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LINCOLN — Nebraska’s Department of Health and Human Services has been selected to receive nearly $1.5 million in federal grants intended to modernize the child welfare system.
The funds come in three grants from the Administration for Children and Families, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
A state DHHS spokesperson said Friday that Nebraska was the only state to qualify for all three of the grants.
No new staff are to be hired, said Jeff Powell, the agency spokesman. He said some of the funding could offset the public agency’s administrative costs, and the bulk will build or enhance infrastructure for existing and new programs.
One award of $137,240 is to update licensing procedures, including fingerprinting, background checks and other systems used to license caregivers and foster families. Nebraska was one of 14 jurisdictions nationwide to receive that grant.
“By expanding access to fingerprinting and improving how information moves through the system, we can reduce unnecessary delays and better support relatives, kin and other caregivers who step forward when a child needs a safe home,” said Kathleen Stolz, deputy director of the department’s children and family services division.
That grant builds on the other two:
Nebraska was selected as one of 10 jurisdictions that each received nearly $600,000 for a “predictive analytics in child welfare” pilot program. The emerging technology is aimed at improving child safety and caseworker decision-making. It taps historical data and algorithms to identify patterns and estimate the probability of outcomes such as child maltreatment risk.
Nebraska also was among a select group of 10 states awarded a Title IV-E “prevention accelerator” grant. With that $750,000 grant, the state is expected to strengthen referral pathways and prevention services.
“Each of these investments strengthens a different part of Nebraska’s child welfare system, but they are connected by a common goal of helping children and families get the right support at the right time,” said Alyssa Bish, director of children and family services.
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