# SSA Expands Foster Care Data Exchange Outreach

The Government Accountability Office found that participation in the Social Security Administration’s foster care data exchange has stalled at 25 states, citing state IT and staffing constraints and limited awareness of the platform. SSA’s chief risk officer accepted GAO’s seven recommendations, which address state outreach, communication with field offices, alert workflows, and related processes. The findings point to potential future needs for IT, data-management, and implementation support, but the signal identifies no solicitation, contract value, or procurement contact.

- Federal IT and data-management firms may find future work associated with improving outreach, platform adoption, field-office communications, and alert workflows.
- State participation barriers suggest implementation support may need to account for constrained state IT capacity and staffing.
- No active procurement opportunity or submission deadline is identified; the signal supports market awareness rather than an immediate bid action.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Information Technology
**Topics:** Digital Infrastructure
**Published:** November 09, 2026

### Government Entities
- Social Security Administration (SSA)
- Government Accountability Office (GAO)

### Sources
- [SSA has outreach to do for its foster care data exchange, GAO says | FedScoop](https://fedscoop.com/social-security-administration-foster-care-data-exchange) - FedScoop