Nearly $100 million and almost 10 years after launching a project to overhaul its foster care case management system, the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department says it is close to wrapping up.
But lawmakers and legislative analysts have their doubts.
CYFD failed to deliver a number of promised functions in the information system it launched last week, known as New Mexico Impact, analysts told lawmakers on the Legislative Finance Committee on Tuesday.
Those functions, such as a promised mobile app designed to allow child protective services caseworkers to access the system while in the field, come amid concerns from analysts that New Mexico Impact will not be fully available to employees until October — or later — and will cost millions more than originally expected to finalize and maintain.
“What we got on Aug. 17 was a data transfer from the legacy IT system that CYFD has,” said analyst Emily Hilla. “However, none of these intended outcomes are available as of Aug. 17, and are expected to be made available in October for CYFD staff.”
CYFD on Tuesday defended the delayed rollout of New Mexico Impact, noting that while it is not yet the system of record for cases, it is available for employees to practice with and get accustomed to ahead of the planned switchover on Oct. 13.
“By doing so, they reduce the risk of having to learn how to navigate the system in real time while trying to implement and ensure child safety and the well-being for the children and the families of New Mexico,” deputy project manager Joshua Fulkerson told lawmakers.
CYFD also argued that New Mexico Impact represents a unique effort to make case management functions and other services for child protective services, juvenile justice, and behavioral health programs available under one system.
Though the project has gone through a number of changes to its original scope, the agency on Tuesday said New Mexico’s struggles to stand up its new child welfare information system are shared by other states.
Lawmakers expressed cautious optimism over the state’s implementation of the full system, noting that while the project has had a number of avoidable issues, officials appear to have a thought-out plan for the next couple of months.
“It seems to me that there is cause for optimism, and there is clearly [an] important foundation for understandable skepticism,” said Rep. Nathan Small, a Las Cruces Democrat and chair of the committee.
Ballooning budget
New Mexico originally launched an effort to modernize its child welfare information system in 2017 to comply with new federal rules pushing states to overhaul their systems. The current, 25-year-old system, known as the Family Automated Client Tracking System, or FACTS, has been described as outdated and ineffectual, and the new one aspires to alleviate workloads by improving employees’ access to information, reporting and real-time data.
The project has seen a number of setbacks and issues since then, including a scandal involving doubts over whether the original contractor for the project had gone through a competitive bidding process or proper analysis. The Aug. 17 rollout was planned after the state’s previous plans to launch the system in February were pushed back.
The project’s budget has also bloated over the years — it was originally expected to cost $32 million and be completed by October 2022.
So far, the state has spent $57.6 million on the project, according to the state Department of Information Technology’s online project management portal. It is currently estimated to cost a total of at least $90.4 million.
Hilla on Tuesday noted CYFD has received more money from the state general fund for the project than any other information technology project by a state agency.
Analysts have also previously expressed concerns the training schedule for using New Mexico Impact will push back its implementation even further. They have also highlighted apparent delays in rolling out important features, like the mobile app, and new and recurring expected costs the project is expected to incur.
For example, CYFD plans to ask for an additional $2 million from the general fund in the coming fiscal year, which would also bring in an estimated additional $3.8 million from the federal government, Hilla’s report states. The state estimates New Mexico Impact will also cost $2.2 million per year after it is rolled out for maintenance and other costs for operating the system.
CYFD spokesperson Jake Thompson wrote in an email the yearly maintenance and operational costs for the system are “reasonable for a system of this size and complexity,” noting the state has been paying about $7.8 million per year for the current system.
Gabriela Campos/New Mexican file photo
He said information systems specifically designed for child welfare programs are uniquely complex, as they must track and document each step in a child’s journey in foster care, meet a number of federal obligations and comply with other intensive regulations, and exchange data with outside governmental agencies, amid other requirements. Developing such a system means heavy expenses, such as for staff, data migration services, hardware and training, Thompson said.
CYFD has previously said training in the system started in June and has rejected concerns that its training schedule will further delay the project. Fulkerson expressed confidence that the system and its features — including the mobile app — will be ready in October.
The state has tracked more than 800 unique logins since the system has gone live, Fulkerson added. Thompson wrote that roughly 1,000 employees use the current system for their day-to-day duties.
Sen. George Muñoz criticized the years of delays, saying the “time frame is just unacceptable.” Still, he appeared reassured that the state could provide an estimate for how much New Mexico Impact will cost in the future, and hopeful in its timeline for rolling out the system.
“At least the system’s going to go live … on Oct. 13, and employees will have the training,” said Muñoz, D-Gallup. “Maybe that’ll help with CYFD, so there is some good news today.”
Rep. Mark Duncan, R-Kirtland, expressed doubts the optimistic outlook for the project’s costs and rollout would come to fruition, given its turbulent history.
“I think it’s going to cost us much more than this,” he said.
