RedMane Technology LLC, a Chicago-based software solutions and systems integration company, today announced that the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS) selected RedMane to design, develop, implement, maintain, and operate a new Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System (CCWIS) configured on RedMane’s purpose-built mCase solution platform for the State of Arkansas. 

Arkansas’s DCFS works to ensure children of all ages have a safe and stable home every day. The Division is responsible for child abuse prevention, protection, foster care, and adoption programs administered through a collaboration between the state and community-based services. DCFS receives over 30,000 reports of maltreatment each year and cares for more than 11,000 children who are in in-home and out-of-home placements. Addressing the complex needs of these children, youth, and families with a focus on safety, permanency and well-being necessitates that the critical work of caregivers be supported by modern technology designed specifically for the work of child welfare.

The new CCWIS aligns with the Division’s strategic imperative to strengthen families through prevention, improve foster care for those who need it, and better support its workforce with modern technology.  Arkansas is one of the first states to evolve its child welfare and foster care system in alignment with the federal Family First Prevention Services Act.

The Arkansas CCWIS will be deployed on RedMane’s mCase solution platform. mCase, a modern and mobile-friendly case management system will allow users to work and collaborate in ways the previous system simply could not. mCase is a purpose-built, cloud-based, Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) technology that enables interoperability and case coordination. It is flexible, highly configurable and will fully support the needs of the Division and its partners for years to come.

The new system is to be officially named ARfocus, DCFS Director Mischa Martin announced. “Implementing this system will be transformative to how DCFS staff engage and support the children, families, and caregivers we serve,” she said. “We are excited to launch this critical initiative in partnership with RedMane.”

RedMane will work with DCFS to configure the solution to the state’s requirements, including enabling caseworkers to access the solution via mobile devices when they are in the community working with families and children.

“We are delighted to partner with Arkansas DCFS to implement the mCase-based ARfocus system so caseworkers can focus their time and energy on strengthening families and protecting children, while making completion of administrative tasks much more efficient,” said Tony Lakier, RedMane’s president. “Our people are genuinely excited to engage with AR DCFS on this most important and strategic initiative.”

About the Arkansas Department of Human Services – Division of Children and Family Services

DHS is the largest state agency in Arkansas, with more than 7,400 employees.  It has staff in all of the state’s 75 counties.  DHS provides services to more than 1.2 million Arkansans each year.  The Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is the designated state agency to administer and supervise all child welfare services including child abuse and neglect prevention, protective, foster care, and adoptive programs.

About RedMane

RedMane provides software solutions and systems integration services that address complex, real-world challenges.  Our human services expertise includes child welfare, child support, benefit eligibility, and enterprise case management.  We are a problem-solving company. Technology is just one of our tools.