Outside expert urges predictive risk models, warns SDM checklists underperform

Emily Putnam Ornstein, a professor in social work who has advised multiple child welfare agencies, told the committee that many current intake and risk‑assessment tools in use are dated operator‑driven checklists that place heavy documentation burdens on workers and can perform poorly in predicting future harm. She argued automated predictive models that pull historic case management data and produce risk stratification for supervisors can be more accurate and act as a workforce intervention.