CSDA work generates strong interest, engagement at US Events

When CSDA Director Rhema Vaithianathan presented the Centre’s predictive analytics for child welfare work to four very different US audiences in June, she found strong interest in the work, and made useful connections with frontline organisations, funders and policy makers.

The findings of the recently published independent impact evaluation of the Allegheny Family Screening Tool was of particular interest to audiences, with many keenly interested in how the child welfare field can harness new data and technology to improve outcomes.

In Washington, DC, Rhema and Emily Putnam-Hornstein (University of Southern California) co-presented a plenary session and workshop for representatives from children’s advocacy centres across the United States, at the National Children’s Alliance (NCA) Leadership Conference.  In Washington, Rhema and Emily also took part in panel discussion hosted by AEI and moderated by Resident Fellow and journalist Naomi Schaefer Riley.  The session - “Big Data, little kids:  How technology is changing child welfare” was attended by researchers from universities, funders and government.  (livestream here).

At a multi-disciplinary conference on child welfare hosted by the Field Center for Children’s Policy, Practice and Research at the University of Pennsylvania, Rhema and Emily presented on a plenary panel about predictive analytics in child protective services.  Watch the plenary.

And in New York, Rhema shared the potential of predictive analytics in child welfare at an event hosted by the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children.  “Investing in AI to Make Children Safe Online” was attended by academics, NGOs, funders, and United Nations officials.  Rhema spoke on a panel along with representatives from the UNICEF Innovation Fund, Finnish social-impact start-up Someturva (which provides expert legal assistance to people experiencing bullying, harassment and intimidation) and Thorn, a non-profit that uses technology to fight adolescent and child sexual exploitation.