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Michigan to pull plug on child-welfare computer system

Posted at 1:11 PM, Jun 27, 2019
and last updated 2019-06-27 13:11:32-04

DETROIT (AP) — Michigan’s child-welfare agency will gradually dump a multimillion-dollar computer system that went online just five years ago.

The disclosure was made in federal court Thursday as officials gave an update on how the state is caring for children who are removed from homes because of abuse and neglect.

The child-welfare system has been under court oversight for more than a decade. While there’s been improvement, it’s been hard to fully measure performance because the computer system — known as MiSACWIS — has been plagued with problems.

The director of the Department of Health and Human Services says the cost of a new system will be significant. But Robert Gordon didn’t disclose a price tag. It could take five years to fully replace MiSACWIS, which has cost more than $200 million.