Minnesota AFCARS Assessment Report

Findings

This section provides the major findings resulting from the review of the State’s AFCARS data collection. Tab A provides detailed information on the findings for the general AFCARS requirements, each of the foster care and adoption data elements, and the case file review. The AFCARS data used for the review were from the report period October 1, 2004 - March 31, 2005.

As part of the post-site visit analysis, the State’s documents, the data, the case file review findings, team member notes, and the States’ corrected program code were assessed to make the final determination of findings. As a result, the original rating factors were modified from those given at the end of the on-site review. The findings matrix in Tab A reports the previous rating with a “strike-through” mark on it, and the new rating. The AFCARS Improvement Plan in Tab B contains the final rating factor.

Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS)

The State is using an Access database to collect statewide adoption data and the AFCARS adoption file submission is extracted from this database and not the Social Services Information System (SSIS). Inasmuch as the State has an operational SACWIS, it must comply with Federal regulations at 45 CFR 1355.52, Funding Authority for Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information systems (SACWIS), paragraph (a)(1). This requirement provides that:

(a) States may receive Federal reimbursement at the 75 percent match rate for FY 1994, FY 1995 and FY 1996, and at the 50 percent level thereafter for expenditures related to the planning, design, development and installation of a statewide automated child welfare information system, to the extent such system:
(1) Provides for the State to collect and electronically report certain data required by section 479(b) of the Act and Sec. 1355.40 of this part;...

Additionally, 45 CFR 1355.53(b)(1) provides that a State must:

“Meet the Adoption and Foster Care reporting requirements through the collection, maintenance, integrity checking and electronic transmission of the data elements specified by the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) requirements mandated under section 479(b) of the Act and § 1355.40….”

Since the State is not fully utilizing SSIS to collect the AFCARS data elements (primarily those related to the adoption file), nor is it extracting the adoption data file from SSIS, it is not in compliance with this regulation.

Minnesota’s AFCARS assessment review is considered incomplete until the State fully utilizes SSIS to collect all of the AFCARS data elements and the adoption data elements are extracted from SSIS and not the Access database. For the purposes of the AFCARS assessment review, the Federal review team provided technical assistance to the State in regard to the collection and reporting of the adoption data elements. The element findings in Tab A includes this feedback. As part of the State’s improvement plan, the State will need to submit print outs of all relevant screens, the extraction program code, and any other necessary documentation in order for ACF to complete the AFCARS review.

Return to Report
Return to Table of Contents