Policy & Practice | Fall 2023

“Saving time and using technology to solve problems that directly benefits our families and staff is the ultimate win.” — MARC D. SMITH, ILLINOIS DCFS DIRECTOR

Overall regular users estimate a 20 percent reduction in time they spend on administrative tasks. Beyond time savings, use cases in support of adoptions help to dem onstrate what the team at DCFS has always known—the information in case notes can impact outcomes. An adoption specialist puts it this way, “Augintel Search saves me hours on every case—days on complex cases. And it helps me quickly identify details that could result in attorney requests for correction—requests that can delay permanency for months.” Perhaps one of the most important use cases for Augintel NLP is new case assignment. Like child welfare organi zations across the United States, staff shortages and attrition pose a daily challenge for DCFS. There is a loss of case knowledge that occurs with turnover. When new caseworkers are assigned cases, they simply don’t have hours of time to read entire files, which can result in interruptions in the con tinuum of care, particularly in complex cases. Augintel recognizes when a case is reassigned and automatically

“I believe that we are closer to broad adoption of NLP than ever before,” says Marty Elisco, CEO of Augintel. “NLP provides a deeper understanding of the case and empowers caseworkers with the information they need to make impactful decisions and allows supervisors to maximize quality of care delivered.” Jim Daugherty is the Chief Information Officer of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. Julie Barbosa is the Chief Deputy Director, Strategy and Performance Execution, of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

sends the newly assigned caseworker a summary of key points from the case. To quote a private agency user, “It is like having a watchful, “program assistant,” backing me up, which is allowing me to address issues or see positives faster.” When announcing the Augintel NLP project earlier this year, DCFS Director Marc D. Smith said, “Saving time and using technology to solve problems that directly benefits our families and staff is the ultimate win.” As an early adopter of NLP in child welfare, DCFS is excited to be proving the value of innovative thinking and will continue to measure that value in the coming months. As the potential for NLP in child welfare continues to grow, DCFS looks forward to sharing its success with other states.

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Fall 2023 Policy & Practice 39