A Brief Analysis of SACWIS: difficulty implementing social systems information systems.

State-wide Automated Social Welfare IS (SACWIS)

I have been following various government efforts to organize and improve. Family services prove particularly difficult. The SACWIS effort is one in a long string of failures by the US government, including the Compliance Monitoring System (1971) and the HDS Information Systems Strategy (1979). Jay Silerman lead the SACWIS effort- $2B federal project under HHS to get states up and running. Money was up and out to the field in 1994.  All states expected to be up and running by 1996.  As of 2005, no state was up and running fully on this system.  At best, states were in the opeartional stage.  By 2009, many are now operational.  See status: click here

As of 2005 some states had dumb terminals and a mainframe. Some had PCs. Georgia had laptops in workers' hands that sync to the central system. One problem - Federal govt. had no authority and little power to define and impose units of analysis and measurement. They began by bargaining. States argued through negotiation to a lowest common denominator group of measures and definitions.  This led to the original plan not working. SACWIS originally wanted more than 100 uniform units of analysis.  They conceded by 2005 that they want only 14 for full compliance in routine reporting, yet no state had achieved full compliance as of fall 2005. 

To be sure, the US is not alone, Australia's projects have not been any more succesful. See status: click here