Computers rotten; fix is costly

Computers rotten; fix is costly

Long a target of legislators and child welfare advocates, the state's
child welfare computer system still does not work well, lawmakers are
told.

BY CAROL MARBIN MILLER



TALLAHASSEE - Florida's snakebitten child welfare computer system,
years behind schedule and tens of millions over budget, once again is
on the fritz. Lacking the capacity to accommodate all the state's
investigators and caseworkers, it routinely ''kicks'' people off.

Department of Children & Families Secretary Lucy Hadi, testifying
before lawmakers Tuesday afternoon, acknowledged the computer system
has reached its capacity, and will need an $800,000 technological
upgrade before it will be able to handle demand during peak periods.

''When it is experiencing too many users, it doesn't slow you down, it
kicks you off,'' James Walker, a chief at the Broward Sheriff's
Office's child-abuse investigations unit, testified before the Senate
Children & Families Committee.

Making the computer system, called HomeSafenet, fully operational
likely will cost Florida taxpayers more than $203 million, Hadi said
-- becoming the first DCF secretary to acknowledge publicly that the
project was likely to top the $200 million mark. It was pitched to
lawmakers with a $40 million price tag a decade ago.

Developed in 1994 and paid for largely through federal subsidies,
HomeSafenet was intended to free child-abuse investigators and
caseworkers from a torrent of paperwork, and make it easier for
workers to keep track of what was happening with children under their
care.

Walker told lawmakers that supervisors in his department ''love'' the
system because it enables them to juggle tasks and deadlines among the
many workers they manage.

Investigators also like it because it can act as a kind of electronic
secretary, alerting them to necessary steps that must be taken before
a case can be closed. But, Walker added: ''Investigators find it more
time-consuming,'' than its predecessor, the Florida Abuse History
Information System, or FAHIS.

DCF's technology officials will need to boost HomeSafenet's capacity
before other upgrades can be made to the system -- and a great deal of
work has yet to be done, Hadi testified. Foremost, the state must hire
what's called an ''integrator'' to manage the system's future
development. That contract could cost close to $42 million.

Among the system's flaws, Hadi testified: It will not tell
investigators the complete child-abuse history of families that are
being investigated for abuse or neglect. The histories are crucial,
experts say, in helping determine whether parents are likely to be a
threat to their children. To get the information, investigators must
consult the old FAHIS system, Hadi said.

Sen. Walter G. ''Skip'' Campbell, a Tamarac Democrat who chairs the
committee, expressed the frustration of many lawmakers when he asked
Hadi: ``Why don't we just blow up the system, and start all over
again?''

``Because we are much too dependent on it, and workers are using it
every day, Hadi replied. ``There is no alternative, senator. There is
no way to go back to paper.''
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/10966413.htm

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