, programs and processes. has increased accountability, it has failed at their own pace using a modular to support caseworkers in crafting the most approach or the full solution The solution is outcome-focused, which effective plan of action for their clients. – Family conferences and multidisciplinary means that the IBM Watson Health Solution The emphasis tends to be on the services team functions that IBM Watson® can for Child Welfare provides caseworkers with rather than on the individual. Alternatively, access to help reduce manual work, the information they need to analyze the the IBM® Watson Health™ solution for child improve productivity and support challenges that children and families face. welfare can offer a citizen-centric, outcome- consistent decision-making A dynamic assessment and decision-making focused approach to case management – Advanced analytics capabilities framework offers the flexibility to link to that helps personalize the child welfare at every layer of the business outside assessments, build in existing process. Flexible and modular, it’s a time- intelligence architecture assessments and integrate new ones. After tested solution embedded with global best – Data quality and data governance workers identify client needs, workers practices and domain-specific expertise. management capabilities supporting can develop a comprehensive plan that Users can fully integrate assessments key CCWIS requirements incorporates input from families, providers, for screening; safety and risk; strengths counselors and caseworkers. If a caseworker and needs; and reunification to support The solution enables organizations to develop is unsure of which services to recommend, evidence-based practices, team decision- prevention and remediation strategies that the solution can suggest benefits and services making, family centered practices, and help protect children and facilitate permanency, that align with assessment results. The community partnerships. while also improving resource use. It helps solution can then track and monitor client connect people to the right programs and progress and provide standardized or ad supports differentiated outcome plans based hoc outcome reports. At every stage of the on the unique circumstances of each child, process, caseworkers can use a powerful tool parent or family. It supports a multidisciplinary to manage their cases more effectively and approach to care, enabling caseworkers to guide their clients toward more successful and locate and coordinate the delivery of services sustainable outcomes. 4 Opportunities for cognitive computing for child welfare The amount of data that governments must An example of how cognitive systems might Cognitive systems can also help scale manage is expected to grow by 94 percent by transform child welfare programs is helping expertise and knowledge. This capability is 2018, with nearly 82 percent of this information workers access and interpret the information critically important given the high turnover being unstructured.5 Child welfare organizations stored in child welfare case notes. When a of workers in social programs.7 Users ask create vast amounts of unstructured data, cognitive system is trained to understand the questions and cognitive systems can engage including case notes about the child and child welfare domain, it can draw hypotheses in a conversational manner to understand family, photographs related to the case, and about key information in the case notes and intent and provide the most appropriate court records. Unstructured data is not easily highlight that information for workers. Children answer in a consistent manner. The system accessed and interpreted by computers. and families often have case files that go learns and improves its responses over time, The volume makes it nearly impossible for back years with hundreds, if not thousands, based on the experience gained from actual caseworkers to access and interpret. of pages of notes, court records and other use. This process helps reduce the amount unstructured data. This information might of time a worker—new or experienced—might The ability to glean insight from this large include a history of abuse or neglect, or spend searching for answers related to amount of data is where cognitive plays a environmental, behavioral health, social and policy, regulation, operating procedures or critical role. Cognitive computing refers to financial factors. The system can highlight and other areas. It also provides a mechanism for systems that learn at scale, reason with summarize key information and updates when continuous training. As a result, the number purpose and interact with humans naturally. new information becomes available. of help center calls or overburdening of more These systems aren’t programmed; they’re experienced colleagues and supervisors may trained to sense, predict, infer and in some Cognitive systems use massive parallel be reduced. ways, think, using artificial intelligence and processing capabilities to churn through machine learning algorithms that are exposed volumes of unstructured, fluid data, and they The IBM Watson Health solution for child to massive data sets. The systems improve learn when the worker selects the information welfare enables child welfare organizations over time as they build knowledge and acquire that’s most important to them. The dynamic to use IBM Watson cognitive computing depth in specialty areas or domains like child learning inherent in these systems provides capabilities to provide insights into their welfare. In contrast to current computing a feedback loop for machines and humans to historical data. It can also enhance and scale systems, which require that rules be hard- refine insights and teach one another. As a caseworker decision-making at every step of coded into a system by a human expert, result, workers can conduct a more effective the child welfare process. cognitive computers program themselves.6 review