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Single information SyStem SupportS ChildWelfare tranSformation in ontario

More than 12 million Canadians call Ontario home.

Canadas largest province includes vastly diverse

communities, from remote First Nations and

aboriginal communities that can be reached only by

prop plane to a wide variety of ethnic populations

within large urban centers.

Creating and delivering effective child welfare

services to such diverse and widespread populations

requires a unique structure. Ontarios child welfare

system, funded by the Government of Ontario,

depends upon 53 Childrens Aid Societies (CASs)

that are designated to deliver services under the

Child and Family Services Act. Child welfare interests

are represented through the Ontario Association of

Childrens Aid Societies (OACAS) which provides

leadership in advocacy, public policy, and deliveryof specic services to support capacity within its

membership.

While OACAS serves as the recognized voice

of Ontarios child welfare services by providing

leadership and guidance through innovative child

and family-centered policies, legislation and service

delivery, each CAS has developed community

partnerships that provide unique community-based

services.

Maintaining a balance of advocacy, support and

action through a member-based organization

is the hallmark of the OACAS. Transforming asystem of autonomous CASs requires leadership

from all levels: the government, the OACAS, the

53 CASs and other community partners including

law enforcement, judicial system, and community

agencies.

adopting a neW point of VieWIdentifying the Need for Integration

As is common with most jurisdictions, Ontarios chil

welfare system has experienced several reforms. Tmost recent, known as the transformation agenda,

began in 2005 with a focus on strength based

service delivery; permanency options; accountabilit

changes to the funding model and initiative to

streamline court processes. A critical component wa

development of an information system to support

service delivery and provide reliable data for decisio

Implementing a single

integrated system

designed specically for

child welfare outcomes

was the best way to

serve the needs of

children, families, andthe government.

Deborah Tobin, Single Information

System (SIS) Project Manager,

OACAS

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making at the case level, the CAS/organizational

level, and by government in managing the child

welfare system.

We wanted to move from a traditional programs

delivery approach to an outcomes-focused, child and

family-centered approach that recognized strengthsand supported children in families whenever

possible, said Jeanette Lewis, Executive Director of

OACAS. Our transformation goals were to improve

permanency outcomes for children, offer a broader

range of service options, provide alternative dispute

resolution alternatives to the court system, and

improve accountability and nancial stability to keep

pace with evolving needs. Ultimately, we wanted to

ensure a sustainable system that truly put the child at

its heart, she said.

At the core of the transformation was the need

for a centralized information system based on

standardized business processes geared toward

achieving their desired outcomes.

According to Deborah Tobin, OACAS Single

Information System (SIS) Project Manager,

Implementing a single integrated system designed

specically for child welfare outcomes was the bestway to serve the needs of children, families, and the

government.

from legaCy to future generationOver the course of 30 years, various information

systems had developed among 53 CASs across

the Province. At the time that transformation was

becoming a reality, 8 legacy systems and a variety

of minor reporting systems were in operation. That

meant that the government was receiving information

about services, nances and other operations in a

variety of formats, with different data denitions and

various levels of comprehensiveness. There was a

tremendous amount of duplication and inconsistency,

which stood in the way of true reform.

Embracing an outcomes-focused approach to

child welfare relied on timely access to integrated

information and service delivery. Ontario needed

to be able to aggregate and analyze information

to uncover trends that would ultimately drive

effectiveness. To ensure nancial sustainability and

improve performance accountability, the ministry

needed to streamline and standardize processes,practices and reporting to better understand,

anticipate and accommodate changing needs.

Collaboration among the CASs was essential since

caseworkers across all jurisdictions had to be able

share critical information in real time to make the be

decisions for children and families.

Making the Case for COTS

A group of CAS executive directors, working with

OACAS and ministry representatives, decided thatthey needed to invest in a modernization strategy th

would support broad and on-going transformation.

We wanted to begin the process of modernization

immediately, but we knew that changes would

continue over time. Flexibility was key, said Tobin.

We were discouraged by the costs and resources

associated with large-scale development projects

and felt that building a custom solution was out of

the question, Tobin added. So we organized anextensive worldwide search for a vendor with prove

social services experience and a commercial off-the

shelf (COTS) solution with best practices built in.

When the RFP was put together, several key criteri

were highlighted:

A child and family-centered, outcomes-focused

business application that included best practices

and advanced technologies to integrate

service delivery and drive business process

reengineering and standardization of procedure

A COTS solution designed for human services

agencies that could be congured to meet

OACAS evolving needs without costly and risky

technology overhauls

An integrated information system to enable

sharing of critical data throughout the province

We wanted to

begin the process

of modernization

immediately, but we

knew that changes

would continue over

time. Flexibility was key.We were discouraged

by the costs and

resources associated

with large-scale

development projects

and felt that building a

custom solution was

out of the question.

So we organized an

extensive worldwidesearch for a vendor with

proven social services

experience and a

commercial off-the-shelf

(COTS) solution with

best practices built in.

Deborah Tobin,

Single Information System (SIS)

Project Manager, OACAS

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and analytics to address outcomes and

accountability requirements

Easy integration with enterprise systems such

as nancial management, human resources and

document management

A Web-based solution to support caseworkers

with faster access to information and minimizeddata entry requirements

Flexibility to meet specic community needs

without the loss of standardization

A quick, low-risk implementation

And, while transformation of the child welfare system

was the immediate impetus for the SIS, the broader

vision was to select a solution that could also

integrate and support additional program areas such

as youth justice, childrens mental health and grouphome services, to name a few.

a Strategy for maximum SuCCeSSAfter a rigorous review, OACAS chose Cram

Software.

Cram met our need for outcomes-based

transformation in child welfare, said Lewis. And it

provided a path to broader transformation down the

road.Crams approach includes:

Family-centered, outcomes-based business

application with integrated best practices

A COTS enterprise solution that supports OACAS

unique transformation and modernization

evolution

A services-oriented architecture (SOA) that

provides OACAS the basis for a comprehensive,

exible and cost-effective solution

An Aggressive 18-Month Transformation

Once the solution was selected, an aggressive

implementation strategy was created to enable

OACAS to move from a comprehensive business

process review and redesign to live production and

pilot testing before full rolloutall within 18 months.

As expected, however, the real challenge was rapid

incorporating on-going transformation policies and

procedures that were being developed and modied

concurrent to system implementation.

The benets of having selected a COTS system

were immediately realized, said Lewis. There was

an enormous amount of back and forth and reworkito accommodate government standards that would

drive outcomes-based transformation. If we had

decided to build a custom system, it would have

been impossible to keep up with the rapid evolution

We needed tremendous exibility, and we got it with

Cram.

Within 18 months OACAS had a fully automated an

secure system that was ready for pilot testing in thr

distinct CASs. The design will eventually support alCASs in locations throughout the province and will:

Provide an integrated view of children, their

families and their cases

Provide a consistent approach to information

sharing among all CASs

Allow necessary customization for individual

agency circumstances

Support transformation goals to improve

permanency outcomes for children, offer a

broader range of service options, streamlinepreparations for court, and improve nancial

accountability

With the rst pilot, all areas of child welfare

transformation were coveredfrom intake and

investigation to case management, fostering and

adoption, and resource management. For example

the new rules around risk assessments were built

into the system to guide caseworker decisions in

real time. If children were put into foster care, the

requirements around home assessments, medical

and dental needs, etc., were easily accessible via t

system.

The nice thing about an automated system is the

safeguards requiring entry of required information,

Cram met our need

for outcomes-based

transformation in child

welfare, said Lewis.

And it also provided

a path to broader

transformation down theroad.

Jeanette Lewis,

Executive Director, OACAS

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uSenCS-oaCa081030

said Lewis. But more importantly, this is a tool that

helps child welfare professionals take better care of

children and families, and that was our main goal.

Partnering with Professionals, Moving Ahead

According to Lewis, one of the really wonderful

aspects of the project was the dedication of thepeople involved.

To work with people from private enterprise and

see their commitment to the well-being of children

and families is inspiring, said Lewis. There has

been genuine dedication to success from everyone

who touched this project, from the government

and commercial side to the vendor and agency

employee.

Next up is leveraging the Cram solution and

partner relationship to integrate and streamline

other programs to achieve even deeper and broade

success in transforming and modernizing service

delivery to become truly outcomes-based and clien

focused.

We had the need to support child welfare

transformation, said Lewis. And when we chose

Cram, we felt we chose a solution that could help

deliver a brighter future.

The benets of

having selected a

COTS system were

immediately realized.

There was an enormous

amount of back and

forth and reworkingto accommodate

government standards

that would drive

outcomes-based

transformation. If we

had decided to build a

custom system, it would

have been impossible to

keep up with the rapid

evolution. We neededtremendous exibility,

and we got it with

Cram.

Jeanette Lewis,

Executive Director , OACAS