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Lamont McClure and the Children, Youth and Families (CYF) Division announce an agreement between the County of Northampton and the Centre for Social Data Analytics (AUT Ventures) to develop a Decision Aid Tool that uses predictive analytics to aid in the screening of child abuse and neglect referrals. The Decision Aid Tool is a call screening tool which rapidly integrates and analyzes hundreds of data elements for each person involved in an allegation of child maltreatment. The result is a score which predicts the long-term likelihood of future involvement by child welfare. The Decision Aid Tool will assist supervisors who will continue to use their professional judgement when deciding which referrals should be investigated. Ideally, it will prevent families from being subjected to unnecessary investigation and allow caseworkers to focus on those families who really need help. The Centre of Social Data Analytics led the international research team which developed a similar screening tool for Allegheny County\u2019s Department of Human Services in 2016. The Centre for Social Data Analytics is a research center at Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy utilizing the Decision Aid Tool, we are looking to more accurately identify the folks who need our assistance and reduce the trauma for families who don\u2019t require CYF services,\u201d says DHS Director Susan Wandalowski. \u201cWe believe a data driven approach which assists to reduce bias, will help us better utilize our resources.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Decision Aid Tool will be built specifically for Northampton County using the County\u2019s data with hundreds of features that reflect previous child welfare involvement for the household.<\/p>\n
The development of the tool and its implementation will be a multi-year process. The Centre for Social Data Analytics should deliver a Decision Aid Tool prototype within one year and, over the next two years, will validate it as well as training intake workers and supervisors. The Department of Human Services will hold at least two meetings with community groups before the Decision Aid Tool is put into use.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs always, our primary goal is to ensure child safety,\u201d says Lamont McClure. \u201cCYF handles an average of 8,000 calls on its child abuse hotline every year. We anticipate the Decision Aid Tool will help us direct our resources to where they are needed most.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you suspect an incidence of child abuse or neglect, please report it to Northampton County CYF at 610-252-9060 or call the Child Line at 1-800-932-0313.<\/p>\n
Information provided to TVL by: <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Lamont McClure and the Children, Youth and Families (CYF) Division announce an agreement between the County of Northampton and the Centre for Social Data Analytics (AUT Ventures) to develop … Continue reading Centre for Social Data Analytics to develop a Decision Aid Tool for Children, Youth and Families<\/span>
\nBecky Bartlett
\nDeputy Director of Administration
\nNorthampton County Government Center
\n669 Washington Street
\nEaston, PA 18042
\nhttps:\/\/www.northamptoncounty.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n
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