Child welfare predictive analytics systems
It is a clone of this request.
| Submitted | April 30, 2021 |
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Communications
From: Todd Feathers
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Wisconsin Open 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 10 business days.
Sincerely,
Todd Feathers
From:
Thank you for submitting a public records request or public records question to the Department of Children and Families. This email response acknowledges your submission, which will be routed to an appropriate Department employee for response. We respond to public records requests and questions as soon as practicable and without delay.
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Wisconsin Open Records Act Request: Child welfare predictive analytics systems
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Wisconsin Open 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:
Thank you for submitting a public records request or public records question to the Department of Children and Families. This email response acknowledges your submission, which will be routed to an appropriate Department employee for response. We respond to public records requests and questions as soon as practicable and without delay.
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RE: Wisconsin Open Records Act Request: Child welfare predictive analytics systems
From: Department Of Children And Families
Hi Mr. Feathers:
We are working on responding to your request. We anticipate being able to respond within the next two weeks.
Thanks,
Kate
Kate Lloyd
Attorney, Office of Legal Counsel
dcf.wisconsin.gov<https://dcf.wisconsin.gov/>
p: 608-422-7036 m: 608-422-0678 [Twitter] <https://twitter.com/WisDCF> [Facebook] <http://www.facebook.com/wisdcf/>
[DCF Logo A Rectangle One Line close]<https://dcf.wisconsin.gov/>
From: Department Of Children And Families
Mr. Feathers,
Attached please find a letter responding to your open records request to Wisconsin DCF, along with documents referenced in the letter.
Please let me know if you have any questions or any follow-up on this request.
Sincerely,
Rachel B. Nili, J.D.
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Attorney
dcf.wisconsin.gov<https://dcf.wisconsin.gov/> | p:608.422.7040 | [Twitter] <https://twitter.com/WisDCF> [Facebook] <http://www.facebook.com/wisdcf/>
[DCF Logo A Rectangle One Line close]<https://dcf.wisconsin.gov/>
From: Todd Feathers
Hi Rachel,
Thank you so much for this--it's extremely helpful and I hadn't known that most of the child welfare work in Wisconsin was done at the county level. If you don't mind me asking--do you know why DCF stopped using P.S. in 2019?
Again, really appreciate it!
Todd
From:
Thank you for submitting a public records request or public records question to the Department of Children and Families. This email response acknowledges your submission, which will be routed to an appropriate Department employee for response. We respond to public records requests and questions as soon as practicable and without delay.
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RE: Wisconsin Open Records Act Request: Child welfare predictive analytics systems
From: Department Of Children And Families
Hi Mr. Feathers,
The P.S. program ended in 2019 because the federal IV-E demonstration project that provided the funding for the program ended in FFY 2019. There is more information about the federal IV-E demonstration projects available here: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/report/waiver-demonstration-national-study
Sincerely,
Rachel Nili
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