Child and Family Services Reviews Update

Volume 5, Issue 1, August 2009

In This Issue:
Onsite Child and Family Services Review Update
Consultant Travel
The Data Integrity Process
Techno Tips

Onsite Child and Family Services Review Update

The 2009 onsite Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs) kicked off with the Colorado review beginning March 16, 2009. The full 2009 review schedule is available on the Children's Bureau Web site at: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/cwmonitoring/general_info/fy2009.htm.

As they become available, documents from the reviews, such as the Statewide Assessments, Final Reports, and Key Findings Reports, are posted on the Children's Bureau Web site at http://basis.caliber.com/cwig/ws/cwmd/docs/cb_web/SearchForm.

Consultant Travel

The Department of Homeland Security has developed a TSA Secure Flight Rule that will affect your travel preparations for the Child and Family Services Reviews and title IV-E foster care eligibility reviews. This program is scheduled to become effective in August 2009. Please read this notice carefully.

Your name as it appears on your airline ticket must exactly match your name on the government-issued ID with which you travel. For example, if your driver’s license lists your name as "Jane R. Doe," your airline ticket must list your name as "Jane R. Doe." "Jane Doe," "Jane Renee Doe," or "J. Renee Doe" will not suffice. Travelers who are not in compliance with the Secure Flight Rule will not be permitted to check in online or use the airport kiosk. Travelers will then be required to see a ticket agent, may undergo additional security screening, and could even be denied boarding. Under the new rule, you must also provide your date of birth and gender when booking your travel.

To recap, when making your travel arrangements, the following information must be included in your Travel-On travel profile:

Full name exactly as it reads on the government-issued ID with which you travel
Date of birth
Gender

Please review your Travel-On travel profile and make any necessary changes to comply with the Secure Flight Rule for future travel. If you would like more information about the TSA program, please visit http://www.tsa.gov.

The Data Integrity Process

Beginning October 2008, CFSR trainings have emphasized the importance of data validation and integrity. Recently, the Children’s Bureau, with assistance from JBS International, Inc., has enhanced the overall Data Integrity Process for the CFSRs. Included in this effort are a renewed focus on the integrity of data collected during the CFSRs and specific responsibilities placed on all participants in the CFSR onsite review process, from reviewers through Final Report writers. To ensure that all data are as final as possible before participants leave the review site, some final data checks have been added at both the local site and State levels.

This pilot process was launched in Colorado and New Jersey. After receiving feedback and making revisions, the full process was introduced during the Maine review, and that process has since been used in Hawaii, Maryland, and Virginia as well. The data integrity materials currently used on site can be found on the CFSR Information Portal at http://www.cfsrportal.org/node/263 . Please email JBS at cw@jbsinternational.com with the subject line "Data Integrity Information Request" if you have questions.

Techno Tips

In response to your comments and suggestions, you will note the following changes to the CFSR Data Management System for the 2009 reviews:

We have reworked the background functionality of the application to improve transfers; there are now two options for transfers: "Between your tablet and local site team" and "Between your tablet and central server." While there are only two options listed, don’t worry – you can still transfer both wirelessly and using the red wire. See JBS staff for more info.

We now have brand-new, more robust routers that offer a wider distance range, which will allow stable network connections at a greater distance between the Site Leaders and the review teams, greater capacity for routers, and better signal strength.

Zeroes are now consistently "sticking" in the application for item 1.

A number of logic enhancements have been made to the automated Onsite Review Instrument. You may notice questions that are now automatically answered as N/A. When you click Save, the application will automatically complete and/or correct data for items that are not applicable (N/A). We recommend that you click Save a few times per item to update the application (for example, item 7 is now linked to items 8-10, so items 8-10 appear as N/A unless the reviewer indicates a permanency goal for the child in item 7, question A1. If you choose adoption as a permanency goal in item 7, you will have to answer the item 9 questions also. If you do not choose adoption as a permanency goal in item 7, however, you will be locked out of item 9). Any unanswered questions will be included in the unanswered questions navigator.

The Save button also now refreshes the page. In the past you may have left the item to refresh locked/unlocked answers, but you no longer need to do this. Just click Save!

Remember to back up your work frequently—at least once every hour or two and whenever you change your workflow! For example, back up before going to interviews or transferring a case.