The California Child Welfare Digital Services (CWDS) is responsible for modernizing child welfare technology to enhance the safety, well-being, and stability of children and families across the state. The agency required a comprehensive data strategy to drive its large-scale digital transformation using Salesforce Platform as a Service.
Case Study
Child Welfare Digital Transformation
Company
California Child Welfare Digital Services (CWDS)
The Challenge
Multiple prior attempts to craft and implement a unified data strategy had failed due to fundamental disagreements between county and state stakeholders on the approach. This impasse led to fragmented efforts, stalled progress, and misaligned priorities, creating a major roadblock for the program. A cohesive, stakeholder-driven strategy was essential to align all parties and provide a clear roadmap for digital transformation.
Our Approach
- Established a structured stakeholder forum to facilitate alignment between county and state leadership, ensuring concerns were addressed and a collaborative path forward was defined.
- Led consensus-building discussions, leveraging proven facilitation techniques to break down conflicting perspectives and secure agreement on a unified data strategy.
- Developed a comprehensive data strategy artifact, integrating digital transformation, data management, and data analytics as core pillars of the initiative.
- Aligned federal funding requirements by structuring the data strategy as a key artifact for submission to federal agencies.
- Provided foundational guidance for System Integrators, including Deloitte and Accenture, enabling them to align their implementation proposals with the strategic vision.
Key Deliverables
- CWDS Data Strategy Document serving as the foundation for digital transformation.
- Stakeholder Alignment Framework ensuring continued collaboration between state and county agencies.
- Federal Funding Justification Report, strengthening CWDS’ position for continued investment and support.
- Bidder’s Library Reference Artifact, providing System Integrators with clear strategic guidance for implementation proposals.
Results
47%
Decreased decision-making delays by 47%, enabling faster program execution.
5 months
Accelerated Salesforce Platform as a Service integration, reducing transition time by 5 months compared to prior attempts.
28%
Reduced federal funding approval cycle by 28%, securing multi-year budget support.
3 months
Improved vendor proposal alignment by 41%, cutting down the typical onboarding time by three months.
Why It Matters
This case study highlights Data Roadmaps’ expertise in overcoming complex stakeholder challenges, driving alignment, and enabling large-scale public sector digital transformation.