By Lily Guiney
Gongwer News Service
The data-driven tool used by the Department of Health and Human Services to help streamline the placement of youth at facilities within the juvenile justice system is entering the second phase of its implementation, the department announced Monday.
DHHS said the initial rollout, which began last summer with the launch of the online Bed Management Tool, has been helpful in placing young people in the most beneficial facilities and improving transparency for the system without increasing administrative burden.
“These enhancements continue to support more informed placement decisions that better align youth needs with appropriate treatment and services,” DHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel said in a statement. “This tool helps strengthen coordination across the state while reinforcing the importance of serving youth in their home communities whenever possible.”
The Bed Management Tool was developed in partnership with the University of Michigan School of Social Work and primarily functions as a dashboard of information for court employees, caseworkers and families to access information about a child’s placement, including availability of beds at juvenile justice centers updated in real time, an interactive map of facilities and a reporting tool to monitor occupancy trends.
The dashboard went live in September 2025. Now, updates are ready to be made to expand search and filter capabilities that will allow users to identify facilities by the services they offer, age ranges and gender served and other placement criteria.
Updates scheduled for the second phase of the rollout also include expanded service arrays, length-of-stay information to support planning and system flow, detailed descriptions of the facilities catalogued by the site and clear identification of admission exclusions to prevent unnecessary placement inquiries.
“The Child & Adolescent Data Lab at the University of Michigan School of Social Work has significantly expanded the dashboard infrastructure to enhance both functionality and reporting capabilities,” UM research technology specialist Zia Qui said in a statement. “These improvements reflect our ongoing commitment to delivering actionable, data-driven tools to the practitioners and policymakers who depend on timely, accurate information.”
DHHS officials said the tool has already made improvements to efficiency issues the system had long dealt with, and the phase two implementation will go further to streamline the placement process and ensure young people spend less time in detention and are more quickly placed in the appropriate facilities.
Gongwer News Service
The data-driven tool used by the Department of Health and Human Services to help streamline the placement of youth at facilities within the juvenile justice system is entering the second phase of its implementation, the department announced Monday.
DHHS said the initial rollout, which began last summer with the launch of the online Bed Management Tool, has been helpful in placing young people in the most beneficial facilities and improving transparency for the system without increasing administrative burden.
“These enhancements continue to support more informed placement decisions that better align youth needs with appropriate treatment and services,” DHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel said in a statement. “This tool helps strengthen coordination across the state while reinforcing the importance of serving youth in their home communities whenever possible.”
The Bed Management Tool was developed in partnership with the University of Michigan School of Social Work and primarily functions as a dashboard of information for court employees, caseworkers and families to access information about a child’s placement, including availability of beds at juvenile justice centers updated in real time, an interactive map of facilities and a reporting tool to monitor occupancy trends.
The dashboard went live in September 2025. Now, updates are ready to be made to expand search and filter capabilities that will allow users to identify facilities by the services they offer, age ranges and gender served and other placement criteria.
Updates scheduled for the second phase of the rollout also include expanded service arrays, length-of-stay information to support planning and system flow, detailed descriptions of the facilities catalogued by the site and clear identification of admission exclusions to prevent unnecessary placement inquiries.
“The Child & Adolescent Data Lab at the University of Michigan School of Social Work has significantly expanded the dashboard infrastructure to enhance both functionality and reporting capabilities,” UM research technology specialist Zia Qui said in a statement. “These improvements reflect our ongoing commitment to delivering actionable, data-driven tools to the practitioners and policymakers who depend on timely, accurate information.”
DHHS officials said the tool has already made improvements to efficiency issues the system had long dealt with, and the phase two implementation will go further to streamline the placement process and ensure young people spend less time in detention and are more quickly placed in the appropriate facilities.
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