Child welfare predictive analytics systems
It is a clone of this request.
| Submitted | April 30, 2021 |
| Est. Completion | May 14, 2021 |
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Communications
From: Todd Feathers
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Nebraska Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:
1) Contracts with any company, nonprofit, or other entity that currently provides software to the department that includes predictive analytics models for child welfare (i.e., models designed to identify home placement risk, abuse risk, human trafficking risk, etc.). This should include contracts for CCWIS or comparable systems that include predictive models as well as project descriptions for any models created in-house.
2) Data dictionaries for all child welfare predictive models used by the department, including those provided by outside entities as well as in-house models. Data dictionaries are documents commonly created for predictive models and databases. They describe the categories of data that are inputs (age, gender, etc.) and outputs (risk level, etc.) of predictive models. They are equivalent to headers on a spreadsheet, and do not include actual data.
3) A list of all memorandums of understanding (MOUs) and/or data sharing agreements with state or local agencies for the provision of data that is incorporated into the department's child welfare predictive models. Should the department not maintain a list of these MOUs, I will accept copies of the MOUs themselves.
4) Any differential impact assessments, validation studies, or comparable documents that describe the accuracy of child welfare predictive models used by the department. This should include any documents that describe common measures of predictive accuracy, such as area under the curve (AUC).
5) All department policies, employee manuals, and guidelines describing how employees can and/or should use child welfare predictive models.
6) All governance board, committee, or outside expert reviews assessing the efficacy of the department's proposed or current child welfare predictive models.
Should you have questions regarding any aspect of this request, please don't hesitate to contact me.
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. 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 be filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you very much for your help, and I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 4 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Todd Feathers
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Nebraska Public Records Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 30, 2021. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Department of Health and Human Services
Good Afternoon:
Thank you for your public records request dated April 30, 2021. Please be advised that I was on leave for the birth of my child, so your request was not physically received by the agency for processing until today. Please accept this email as confirmation your request is being processed. You will receive an additional response no later than May 14, 2021.
To ensure timely processing of future requests, please direct your public records requests to DHHS.PublicRecords@nebraska.gov<mailto:DHHS.PublicRecords@nebraska.gov>. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.
Thank you,
Erik Fern | Attorney III
LEGAL SERVICES
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services
301 CENTENNIAL MALL S, P.O. BOX 95026
LINCOLN, NEBRASKA 68509
OFFICE: 402-471-8298
DHHS.ne.gov<http://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/default.aspx> | Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/NEDHHS/> | Twitter<https://twitter.com/NEDHHS> | LinkedIn<https://www.linkedin.com/company/nebraska-department-of-health-and-human-services>
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This email message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.
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From: Department of Health and Human Services
Good Morning:
Thank you for your public records request dated April 30, 2021 seeking records in relation to child welfare predictive analytics systems. After diligent inquiry, the agency has determined it has no responsive records.
Please be advised that public records law allows for a charge for the actual cost of collecting, reproducing, and mailing the records you have requested; however, there is no cost for this request.
Thank you,
Erik Fern | Attorney III
LEGAL SERVICES
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services
301 CENTENNIAL MALL S, P.O. BOX 95026
LINCOLN, NEBRASKA 68509
OFFICE: 402-471-8298
DHHS.ne.gov<http://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/default.aspx> | Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/NEDHHS/> | Twitter<https://twitter.com/NEDHHS> | LinkedIn<https://www.linkedin.com/company/nebraska-department-of-health-and-human-services>
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This email message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.
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From: Todd Feathers
Hello Erik,
Thank you very much for the quick response. Just a quick question for clarification: Are there no responsive documents because Nebraska doesn't use predictive analytics for child welfare, or is DHHS just the wrong agency to have directed this request to?
Many thanks!
Todd
From: Department of Health and Human Services
Good Morning:
Thank you for your follow-up question. There no responsive documents because Nebraska does not use predictive analytics for child welfare.
Please be advised that public records law allows for a charge for the actual cost of collecting, reproducing, and mailing the records you have requested; however, there is no cost for this request.
Thank you,
Erik Fern | Attorney III
LEGAL SERVICES
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services
301 CENTENNIAL MALL S, P.O. BOX 95026
LINCOLN, NEBRASKA 68509
OFFICE: 402-471-8298
DHHS.ne.gov<http://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/default.aspx> | Facebook<https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FNEDHHS%2F&data=04%7C01%7CDHHS.PublicRecords%40nebraska.gov%7Ce1791cbcc9444889b07708d91951b0ee%7C043207dfe6894bf6902001038f11f0b1%7C0%7C0%7C637568660907204422%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=XVD3aCDPHqXBPLxb7%2BVI2txiu4YOR7VJtID2hil8jiQ%3D&reserved=0> | Twitter<https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FNEDHHS&data=04%7C01%7CDHHS.PublicRecords%40nebraska.gov%7Ce1791cbcc9444889b07708d91951b0ee%7C043207dfe6894bf6902001038f11f0b1%7C0%7C0%7C637568660907204422%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=Z5gRoQt%2BuzySbzP3vDlEk6Ar7psqYSY49Rj16uNEw9I%3D&reserved=0> | LinkedIn<https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fcompany%2Fnebraska-department-of-health-and-human-services&data=04%7C01%7CDHHS.PublicRecords%40nebraska.gov%7Ce1791cbcc9444889b07708d91951b0ee%7C043207dfe6894bf6902001038f11f0b1%7C0%7C0%7C637568660907214381%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=rvp4PJamBh8Z8m0g7D1iGJMi3Bvfa6EL59gjPzCxYeo%3D&reserved=0>
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This email message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.
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