The Center for State Child Welfare Data at the University of Chicago was established in 2004 to improve access to and use of longitudinally organized service records pertaining to the experiences of children placed in foster care. With these data, pub lic agencies are able to undertake state of the art analyses covering a range of topics fundamental to operating a strong child welfare system. With tools developed at the Data Center, as it is popularly known, the team promotes the use of evidence-based decision making in government agencies by equipping them with the infrastructure and tools required to assess the effectiveness of existing programs and to inform the design and funding of future programs.