We have historical precedence showing that these large social services projects require very careful consideration and planning, and may require mid-project changes of direction. Strategic systems efforts that are large and complex should encourage conservatism and flexibility, not be focused on speed at all costs. Check out your own state and see if the Child Support Enforcement systems that were begun over the last couple of years have overrun their budget, or are behind schedule, or have less functionality than originally planned, or are in serious risk of being declared failures. I believe that only the state of Montana has a new certified system in place, with virtually all of the others in trouble. One remedy for this problem is contained in new federal legislation that calls for federal participation in funding state administered social programs to be implemented through the use of so-called block grants.
Block grants eliminate federal mandates that direct the use of federal funds by the states.
This change in approach will allow state legislatures to use federal funds in the manner they see fit. The recent adoption of a block grant formula by the U.S. House of Representatives is supported by a majority of senators, who will likely consider similar legislation this summer. If it is put into place as projected, the advent of block grants eliminates the incentive for states to pull out all the stops to beat the October 96 deadline, meaning states should immediately reevaluate their approaches to child welfare and extend the analysis of options to include those that may take longer than previously would have been acceptable. Unfortunately, block grants may also eliminate the incentive for states to take on the challenge of building a child welfare information system at all. That would be a tragedy.