DHS receives Analytics 50 Award, recognized for use of predictive analytics

The Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) received one of the first Analytics 50 Awards, sponsored by CIO.com and Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business, for being one of 50 organizations and businesses across the country using data and analytics to better understand people served, reduce risks, and optimize business processes.

DHS was recognized for its use of a predictive analytics tool being piloted in Child Welfare Services to reduce risks to children and improve decisions made by workers.

“Our agency has a track record of adopting innovations in data and technology to solve problems in child welfare and other areas of human services,” said DHS Director Ed Lake. “In an industry of social services, we are honored to be recognized alongside other businesses and organizations around the country for using data and analytics to better serve vulnerable Oklahomans.”

Nominees for the inaugural Analytics 50 awards submitted entries which were evaluated based upon: complexity of the challenge, project innovation, impact on the organization, and metrics used to evaluate that impact.

A breakdown of the winning projects in the Analytics 50 awards program reveals the majority of honorees used predictive, prescriptive and/or cognitive analytics to address business challenges.

DHS Award snapshot from the program:

Business Challenge

One of the fundamental tasks of child welfare is to respond to reports of child abuse and neglect, and assess the safety of children. Workers are required to make sometimes life-and-death decisions within tight time frames and account for a great mass of detailed information. Oklahoma DHS has a track record of adopting innovations in data and technology to solve problems in child welfare and other human services.

Analytics Solution

For this particular challenge, DHS formed a partnership with Mindshare Technology and Eckerd Family Services to implement Rapid Safety Feedback, a state-of-the-art predictive analytics to draw attention to high-risk cases. Data developers identified 15 data points correlated with increased risks to children. These data points produced a report of children known to child welfare living with a heightened risk of serious injury. This report alerts Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) staff members who then work with supervisors and child protective workers to identify immediate actions to assure safety of those children.

Impact

Using predictive analytics for high-risk cases improves and supports safety decisions made by workers. Rather than learning from past tragedies, a rapid safety report can alert workers to the potential for tragedy before it happens. This data along with coaching adds an extra layer of protection for the children served and provides support for the child welfare work force.

A full list of the 2016 Analytics 50 Award honorees are listed in the November/December issue of CIO’s digital magazine.

DHS News Release dated June 23, 2016 announcing use of the predictive analytics tool.