Advanced Analytics for Child Welfare Administration

Advanced Analytics for Child Welfare Administration

November 17-20, 2015

Chicago, Illinois

In partnership with Casey Family Programs, Chapin Hall and the Center for State Child Welfare Data are pleased to offer Advanced Analytics for Child Welfare Administration on November 17-20, 2015, in Chicago, Illinois. The purpose of the course is to enable participants to become critical consumers and users of child welfare administrative data as a means toward making continuous quality improvements in their organizations.

Participants accepted for the Advanced Analytics course will receive full support for tuition, room, and most meals. Travel, ground transportation, and two evening meals are the responsibility of the student. The course is limited to eighteen participants.

Please note: The event begins with dinner on Monday, November 16th. The course itself begins the morning of Tuesday, November 17th. See important dates below for details.

Who should take Advanced Analytics?

Advanced Analytics is designed for public or private agency child welfare managers who work directly with information resources and who are in a position to influence the use of information in their organization. The course is targeted specifically for those in leadership positions who are empowered to facilitate best practices in measurement and evidence-based decision making within their child welfare agencies. Individuals working in policy, finance, program management/design, quality improvement, research, and computing are encouraged to apply. At this time, Advanced Analytics is not open to teachers, professors, or full-time students.

What will I learn in Advanced Analytics?

Delivered for the first time in 2007, Advanced Analytics builds on the Center for State Child Welfare Data’s introductory Administrative Data Institutes that were offered to child welfare agency managers starting in the early 1990s. The principles and skills taught in Advanced Analytics were developed at the Center over the past two decades and span three domains: computing, statistics and research, and the critical role of data analysis in shaping policy and practice investments.

The coursework covers best practices in performance measurement in child welfare. Participants will learn not only how to identify and conduct statistical analyses required to fuel the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) process, but also how to recognize typical pitfalls that lead to the incorrect use of administrative data. To maximize relevance and transfer of learning, each lesson draws explicit links between analytic concepts and techniques and their real world implications for performance monitoring and CQI decision making. To promote skill-building, participants work through in-class group exercises, complete independent homework assignments, and meet one-on-one with course instructors. Members of the Center for State Child Welfare Data may work with their state’s Foster Care Event and Spell File as a means toward understanding and applying analytic principles and methods.

What policy applications are explored in Advanced Analytics?

Over the course of the week, techniques for transforming data to evidence are applied to a variety of policy and practice topics, including:

·  The role of evidence in the Continuous Quality Improvement process

·  Thinking systematically about child welfare performance: From investigations to permanency

·  Effective reporting and communication of child welfare outcomes

·  Developing baseline and target expectations to test the effect of innovation

·  Evaluating contract agency performance

·  Understanding racial disparities

·  Paring fiscal data with outcomes data to inform the budget process

How do I apply to Advanced Analytics?

Download the application materials:

http://fcda.chapinhall.org/data-center-news/nov15analytics/

Admission is selective, based on professional responsibility, analytic and computing skills, and the content of the individual’s recommendation. We are especially interested in applicants who are in a position to shape the process and use of data analysis at their agencies. Candidates must complete an application form, submit a resume or CV, and include a recommendation from a supervisor at their current organization. Certification that travel funds will be available and that the applicant will be released from all job responsibilities for the duration of the course is also required.

Applications are due on or before Wednesday, September 30, 2015 by 5 pm ET. Please submit your application to Rosemary Gill at with the subject header Application for Advanced Analytics.

IMPORTANT DATES:

For more information about the course, contact Jennifer Haight () or Lily Alpert ().

Advanced Analytics for Child Welfare Administration

Preliminary Schedule: November 16-20, 2015