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About SACWIS

The genesis of focused Federal support for statewide automated child welfare information systems (SACWIS) sprang from Title XIII, Section 13713., ENHANCED MATCH FOR AUTOMATED DATA SYSTEMS, of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1993 (Public Law 103-66), enacted on August 19, 1993. That legislation provided states with the opportunity to obtain 75 percent enhanced funding through the Title IV-E program of the Social Security Act to plan, design, develop, and implement a SACWIS. This legislation made the enhanced funding available for Federal fiscal years 1993-1996. Title V, Section 502 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA - Public Law 104-193), enacted on August 22, 1996 of 1996, extended the SACWIS enhanced funding through Federal fiscal year 1997. Additionally, the legislation provided an enhanced SACWIS cost allocation to States so that Title IV-E would absorb all SACWIS costs for foster and adopted children, without regard to their Title IV-E eligibility.

Subsequent to the passage of OBRA 1993, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) promulgated the Departmental regulations at 45 CFR 1355.50 - 1355.57, issued on December 22. 1993. These regulations implemented sections 474(a)(3)(C) and (D) of Title IV-E of the Social Security Act which were added as a result of P.L. 103-66. Since then, a variety of guidance documents have been issued, all of which can be accessed from our Federal Guidance page.

SACWIS Overview

If a State elects to implement a SACWIS, the system is expected to be a comprehensive automated case management tool that meets the needs of all staff (including social workers and their supervisors, whether employed by the State, county, or contracted private providers) involved in foster care and adoptions assistance case management. SACWIS funding is available for development, implementation and operational costs. SACWIS funding is also available for SACWIS user-training services and SACWIS equipment costs for all staff (including private providers) to use the system.

In exchange for the additional funding provided to a State that elects to implement a SACWIS, the State must agree that the SACWIS will be the sole case management automation tool used by all public and private social workers responsible for case management activities. Furthermore, staff are expected to enter all case management information into SACWIS so it holds a State's "official case record" - a complete, current, accurate, and unified case management history on all children and families served by the Title IV-B/IV-E State agency. By law, a SACWIS is required to support the reporting of data to the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis Reporting System (AFCARS) and the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS). Furthermore, a SACWIS is expected to have bi-directional interfaces with a State's Title IV-A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), Title XIX (Medicaid), and Title IV-D (Child Support) systems.

SACWIS systems must also collect and manage the information necessary to facilitate the delivery of child welfare support services, including family support and family preservation. States are encouraged to add complementary functionality to their SACWIS, such as functionality that supports child protective services, thereby providing a unified automated tool to support all child welfare services. States may incorporate other programs into a SACWIS (such as TANF emergency assistance, juvenile justice, mental health, and adult protective services) or provide access for other human service professionals (such as family courts, schools, medical providers, and providers of services to stabilize families and ensure child well-being).

Currently, most States and the District of Columbia are at some stage of SACWIS planning, development, implementation, or operations. Our States' SACWIS Status page identifies the status of each State's SACWIS project. Total approved SACWIS developmental project costs currently exceed $2.3 billion. This amount continually increases, since there are several States still in the planning, development, or implementation stages of their SACWIS projects.