The Data Era (Rachael's Version)

Turning compliance into capability and data into choreography.

“Every era tells a story. This one’s written in data.”

If you’ve ever been part of a public sector system implementation—like the Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System (CCWIS)—you know how these stories unfold: big openings, shiny promises, unexpected twists, and an ending no one planned, despite all the clues (or Easter eggs) along the way. Whether you’re living through it now or you’ve seen this show before, you don’t have to be a Swiftie to decode the future. When budgets, timelines, and deliverables outshine data in the planning and development phases, we miss our best act before the curtain even rises.

In the end, the fate of CCWIS—or any system implementation for that matter—rarely hinges on technology alone. Data—the way we define it, integrate it, and trust it to tell the truth often determines whether the performance resonates or falls flat.

When Data’s the Backup Dancer

“You Belong with Me.”

Too many projects treat data like a backup dancer—present, but never the star of the show. But here’s the thing: data isn’t background noise; it’s the rhythm that keeps everything else in sync. Still, the spotlight always seems to land on requirements, workflows, and features, while the real conversation—what data we have, what shape it’s in, and how it could drive smarter decisions—gets pushed to the final act. And when data takes a backseat or is left waiting at the back door, even the best systems miss their cues. Because data has always been right there—visible but underestimated, this is where it finally gets the spotlight.

Good Data = Good Performance

"Are You Ready for It?"

Strong data foundations aren’t optional—they’re the opening act for every successful system performance. Let the games begin.

Without strong foundations in data quality, integration, and governance, even the best systems can’t hit their marks. In CCWIS, that means more than moving information from one system to another—it’s about aligning definitions, cleaning legacy data, and setting clear ownership for how data is entered, validated, and shared. Getting that right takes time, intention, and collaboration across program, policy, and technology teams. It’s the unglamorous part of the work, but it’s also what turns a compliant system into a capable one. Skip those steps—or save them for later—and you don’t just inherit bad data, you automate it—Mic drop.

The Irony of Investing Early

"It's Been a Long Time Coming."

After decades of putting data last, we’ve learned the hard way—start with it, and everything else falls into place. Yet, time and again, data is not a frontrunner in our efforts to modernize programs and systems. We tend to think that focusing too early and too much on data hinders the project timeline and inevitably increases costs.

The irony is that investing in data early doesn’t slow projects down—it sets them up to move smarter. Understanding and leveraging data on the front end isn’t just a best practice; it’s a strategy for defining better requirements, tightening scope, and improving (or eliminating) outdated processes. It's also a way to engage stakeholders in process improvement by focusing on data as much as on how they want the system to work.

Too often, projects spend months in discovery mapping workflows that no longer reflect reality. Strong data governance and clear ownership shine a light on what’s truly working, what’s redundant, and what can go. In other words, getting data right isn’t just good hygiene; it’s good project management.

Data isn't an Old Cardigan

“You Put Me on and Said I was Your Favorite”

For too long, data has been treated like an old cardigan—comfortable (to some), familiar, and easy to overlook amid flashier priorities. Maybe that’s how we got here in the first place: a thread that ties every era of our modernization efforts together.

Look, data may never be your favorite—but everyone favors systems that work. Data isn’t an old cardigan; it’s the one we reach for again and again, because it always fits, no matter how the style changes. Tech trends shift. Features fade. But good data? It never goes out of style.

We also need to stop treating data like it only matters when someone else needs to see it. The real tragedy is that doing so lets others tell the story, while the people doing the work—serving families, solving problems, improving lives—get little say in their own narrative. We come by this honestly.

When you are young, they assume you know nothing. And back in my field days—eras ago—I didn’t realize that every note I entered, every checkbox I clicked, every narrative I wrote was shaping a dataset that would define our outcomes, our funding, even our reputation. I thought data was for someone else—for leadership, for compliance, for the feds. A scorecard. Good or bad, on the mark or missing it. No one told us, at least not in a way that stuck, that data was us—that it was the record of our work, our decisions, and the lives we were trying to improve.

But if the cardigan taught us anything, it’s that something we once overlooked can become the most meaningful thread in the story. And when you follow that thread far enough, you start to see it: how each system, each reform, and each new era was trying—sometimes failing, sometimes thriving—to weave something better.

Shifting the Mindset

“It Hits Different.”

Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. And once we recognize data as something everyone owns, it truly hits different. It’s no longer just an IT deliverable or a compliance checklist—it’s the connective tissue of the work.

Program teams define what “good data” looks like for decision-making. When they understand what their data represents, their instincts become grounded in truth—and their decisions, measurable. That’s when everyone starts speaking the same language.

Policy and process teams bring clarity, consistency, and the continuity needed for programs and systems to thrive. I say this all the time: it’s not a one-and-done. Nothing is. But when we let data guide integration between our business processes and systems, the evolution of our collective work becomes that much stronger—and stakeholders gain a deeper understanding that improves service delivery.

Technology teams enable the capture, validation, and sharing of data across systems. They help us make the entry piece of our data practices natural, meaningful, and authentically part of serving people, rather than entering data.

When all these align, CCWIS—or any system—is no longer just a system. It becomes a shared language for how the agency understands and serves families.

But how do we get everyone on the same page—or the same era?

Which brings us to the eras themselves—because, like any great tour, each phase of system modernization has its own setlist.

The Eras Tour: An Innovation Story

The ERA	The STAGE	The VIBE
SACWIS Era: The Debut. 1993-2015	SACWIS (Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System) rules were published on October 1, 1993, to support the development of systems to carry out States' programs under title IV-E of the Social Security Act.	Not quite 1989, but a definite blank space in data considerations for program innovation and system design. Custom code everywhere, flexibility nowhere. These systems defined compliance—but left data trapped in silos.
CCWIS Era Part I: The Reputation Years. 2016-2020	CCWIS rules drop, promising modularity and data sharing. Hopeful, agencies start shedding heavyweight legacy systems for something lighter, leaner. Agile-ish...	History starts repeating itself. Many systems overlook modularity. Data sharing is barely in the cards. We start hearing terms like “SACWIS 2.0.” Look what you made us do.
CCWIS Part II: The Anti-Hero? 2021-2023	We see projects pivot, stall, or be cancelled altogether. Programs learn that trust in data, vendors, and change has to be rebuilt. But how?	The air is still somewhat business-as-usual, but with so many stops and restarts, it’s clear this isn’t what programs intended. The narrative is cautious—but at tea time, everybody agrees.
The Fate of CCWIS: No Explanation Needed. 2024-2025	More and more stakeholders (programs, vendors, consultants, etc.) are calling for a shift. We're recognizing more than ever that the old way won't work because it didn't. But will the tides turn?	System implementations weren’t meant to play out like Shakespearean tragedies. It’s up to us to command the ship in the right direction—and swear our loyalty to the workforce and the people they serve.
The Life of a Shift Girl: Wish List 2025...	Collaboration is key. Data exchanges, integrations, and user experience are more than talk. Agencies and partners not only speak in shared standards, but also create common frameworks—finally, a little harmony. And let me tell you, data is most definitely at the top of the wish list.	Data takes center stage. No longer just a reporting requirement, it’s the star of strategy, quality, and service design. The focus shifts from collecting data to using it—responsibly, insightfully, and brilliantly. We deserve what we want. I hope we get what we want—and what we need.

The Life of a Shift Girl

I’ll admit it—framing system modernization around Taylor Swift might seem unexpected, maybe even a little ridiculous. But as a late-bloomer, fifty-Swiftie, I can’t think of a better way to make a data-centered blog fun to read.

No shade to the data scientists and analytics folks (we owe you everything), but let’s be honest: data has long been branded as dull, detached, or “someone else’s job.”

The Life of a Shift Girl flips that script. It’s where agencies learn to see data not as a chore, but as choreography—a rhythm that drives every move toward better outcomes.

When we embrace that rhythm, we stop waiting for someone else to lead and start shaping the encore ourselves.

If we’re truly in our Data Era, it’s time to turn over the mic and let data headline the design. Because when data takes center stage, the wish list becomes reality, the whole production is in sync—and for once, the ending doesn’t have to be tragic.