New Mexico child welfare risk scoring data

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

1) De-identified input and output data from the department's child welfare predictive analytics system, from the program's inception until the date this request is processed. The responsive dataset should include the output of the predictive risk model (e.g., low, moderate. or high risk, or a numerical score) for each child/report and any non-identifiable input variables used to calculate the output (e.g., age, race, zip code, type of report, etc.). This data can be easily extracted from the department's CWS/CMS.

Please note that I am not requesting any personally identifiable information. Data fields such as name, address, social security number, etc., can easily be redacted by deleting the relevant fields from the responsive spreadsheet.

I ask that all fees be waived as intend to use the requested records to further public understanding of public agencies and not for any commercial purpose. In the event you choose to impose fees, I request a detailed breakdown of the fees, including the hourly wage of each employee involved and an explanation justifying the employee hours required to fulfill the request.

Should you choose to reject this request or redact portions of responsive documents, 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.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. 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 15 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Todd Feathers

Hello Kathleen,

Thank you for your assistance with this public records request.

I received your denial of my request, dated July 7, and I'm a bit confused by your answer. You state that "we do not capture the data points you identify for the purpose of predictive analytics," however I did not limit my request to any specific data points.

I clarified that responsive records "should include the output of the predictive risk model (e.g., low, moderate. or high risk, or a numerical score) for each child/report and any non-identifiable input variables used to calculate the output (e.g., age, race, zip code, type of report, etc.)." The data points in that sentence are given as examples—hence the "e.g. and etc."—and should not be construed to limit the request to records containing those specific fields.

My request stated that the responsive data should include the input fields the department DOES use for predictive analytics.

Thank you again for your help with this request, and please let me know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,
Todd Feathers

Hi Kathleen,

Thank you very much, this is very helpful for clarifying my request.

Yes, I am requesting only data factored into risk assessments. Does the data team have a list of the variables that are used in these risk assessments? If so, I can tailor my request more narrowly.

Appreciate the help!
Todd