Ohio SACWIS Project

Last year, in Ohio, 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel died after his foster parents, Liz and David Carroll Jr.,  left him bound in a closet for several days while they attended a family reunion. His body was later found after being burned in an incinerator. 

The Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services shortly there after began the process of upgrading their computer systems to better keep track of the foster children in Ohio known as the “Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System” SACWIS.  According to the Columbus Dispatch, there may be some issues still needing addressed.

Since that rocky start in July, glitches and crashes have become so persistent and severe that some counties might refuse to make the switch from their own systems to the new statewide network, which is supposed to keep Ohio’s abused and neglected children safer.

Instead, many child-welfare advocates say, the $92 million system has so far created a backlog of data and incomplete records that could cause an agency to lose track of a child. Caseworkers are relying on paper backup for their files