"Building Trust and Protecting Data to Support Kids in Iowa"

Determining whether early childhood services should be improved or expanded needs good data, but obtaining that data is difficult when the entities providing resources and support to families with young children, such as federal and state departments, local governments, nonprofit organizations, and private businesses, operate in silos. In 2017, Iowa State University (ISU) faculty formally partnered with seven state agencies and Iowa Head Start programs to develop I2D2, a highly secure, cross-program data-sharing system. The collaboration has already yielded several success stories and has recently attracted the attention of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). I2D2 was chosen as a national example for a case study report by the agency's Administration for Children and Families, citing its sophisticated data security policies and procedures as well as its detailed governance plan. I2D2 Director Heather Rouse and co-Director Cassandra Dorius lead an ISU team of data engineers, computer scientists, and statisticians who collaborate with state partners to develop data-driven strategies that benefit Iowa's children and families. I2D2 was built with the highest privacy and security standards available, and the ISU researchers maintain ongoing conversations with partners and IT experts to ensure private information is protected. As part of their security measures, the I2D2 team enlisted the help of privacy and security experts to create a cutting-edge system capable of securely housing the data required to make decisions. This article continues to discuss how the 12D2 system ensures data security and privacy. 

ISU reports "Building Trust and Protecting Data to Support Kids in Iowa"