DEVELOPMENT OF AN AUTOMATED INVESTIGATION AND RISK ASSESSMENT SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES WORKERS

DECREASING RESOURCES, HIGH WORKER TURNOVER RATES, AND AN INCREASING NUMBER OF CHILD MALTREATMENT REPORTS ARE TRENDS THAT ARE CHALLENGING SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCIES TO FIND INNOVATIVE WAYS TO DELIVER EFFECTIVE CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES (CPS) MORE EFFICIENTLY. THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DESIGN AND DEVELOP AN AUTOMATED JOB-AIDING SYSTEM, THE INVESTIGATION AND RISK ASSESSMENT SUPPORT SYSTEM (IRASS), TO ASSIST CPS WORKERS IN PLANNING AND CONDUCTING INVESTIGATIONS, MANAGING THE INFORMATION COLLECTED, SUMMARIZING THE CASE STATUS, AND SUGGESTING POSSIBLE COURSES OF ACTION AVAILABLE BASED ON AN ASSESSMENT OF A CHILD'S CURRENT LEVEL OF SAFETY AND RISK OF FUTURE HARM. PHASE I OF THE PROJECT FOCUSES ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FUNCTIONAL SPECIFICATIONS FOR IRASS AND THE COMPLETION OF A LIMITED COMPUTER-BASED DEMONSTRATION. DURING PHASE II, A COMPLETE PROTOTYPE WILL BE DEVELOPED AND FIELD-TESTED. THE SYSTEM ADDRESSES THE NEED FOR SIMPLIFIED RISK ASSESSMENTMETHODS, AUTOMATED CASE MANAGEMENT SUPPORT, ON-THE-JOB TRAINING, AND ON-DEMAND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO WORKERS, WHILE PROVIDING IMPROVED ACCOUNTABILITY AND PRODUCTIVITY WITHIN CPS AGENCIES.