In an effort to overhaul its approach to child welfare, North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services is joining forces with the Forsyth County Department of Social Services to unveil PATH NC, a new statewide information system. This new platform, as reported by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, is set to connect all 100 county departments of social services in the state, creating a unified data system for child welfare services administration.
Scheduled for a public launch event next Wednesday, PATH NC aims to provide child welfare professionals with the technology and information necessary to enhance their work. Despite being designed to protect children, it will also consolidate document management and allow for better policy integration with technology. The system represents a significant step in NCDHHS’ ongoing journey to transform the state’s child welfare system—a system that serves the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and families who have entered its purview.
At the heart of PATH NC is a suite of modern, mobile-friendly tools that give social workers prompt and comprehensive access to information. This real-time data is geared towards supporting better decision-making in child welfare cases, improving efficiency and fostering greater collaboration between agencies and across county lines. In a glimpse into the system’s capabilities, state and county staff at the event will present an overview of PATH NC, highlighting the ways agencies have started to reap benefits from the new system. Participants at this event will include NCDHHS Secretary Dev Sangvai and Deputy Secretary Michael Leighs, along with other distinguished representatives like Director Christa Smith and Senior Social Work Supervisor Tiffany Graves from Forsyth County DSS…