DHS Data Warehouse

The Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) Data Warehouse brings together and integrates person and service data from a wide variety of sources both internal and external to the county. It was created by consolidating publicly-funded human services data (e.g., behavioral health, child welfare, intellectual disability, homelessness and aging) and, over time, expanded to include data from other sources. It now includes 21 categories of data.

The Data Warehouse was initially made possible with support from the Human Service Integration Fund(PDF, 207KB), a flexible funding pool created by a coalition of local foundations for the purpose of supporting integration and innovation within DHS. Today, the cost of maintaining the Data Warehouse (including analysts and technical support) is $6.5 million per year.

The Data Warehouse was designed primarily to improve services to people, but also to improve the ability of workers to perform their jobs and to support management decision-making. It is also intended to be available as a community resource, making data and information publicly available whenever possible. As such, it has supported the development of a variety of analytic and decision-making tools.

Publications, data sets and visualizations based upon data analysis are available on the Allegheny County Analytics website from which other tools may also be accessed. Some tools are publicly available (e.g., QuickCount), while others are available only to authorized users and/or DHS staff (e.g., Client View, Outcomes Tool, Reports Portal).

A full report, Allegheny County Data Warehouse(PDF, 3MB), published by the DHS Office of Analytics, Technology and Planning in July 2018 and updated most recently in December 2020, discusses the history, development and use of the Data Warehouse.

Learn More About the DHS Data Warehouse

The DHS Data Warehouse has been studied extensively, written about in a number of publications and recognized for its innovation in information technology. Related podcasts, news articles and reports can be found below.

How Data Powers Help for Families
PostIndustrial.Com, January 27, 2021

Software for the Social Good: One County’s Model Warehouse
Government Technology, December 1, 2017

How Allegheny County’s Data Warehouse is improving human services through integrated data
GovInnovator podcast, February 17, 2016

Data Warehouses: Using New Technology to Improve Human Services Administration
Re-Issue of June 11 article below Government Technology, June 12, 2014

Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: Department of Human Services’ Data Warehouse
Data-Smart City Solutions, Harvard University, June 11, 2014

Gaining Ground: A Guide to Facilitating Technology Innovation in Human Services
Data-Smart City Solutions, Harvard University, May 28, 2014

Allegheny County’s Data Warehouse: Leveraging Data to Enhance Human Service Programs and Policies
University of Pennsylvania, May 2014

Human Services: Sustained and Coordinated Efforts Could Facilitate Data-Sharing While Protecting Privacy
U.S. Government Accountability Office, February 2013