{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,30]],"date-time":"2026-10-30T21:57:53Z","timestamp":1793397473766,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":56,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,12]],"date-time":"2026-02-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1770854400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,12]],"date-time":"2026-02-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1770854400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001804","name":"Canada Research Chairs","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["950-232972"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["950-232972"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001804","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Making the Shift","award":["Networks of Centres of Excellence Canada"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Networks of Centres of Excellence Canada"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000155","name":"Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["Insight Grants #435-2019-0876"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Insight Grants #435-2019-0876"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000155","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Journal of Contemporary Ethnography"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,6]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Over the past decade, much of the infrastructure used for social service delivery in Canada has been digitized. Drawing on institutional ethnographic research practices, we undertook observational research, facilitated focus groups with twenty five key informants, and interviewed 121 leaders and workers in the child welfare and youth homelessness sectors to learn how data practices in these sectors are shaped by government-mandated infrastructure and tools associated with the adoption of digital information management systems in the public sphere. Despite promises that these new digital technologies will standardize and streamline data practices, we discovered that the introduction of digital information management technologies has led to a proliferation of ad hoc data practices, undertaken in local agencies to account for the shortcomings of government-mandated digital infrastructure. Our research suggests that the implementation of digital information management systems has not produced the promised efficiencies because they are incompatible with workers\u2019 everyday social work practices, their service delivery aims, and their professional and ethical commitments. Because government-mandated data infrastructures fail to align with and support key aspects of people\u2019s day-to-day work, social workers undertake a range of data workaround practices to fulfill their professional mandates. By focusing on these workaround practices, we pinpoint specific policy and infrastructural challenges facing social workers and point toward possible solutions to many of the problems they describe. Our institutional ethnographic approach helps us situate these practices within the broader relations organizing social service work, while the dual focus on child welfare and youth homelessness highlights how similar infrastructures generate distinct challenges across sectors. This cross-sectoral lens helps uncover both the limitations of one-size-fits-all digital reforms and the value of worker-centered processes for informing future infrastructure design.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/08912416251414048","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,13]],"date-time":"2026-02-13T00:41:46Z","timestamp":1770943306000},"page":"346-376","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Workarounds to Mandated Data Practices: Rethinking Digital Infrastructure in Child Welfare and Homeless-Serving Organizations"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"55","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6693-9067","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aron L.","family":"Rosenberg","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Research for Social Change Lab, Trent University, Peterborough, ON, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6637-8186","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Naomi E.","family":"Nichols","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research for Social Change Lab, Trent University, Peterborough, ON, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sarah","family":"Cullingham","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research for Social Change Lab, Trent University, Peterborough, ON, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_3_2_1","first-page":"73","article-title":"Policy Fields, Data Systems, and the Performance of Nonprofit Human Service Organizations","volume":"42","author":"Benjamin Lehn M.","year":"2018","unstructured":"Benjamin Lehn M., Voida Amy, Bopp Chris. 2018. \u201cPolicy Fields, Data Systems, and the Performance of Nonprofit Human Service Organizations.\u201d Human Service Organizations and the Question of Impact 42: 73\u201392.","journal-title":"Human Service Organizations and the Question of Impact"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_3_1","volume-title":"Race after Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code","author":"Benjamin Ruha","year":"2019","unstructured":"Benjamin Ruha 2019. Race after Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code. John Wiley & Sons."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3233\/IP-170050"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_5_1","unstructured":"Children\u2019s Aid Foundation of Canada. 2023. \u201cWhy We Help.\u201d Accessed June 23 2023. https:\/\/cafdn.org\/your-impact\/why-we-help\/"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2307\/jj.17610838.9"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-319-64838-5_11"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3138\/9781442629882"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.5040\/9798216402855.ch-0002"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_10_1","unstructured":"Dobson Kathy. 2022. \u201cLiving in Algorithmic Governance: A Study in the Digital Governance of Social Assistance in Ontario.\u201d Doctoral dissertation Carleton University."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_11_1","volume-title":"Knowledge Infrastructures: Intellectual Frameworks and Research Challenges","author":"Edwards Paul N.","year":"2013","unstructured":"Edwards Paul N., Jackson Steven J., Chalmers Melissa K., Bowker Geoffrey C., Borgman Christine L., Ribes David, Calvert Scout. 2013. Knowledge Infrastructures: Intellectual Frameworks and Research Challenges. University of Michigan."},{"issue":"4","key":"e_1_3_3_12_1","article-title":"Emerging Tensions in Data Work: Staff and Youth Perspectives in Youth-Serving Organizations","volume":"96","author":"Fink Alexander","year":"2022","unstructured":"Fink Alexander, Roholt Ross V. 2022. \u201cEmerging Tensions in Data Work: Staff and Youth Perspectives in Youth-Serving Organizations.\u201d Social Service Review 96, no. (4): 617\u201354.","journal-title":"Social Service Review"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_13_1","unstructured":"Government of Canada. 2019a. Highlights of the National Shelter Study: Emergency Shelter Use in Canada. Employment and Social Development Canada. Accessed December 20 2023. https:\/\/www.infrastructure.gc.ca\/alt-format\/pdf\/homelessness-sans-abri\/reports-rapports\/000920-RH-NSS-Highlights-Report-EN-Draft05Aug2019.pdf"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_14_1","unstructured":"Government of Canada. 2019b. Reaching Home: Coordinated Access Guide. Employment and Social Development Canada. Accessed December 20 2023. https:\/\/homelessnesslearninghub.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/HPD_ReachingHomeCoordinatedAccessGuide_EN_20191030-1.pdf"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_15_1","unstructured":"Government of Canada. 2022. Canada\u2019s Digital Ambition 2022. Accessed August 4 2023. https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/government\/system\/digital-government\/government-canada-digital-operations-strategic-plans\/canada-digital-ambition.html"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_16_1","unstructured":"Government of Ontario. 2015. \u201cProtecting the Safety and Security of All Children and Youth in Ontario.\u201d Newsroom. Accessed February 10 2024. https:\/\/news.ontario.ca\/en\/backgrounder\/31728\/protecting-the-safety-and-security-of-all-children-and-youth-in-ontario"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_17_1","unstructured":"Government of Ontario. 2022. Service Objectives 2022\u20132023. Ministry of Children Community and Social Services. Accessed February 13 2024. https:\/\/forms.mgcs.gov.on.ca\/dataset\/74760aff-8a09-4c3f-b492-ca879c9da9ce\/resource\/c5d0a65d-9314-4b56-9949-e630992ed0e6\/download\/2022_23mccss_service_objectives_document_eng.pdf"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_18_1","unstructured":"Government of Ontario. 2023a. Child Welfare Redesign. Ministry of Children Community and Social Services. Accessed April 4 2024. https:\/\/www.ontario.ca\/page\/child-welfare-redesign"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_19_1","unstructured":"Government of Ontario. 2023b. Services Delivered: CPIN Sustainment and Harmonization. Ministry of Children Community and Social Services. Accessed December 18 2024. https:\/\/www.ontario.ca\/document\/mccss-service-objectives-child-welfare-and-protection\/services-delivered-cpin-sustainment"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_20_1","unstructured":"Government of Ontario. 2024. Ministry of Children Community and Social Services: Personal Information Management. Accessed November 15 2024. https:\/\/www.ontario.ca\/page\/ministry-children-community-and-social-services-personal-information-management"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_21_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/10530789.2024.2411862"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_22_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3138\/9781442619463"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_23_1","volume-title":"Managing Complexity in the Public Services","author":"Haynes Philip","year":"2003","unstructured":"Haynes Philip. 2003. Managing Complexity in the Public Services. Open University Press."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_24_1","unstructured":"IBM. 2022. Creating a Report. Accessed October 13 2025. https:\/\/www.ibm.com\/docs\/en\/cognos-analytics\/11.2.0"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_25_1","unstructured":"Infrastructure Canada. 2023a. About Reaching Home: Canada\u2019s Homelessness Strategy. Government of Canada. Accessed August 24 2025. https:\/\/www.infrastructure.gc.ca\/homelessness-sans-abri\/index-eng.html"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_26_1","unstructured":"Infrastructure Canada. 2023b. Everyone Counts 2020\u20132022: Preliminary Highlights Report. Government of Canada. Accessed August 2 2025. https:\/\/www.infrastructure.gc.ca\/homelessness-sans-abri\/reports-rapports\/pit-counts-dp-2020-2022-highlights-eng.html"},{"issue":"2","key":"e_1_3_3_27_1","article-title":"New Social Relations of Digital Technology and the Future of Work: Beyond Technological Determinism","volume":"38","author":"Joyce Simon","year":"2023","unstructured":"Joyce Simon, Umney Charles, Whittaker Xanthe, Stuart Mark. 2023. \u201cNew Social Relations of Digital Technology and the Future of Work: Beyond Technological Determinism.\u201d New Technology, Work and Employment 38, no. (2): 145\u201361.","journal-title":"New Technology, Work and Employment"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_28_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3138\/9781442627734"},{"issue":"3","key":"e_1_3_3_29_1","article-title":"The Effects of New Public Management on the Quality of Public Services","volume":"33","author":"Lapuente Victor","year":"2020","unstructured":"Lapuente Victor, Van de Walle Steven. 2020. \u201cThe Effects of New Public Management on the Quality of Public Services.\u201d Governance 33, no. (3): 461\u201375.","journal-title":"Governance"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_30_1","volume-title":"Street-Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Service","author":"Lipsky Michael","year":"1980","unstructured":"Lipsky Michael. 1980. Street-Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Service. Russell Sage Foundation."},{"issue":"1","key":"e_1_3_3_31_1","first-page":"10","article-title":"Does Digital Government Hollow Out the Essence of Street-Level Bureaucracy? A Systematic Literature Review of How Digital Tools Foster Curtailment, Enablement, and Continuation of Street-Level Decision-Making","volume":"58","author":"Marienfeldt Justine","year":"2024","unstructured":"Marienfeldt Justine. 2024. \u201cDoes Digital Government Hollow Out the Essence of Street-Level Bureaucracy? A Systematic Literature Review of How Digital Tools Foster Curtailment, Enablement, and Continuation of Street-Level Decision-Making.\u201d Social Policy & Administration 58, no. (1): 10\u201330.","journal-title":"Social Policy & Administration"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_32_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1086\/727886"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_33_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.evalprogplan.2022.102197"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_34_1","unstructured":"Mielniczuk Anthony S. 2014. \u201cCPIN Reporting: Intro and Analysis.\u201d Wordpress. Accessed April 1 2024. https:\/\/mielniczuk.wordpress.com\/2014\/11\/15\/cpin-reporting-intro-and-analysis\/"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_35_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1005433531551"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_36_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s10606-012-9167-1"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_37_1","unstructured":"National Alliance to End Homelessness. 2023. \u201cState of Homelessness: 2023 Edition.\u201d Accessed May 4 2025. https:\/\/endhomelessness.org\/homelessness-in-america\/homelessness-statistics\/state-of-homelessness"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_38_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3138\/9781442668171"},{"issue":"2","key":"e_1_3_3_39_1","article-title":"Talk, Texts, and Educational Action: An Institutional Ethnography of Policy in Practice","volume":"39","author":"Nichols Naomi","year":"2009","unstructured":"Nichols Naomi, Griffith Alison I. 2009. \u201cTalk, Texts, and Educational Action: An Institutional Ethnography of Policy in Practice.\u201d Cambridge Journal of Education 39, no. (2): 241\u201355.","journal-title":"Cambridge Journal of Education"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_40_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1108\/S1042-319220170000015008"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_41_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/15548732.2024.2305422"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_42_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-030-54222-1_27"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_43_1","article-title":"Data Justice for Youth in and Leaving Care: Mapping the Child Welfare Data Landscape in Ontario","volume":"27","author":"Nichols Naomi","year":"2023","unstructured":"Nichols Naomi, Crowell Kody, Lenczner Michael, Bourns Jesse. 2023. \u201cData Justice for Youth in and Leaving Care: Mapping the Child Welfare Data Landscape in Ontario.\u201d Information, Communication & Society 27: 203\u201322.","journal-title":"Information, Communication & Society"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_44_1","volume-title":"Verdict of Coroner\u2019s Jury: Inquest into the Death of Jeffrey Baldwin","author":"Office of the Chief Coroner","year":"2014","unstructured":"Office of the Chief Coroner. 2014. Verdict of Coroner\u2019s Jury: Inquest into the Death of Jeffrey Baldwin. Coroner\u2019s Inquest Courts, Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_45_1","unstructured":"Ontario Association of Children\u2019s Aid Societies. 2016. \u201cCPIN Ready to Launch at Five More Children\u2019s Aid Societies.\u201d OACAS. Retrieved April 13 2025 from https:\/\/www.oacas.org\/2016\/04\/cpin-ready-to-launch-at-five-more-childrens-aid-societies\/"},{"issue":"2","key":"e_1_3_3_46_1","article-title":"The Homeless Individuals and Families Information System: A Case Study in Canadian Capacity Building","volume":"13","author":"Peressini Tracy","year":"2004","unstructured":"Peressini Tracy, Engeland John. 2004. \u201cThe Homeless Individuals and Families Information System: A Case Study in Canadian Capacity Building.\u201d Canadian Journal of Urban Research 13, no. (2): 347\u201361.","journal-title":"Canadian Journal of Urban Research"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_47_1","volume-title":"Managing to Nurse: Inside Canada\u2019s Health Care Reform","author":"Rankin Janet M.","year":"2006","unstructured":"Rankin Janet M., Campbell Marie L. 2006. Managing to Nurse: Inside Canada\u2019s Health Care Reform. University of Toronto Press."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_48_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/cls.2017.6"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_49_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Rosenberg Aron L. Martin Mary A. Nichols Naomi Cullingham Sarah. 2023. \u201cTechnology Is Far from a Silver Bullet for Solving Homelessness or Child Welfare Issues.\u201d The Conversation. Accessed January 14 2026. https:\/\/theconversation.com\/technology-is-far-from-a-silver-bullet-for-solving-homelessness-or-child-welfare-issues-205255\/","DOI":"10.64628\/AAM.m9x3vqdyx"},{"issue":"4","key":"e_1_3_3_50_1","article-title":"The Governmental Topologies of Database Devices","volume":"29","author":"Ruppert Evelyn","year":"2012","unstructured":"Ruppert Evelyn. 2012. \u201cThe Governmental Topologies of Database Devices.\u201d Theory, Culture & Society 29, no. (4\u20135): 116\u201336.","journal-title":"Theory, Culture & Society"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_51_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4324\/9780203425022"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_52_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3138\/9781442683747"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_53_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.5040\/9798216409632"},{"issue":"1","key":"e_1_3_3_54_1","first-page":"13","article-title":"Characterizing People Experiencing Homelessness and Trends in Homelessness Using Population-Level Emergency Department Visit Data in Ontario, Canada","volume":"32","author":"Strobel Stephenson","year":"2021","unstructured":"Strobel Stephenson, Burcul Ivana, Dai Jai H., Ma Zechen, Jamani Shaila, Hossain Rahat. 2021. \u201cCharacterizing People Experiencing Homelessness and Trends in Homelessness Using Population-Level Emergency Department Visit Data in Ontario, Canada.\u201d Health Reports 32, no. (1): 13\u201323.","journal-title":"Health Reports"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_55_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-319-05963-1_1"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_56_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-031-10902-7_9"},{"issue":"3","key":"e_1_3_3_57_1","article-title":"\u2018Universal Data Elements\u2019, or the Biopolitical Life of Homeless Populations","volume":"5","author":"Willse Craig","year":"2008","unstructured":"Willse Craig. 2008. \u201c\u2018Universal Data Elements\u2019, or the Biopolitical Life of Homeless Populations.\u201d Surveillance & Society 5, no. (3): 269\u201390.","journal-title":"Surveillance & Society"}],"container-title":["Journal of Contemporary Ethnography"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/08912416251414048","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1177\/08912416251414048","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/08912416251414048","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,29]],"date-time":"2026-04-29T20:19:20Z","timestamp":1777493960000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/08912416251414048"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,12]]},"references-count":56,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,6]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1177\/08912416251414048"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/08912416251414048","relation":{},"ISSN":["0891-2416","1552-5414"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0891-2416","type":"print"},{"value":"1552-5414","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,12]]}}}