Human Services Domain IEPD Repository
Sharing data within the human services community is critical to the success of their programs. Each participant in a human services case is a member of a family and community that play an important role in the outcomes of a case. Treating the family and community is necessary for a successful outcome. Data sharing provides a way to get the full picture of the family and community.
There are numerous opportunities to share data; from eligibility, to payments, to program performance. The NIEM HS domain supports information sharing and promotes interoperability between and across social service providers at the federal, state, local, and tribal levels. Standardized data and information exchanges help fulfill the following Human Services goals:
• Improved service delivery for clients;
• Reduced errors and improved program integrity; and
• Improved administrative efficiency.
NIEM is the National Information Exchange Model — a community-driven, government-wide, standards-based approach to exchanging information. Information on NIEM and the requirements for Information Exchange Package Documentation can be found at the NIEM website
To begin exchanging information, information exchange partners must first develop a data exchange. In NIEM, a “data exchange” is also known as an Information Exchange Package (IEP), a description of specific information exchanged between a sender and a receiver. The IEP is usually coupled with additional documentation, sample XML instances, business rules, and more to compose an Information Exchange Package Documentation (IEPD). An IEPD is the final product of the NIEM exchange development process, also known as the IEPD Lifecycle. A user builds an IEPD from business requirements in order for the IEPD to include both business and technical artifacts that define the information exchange taking place between multiple parties. For example, there are technical schemas that define the specific data being exchanged, as well as non-technical documents that capture information such as business rules and context.
Completed IEPDs
In-Process IEPDs
Additional Information
For more information or to participate, contact the ACF interoperability team at interoperability@acf.hhs.gov.