The terms below are provided as a service to help you with understanding the content of the web site and are not intended to be complete definitions as defined by policy.
AFCARS
Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) is the system for collecting data on children in foster care and children who have been adopted who were under the auspices of the State child welfare agency.
APD
Advanced Planning Document. Often used to seek approval from the Feds on spending for a particular project. All SACWIS Systems required an APD.
CB
Children’s Bureau. Arm of the Administration for Children and Families that funds the NRC-CWDT
CFCIP
Chafee Foster Care Independence Program is funding provided to states to carry out programs to assist youth in making the transition from foster care to self-sufficiency
CFSR
Each State undergoes a Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) which is an assessment for compliance with Federal requirements for child protective services, foster care, adoption and family preservation and support services under titles IV-B and IV-E of the Social Security Act. The State will be assessed on outcomes for children and families in terms of safety, permanency and child and family well being, and the administration of State programs that directly enhance their capacity to deliver services leading to improved and positive outcomes.
CIP
Court Improvement Project.
Cohort
All the persons in a group that experience an event in a common time frame. For example: Exit cohorts are all children that exit care in a specific time period.
Component
A primary part of a composite that may include one or more measures.
Composite
A single number that combines several measures to express overall performance. Common example: SAT scores. CFSR Composites incorporate State performance on multiple permanency related individual measures.
Cost Benefit Analysis
The Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) is used to demonstrate that projected benefits are sufficient to warrant the expenditure for the system project. Justification is based on measurable outcomes and qualitative improvements.
Data Profile
Used as baseline data for a Statewide Assessment in preparation for the CFSR. Information included in the State Data Profile includes safety outcomes and descriptive data, permanency composite scores and descriptive data as well as information on the state’s data quality issues and data completeness.
Data Warehouse
A database specifically designed to contain historic snapshots of various operational system data, normally in an aggregated form which is used by data analysts and other end users for analyzing, reporting, tracking, and supporting strategic decisions. Data in a data warehouse is stored in different structures from that stored in transactional systems.
Disposition
Stage of court proceedings where court determines custody of child and – in many states – first approves or revises case plan.
DSS
Division of State Systems.
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking website — a gathering spot, to connect with your friends and with your friends friends. Facebook allows you to make new connections who share a common interest, expanding your personal network. See “Social Media/Social Networking” below.
FFY
Federal Fiscal Year. Most often used for funding purposes from October 1 to September 30 each year.
Federal Reviews
IV-E Review, AFCARS Review, Child and Family Services Review (CFSR), SACWIS Review, Round One of CFSR, and Round Two of CFSR are all means of monitoring State compliance with Federal policy. Each one takes about a week on site and occurs on a rotating basis throughout multiple years.
GJXDM
Global Justice XML Data Model (Global JXDM) is intended to be a data reference model for the exchange of information within the justice and public safety communities. It includes a data model, a data dictionary, and an XML schema.
IV-E
Title IV-E is a reference of the Social Security Act which established Federal-State programs for foster care, adoption assistance, and independent living. The foster care program provides financial support to a person, family, or institution that is raising a child or children that is not their own. The adoption assistance program provides financial support to adoptive parents of children with special needs. The independent living program provides States with funds to help children who are likely to remain in foster care until 18 years of age make the transition to self-sufficiency.
NCANDS
National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System is a collaborative, voluntary information collection system that gathers and analyses annual State statistics on abused and neglected children. Portions are used to create the data profile to calculate the recurrence of child abuse and neglect in out of home care.
NICWA
National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) assists Tribes by helping to strengthen and enhance their capacity to deliver quality child welfare services.
NRCYS
National Resource Center for Youth Services.
NYTD
National Youth in Transition Database requires States to collect and report data to the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) on youth receiving independent living services and on outcomes for certain youth who are in foster care or who age out of foster care.
OMB
Office of Budget and Management.
PIP
States are required to formulate a Program Improvement Plan (PIP) to address areas of non-compliance identified during a Child and Family Services Review. States must satisfy the goals of the PIP in a specified timeframe, such as two years.
Reg
Regulation published in the Federal Register.
SACWIS
Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS) is a single statewide system that automates the collection of federally mandated child welfare data and provides support for the delivery and management of child welfare services. States receive Federal Financial Participation (FFP) for the development of a system through the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1993.
Social Media/ Social Networking
primarily Internet-based tools for sharing and discussing information, based on user participation and user-generated content. They include social networking sites like Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook, social bookmarking sites like Del.icio.us, social news sites like Digg or Simpy, and other sites that are centered on user interaction, such as Youtube.
Statewide Assessment
The initial report composed by a State to begin the CFSR. The first phase is a Statewide Assessment conducted by a State child welfare agency in collaboration with the agency’s external partners or stakeholders and the Children’s Bureau Central and Regional Office staff.
Syntax
A set programming instructions (code) that performs a computation. For example, the CFSR syntax holds SPSS program instructions that are used to generate CFSR outcome measures than are subsequently utilized to produce the CFSR composite scores.
Tool Kit
A collection of resources related to a particular topic that may include related documents and guides, technical assistance materials, and links to related web sites and resources.
TPR
Termination of Parental Rights.
Twitter
A free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read other users’ updates known as tweets through a web browser or a handheld mobile device.
XML Tags
Tags used to label documents to enable them to be shared or exchanged between separate data systems using different programs.
