February 20, 2004

Foster care records full of errors

Computer system used for tracking children Foster care records full of errors
Steve LeBlanc

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

BOSTON- The state's $50 million computer system for tracking children in foster care is riddled with errors, according to a report released yesterday by state Auditor A. Joseph DeNucci.

The report found the Department of Social Service's main foster care computer system, known as FamilyNet, has a 67 percent error rate, based on auditors' review of more than 4,000 cases in the system. The system is used to make key decisions about foster families.

Among the problems auditors said they found were incorrect and missing dates needed to determine when children were placed with foster families and whether foster care providers had undergone required criminal background checks.

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