---
title: 'Allegheny County DHS: AFST risk-assisted investigation screening'
slug: allegheny-family-screening
stable_id: 02134d08a5e8cfdc
company: Allegheny County DHS
function_code: healthcare_screening
pattern_codes:
  - exception_based_operations
  - continuous_decisioning
  - creator_to_judge
evidence_strength: verified
publication_tier: showcase
freshness: current
reviewed_at: '2026-08-23'
updated_at: '2026-08-22'
source_quality_summary: 1 independent, 1 primary; publication outcomes are verified.
caveat_summary: Outcome summary links an independent evaluation; fairness concerns remain contested.
collections:
  - human-still-decides
  - regulated-autonomy
bundle_version: 1.0.0
bundle_fingerprint: sha256:c23c6cc2b88153d008ea8fda928f632ce0011fc2d4c5036672a16e5d895bab93
canonical_url: https://brianletort.ai/transformations/allegheny-family-screening
---

# Allegheny County DHS: AFST risk-assisted investigation screening

Administrative data can standardize triage only with override and disparity review.

Function: Healthcare screening. Patterns: Exception-based operations; Continuous decisioning; Creator to judge. Evidence: verified.

Freshness: current. Reviewed: 2026-08-23. Updated: 2026-08-22.


Source quality: 1 independent, 1 primary; publication outcomes are verified.

## Before

1. **Child-welfare hotline screener** — Receives an eligible General Protective Service referral and reviews allegations and available county records. (control: Abuse and severe-neglect reports are mandatory screen-ins and are outside model discretion.)
2. **Screener and supervisor** — Decide whether to open an investigation without an algorithmic risk score. (control: Human policy and contextual judgment; no baseline cycle time is published.)

## After

1. **AFST** — Uses administrative data to produce a 1–20 future-placement risk score for eligible referrals. (control: Score is one input; target is placement within two years, not a direct prediction of abuse.)
2. **Screener and supervisor** — Combine score with qualitative context and decide screen-in or screen-out. (control: Humans may override; high-score override requires documented explanation.)

## Decision rights

Humans make final screening decisions; mandatory abuse referrals bypass the model.

## Exception path

Overrides are allowed and high-score overrides require explanation.

## Outcomes

- **Screening accuracy and disparity** (verified): Pre-AFST decisions → Improved identification and modest reduction in racial disparity in case openings. Outcome summary links an independent evaluation; fairness concerns remain contested.

## Executive lesson

Public risk scores require contestable targets and override logs.

## Anti-pattern

Do not call the score an abuse prediction.

## Questions for leaders

- Where is the operating threshold set and who can override it?
- What measured result would trigger rollback or retraining?
- Which residual decisions must remain human-owned?

## Sources

- [Allegheny Family Screening Tool](https://csda.aut.ac.nz/research/our-projects/all-projects/allegheny-family-screening-tool) — AUT Centre for Social Data Analytics
- [The Devil is in the Details](https://www.aclu.org/the-devil-is-in-the-details-interrogating-values-embedded-in-the-allegheny-family-screening-tool) — ACLU