Scenarios A n emergency room physician treats a child for bruises. Suspecting the toddler might have been abused, he calls the state child welfare agency. The incident does not seem dire, certainly not life-threatening, but the caseworker who picks up the phone is unaware the child has been treated for bruises five times in the past year and that doctors had consistently suspected abuse. With a backlog of cases that seem more pressing, the caseworker schedules an investigation for the following week.
T wo days later, the child is found beaten to death.
T ragic scenarios like this one appear on the front pages of newspapers all too frequently. What makes these tragedies particularly sad is that with timely access to critical information, caseworkers can often intervene in time. An electronically available, detailed case history can alert a caseworker if a child s bruises warrant immediate investigation because of a pattern of abuse. Mexico is the latest state to turn to an automated case-tracking system in an effort to prevent these tragedies and aid overburdened caseworkers. Connecticut, Rhode Island and Alaska also have similar programs underway.