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MDHHS in opening stages of designing new technology for state's child welfare system

Courtesy Michigan.gov

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is in the opening stages of designing new technology for the state’s child welfare system.

The new executive director of the MDHHS Children’s Services Agency, Demetrius Starling, says the current system gets bogged down in data entry.

Starling says the department and its contractors hope improvements will mean staffers spend less time on computers.

“We believe that frees them up to have more time in the field with their customers, with the children and families that we’re serving.”

Starling says the goal is to provide for the safety and permanency of children in Michigan’s child welfare system.

He estimates that full implementation could take four or five years, but it’s being rolled out in phases. Starling hopes to have the first phase, licensing, up and running by the end of the year.