Eckerd Rapid Safety Feedback aggregate data

Todd Feathers filed this request with the Department of Health and Human Services of New Hampshire.
Submitted July 15, 2021
Est. Completion None
Status
No Responsive Documents

Communications

From: Todd Feathers

Subject: New Hampshire Right to Know Law Request: Eckerd Rapid Safety Feedback aggregate data

Email

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New Hampshire Right to Know Law, I hereby request the following records:

1) Predictive risk score data from the department's Eckerd Rapid Safety Feedback system showing the number of children assigned to each level of risk, broken down in aggregate by the following child characteristics, for each year since 2018, including 2021 to date.

- Race
- Gender
- Disability
- Race AND Gender
- Race AND Disability
- Gender AND Disability

Data responsive to this request might, for example, show that in 2018 X number of White female children were assigned a High Risk score, Y number of White female children were assigned a Medium Risk score, and Z number of White female children were assigned a Low Risk score. Or, If the system assigns risk scores on a sliding scale, for example 0-100, please provide the average risk score broken down by the above-listed categories.

3) Annual aggregate data since 2016, including 2021 to date, on the number of substantiated child abuse/neglect cases, broken down by the following child characteristics:

- Race
- Gender
- Disability
- Race AND Gender
- Race AND Disability
- Gender AND Disability

Please note that I am requesting aggregate data, which is not personally identifiable and cannot be combined with other data sources to identify individuals.

Please also note that the department's contract with Eckerd states that Eckerd must "enable the Department to conduct statistical analysis of Child Abuse Investigations where the outputs of the predictive model are accessible for daily use" and that "all data associated in any way with the Web Portal will be owned solely by the Department."

Should you have any questions about this request, please don't hesitate to contact me for further clarification.

I ask that all fees be waived as I am a journalist and intend to use the requested records to publish articles in the public interest about the workings of government. In the event you choose to impose fees, I request a detailed breakdown of the fees, including the hourly wage of each employ involved and an explanation justifying the employee hours required to fulfill the request.

Should you choose to reject this request or redact portions of it, I ask that you provide a detailed breakdown of the statutory exemptions and associated case law underlying your decision to withhold each/any portions from public review.

I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Todd Feathers

From: Department of Health and Human Services

Subject: RE: Muckrock - Eckerd Rapid Safety Feed Data 2021-RTK-0070

Email

Dear Mr. Feathers,

I apologize for the delayed response to your request.
Your request is for public records as described below:

1) Predictive risk score data from the department's Eckerd Rapid Safety Feedback system showing the number of children assigned to each level of risk, broken down in aggregate by the following child characteristics, for each year since 2018, including 2021 to date.

- Race
- Gender
- Disability
- Race AND Gender
- Race AND Disability
- Gender AND Disability

Data responsive to this request might, for example, show that in 2018 X number of White female children were assigned a High Risk score, Y number of White female children were assigned a Medium Risk score, and Z number of White female children were assigned a Low Risk score. Or, If the system assigns risk scores on a sliding scale, for example 0-100, please provide the average risk score broken down by the above-listed categories.

3) Annual aggregate data since 2016, including 2021 to date, on the number of substantiated child abuse/neglect cases, broken down by the following child characteristics:

- Race
- Gender
- Disability
- Race AND Gender
- Race AND Disability
- Gender AND Disability
DHHS does not have any public records responsive to your request and is therefore denying your request. My understanding is that DCYF receives risk / safety score on an individual case by case basis which is calculated by the vendor using their proprietary algorithm using specific case information which is confidential pursuant to NH RSA 170-G:8-a. There are no reports or analysis that isolate and break down risk factors as you describe in request #1. Likewise, there DCYF does not possess and is unable to produce aggregate data on the number of substantiated abuse/neglect cases broken down by race, gender or disability or any combination thereof. Accordingly, we are denying your request.

Sincerely,

Frank D. Nachman
Chief Legal Counsel
NH Department of Health and Human Services
129 Pleasant Street
Concord, NH 03301
(603) 271-9228

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