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Abstract
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have become widely used outside of traditional mapping applications, expanding their reach to social service organizations. The purpose of this article is to describe and explore the benefits of GIS mapping in identifying strengths and needs of foster care systems in rural settings through graphically assessing service usage and delivery. Herein, authors present their project as an example of such efforts to inform applications for practice providing a model that encourages others to explore methods of this nature. Focus is placed on rural characteristics that bring particular challenges for child welfare stakeholders.