Where do the numbers go

1
Where do the numbers go?

• CAPS Conference
• June 2006
• Elizabeth Otwell
• Ann Lowe, Linda McCormick

2
Have you ever wondered.

• Why you have to send in data every month?
• Why does it matter that you check that one box
  every time?
• Why you receive certain reports?
• How the state office views data?
• How you fit into the program and policy decision
  process?

3
Why do we have reports?

• A simple way to show that we have done our work
• A way to show that we have done our work well
• A way to keep up with how much money was spent
  and for what purpose
• To identify trends in our caseloads
• Allows us to make accurate predictions

4
What is the countys role in making reports?

• Providing the raw data
• The work that you do is translated into a number
• Numbers of cases completed
• Number of children served
• Amount of money spent
• Amount of claim established

5
What is data integrity?

• Accuracy Conformity to fact the ability of a
  measurement to match the actual value of the
  quantity being measured
• Correctness - Conforming to standards free from
  error or fault
• Validity - measuring what it is supposed to
  measure

6
Why is data integrity important?

• Provides an accurate reflection of our caseloads
  and clients we serve
• Provides information to the State and Federal
  government about money spent and families served
• If data is incorrect, poor decisions could be
  made on the county, regional, state, or federal
  level

7
How data you enter affects others

• Data we provide (numbers of children/ families)
  directly influences how much money we draw down
  from the federal government
• Incorrect data entry can result in payment or fee
  errors
• Policy decisions are made based on numbers
  provided by the counties
• Data is used for cost projections incorrect data
  can cause poor projections and not allow counties
  to anticipate changes

8
How should I use a report?

• Compare your county to others of similar size or
  others in your region
• Shows a snapshot of your county/ caseload/region
  at a certain point in time
• Gives an impersonal view of the county on which
  to base decisions

9
State Generated Reports

• Child Care Projection Report
• Child Care Inquiry Report
• Case Accuracy Review Report

10
Child Care Projection Report

• Purpose
• To provide quarterly data on expenditures to date
  projected annualized expenditures
• Analyze whether a county is in budget
• Determine when it is necessary to request
  additional funds through Regional

11
Child Care Projection Report

• Limitations
• Report only disseminated after the end of a
  quarter
• Client (child) counts not included
• Some providers take several months to request
  reimbursement for a service month

12
Childcare Inquiry List

• Due by the 9th of the month
• Send via Bulletin Board (GoScreen)
• Total number of families on the inquiry list thru
  previous month
• For example, in July you turn in the total number
  of families through June 30
• Total is made up of families actually on the
  list from both previous months and those added
  (in example, for the month of June)

13
Filling out the form

• Use both county name and county number
• The month entered on the form is for the month
  the data is current. For example, in July you
  will send in data thru June. The month on the
  form should read 06/06.
• Only numbers should be used for the number of
  children (only use 0, never none or zero)
• No extra lines should be added to the form. For
  example, do not place additional people in the
  To field so the form moves down a line
• The form should only be sent to AFDC.FSSOP. If
  others are listed in the To line, these errors
  will cause the countys form to be spit out and
  be considered not received by Evaluation and
  Reporting.

14
Revised Case Accuracy Review Process

• Revised form implementation starts July 1, 2006
  with submission of data starting in August 2006.
• Individual case accuracy based on whole case, not
  elements
• Deficiencies are included in accuracy rate
  equation once again
• See handouts

15
ACF Reports

• Data combined from MAXSTAR and CCRS
• Based on local county DFCS data entry for all
  active CAPS cases
• Official data sent to the federal government

16
ACF Reports

• Limitations
• ACF data is considered official data
• Taken from CCRS and MAXSTAR, so data is only as
  valid as what the county entered into those
  systems
• Only shows one month worth of data, so must
  compare to previous months reports

17
ACF Reports

• Fact Sheet
• Expenditures Profile
• County Profile
• Caseload Profile
• Child Profile
• Family Profile
• Performance Measure
• Poverty Profile
• Submission Summary

18
ACF Fact Sheet

• Shows basic official statewide numbers in a
  monthly snapshot
• Compare county numbers (found in other ACF
  reports) to statewide trends
• Compare statewide trends to see if policy goals
  are being met or need to be adjusted
• Provides a good understanding of where the child
  care program stands that month

19
ACF Expenditures Profile

• Shows statewide average cost of care by age group
  and type of care
• Use current average cost of care by age type of
  care for projections
• Compare cost of care statewide by cost of care in
  county (found in separate report)
• Monitor monthly trend (using past reports) of
  cost of care to see if budget needs to be adjusted

20
ACF County Profile

• Shows detailed statistics about clients served in
  each county
• Assess demographic makeup of child care clients
• Compare county trends to other counties
• Observe what type of are children in county are
  receiving

21
ACF Caseload Profile

• Shows official number of children and families
  being served in each county and statewide
• Assess decrease or increase in number of children
  served
• Compare with internal figures to assess whether
  reporting is accurate
• Assess how numbers served impact expenditures in
  order to manage county budget
• Compare county trends to other counties
• Alert state to changes in numbers of children
  served and where those children are located

22
ACF Child Profile

• Shows type of care received by age group
  race/ethnic breakdown of children being served
• More useful for state or regional offices
• Assess demographic makeup of clients
• Observe what type of care children across the
  state are receiving
• Compare demographic trends to see if policy goals
  are being met or need to be adjusted

23
ACF Family Profile

• Details the reasons families are receiving
  assistance their financial obligations
• More useful for state or regional offices
• Assess financial makeup of clients
• Compare financial trends to see if policy goals
  are being met or need to be adjusted

24
ACF Performance Measures

• Details how Georgia is performing in relation to
  federal ACF/Child Care Bureau goals
• More useful for state or regional offices
• Assess how well Georgia is meeting the needs of
  its clients
• Compare demographic trends to see if policy goals
  are being met or need to be adjusted

25
ACF Poverty Profile

• Shows statewide numbers about how clients rate on
  different poverty indicators
• More useful for state or regional offices
• Assess demographic makeup of clients in relation
  to poverty standards
• Compare poverty trends to see if policy goals are
  being met or need to be adjusted
• Observe how poverty level affects the type of
  care children statewide are receiving amount of
  co-pays

26
ACF Submission Summary

• Details system notes about ACF-801 data unique to
  Georgia
• Explains ACF-801 data submitted to the federal
  government
• Promotes understanding about certain definitions
  items included or not included in data

27
MAXSTAR Reports

• Only for automated counties
• More than 70 computer generated reports available
  in the reporting module

28
MAXSTAR Reports

• Four reports managers can use to identify
  expenditures made through their county
• Budget Summary Report by UAS
• Budget Summary Report by county
• Budget Summary Report Historical
• 75 UAS Alert Report

29
Budget Summary Report by UAS

• Shows by county or state the number of children
  in care, number of active certificates, UAS
  allocations (based on State fiscal entries for
  the county), obligations (based on all active
  certs in system), and amount spent (based on
  payments recorded in the system).
• Counties can only pull their own data.
• Data is through the date the report is pulled.

30
Budget Summary Report by county

• Abbreviated version of previous report
• Lists all summary information on one page whereas
  Budget Summary Report by UAS lists each UAS Code
  on a separate page
• Counties can only pull their own data
• Data is through the date the report is pulled.

31
Budget Summary Report Historical

• Abbreviated version of Budget Summary Report by
  UAS
• If sorted by county, report will list all summary
  information on one page.
• If sorted by UAS code, each UAS code will appear
  on separate page.
• Counties can only pull their own data
• Data is through the date the report is pulled

32
75 UAS Alert Report

• Identifies all counties with fund sources that
  have reached the threshold of either spending or
  obligating 75 of the State fiscal allocation.
• Important report for administrators, fiscal
  analysts, and supervisors for assessing
  expenditures and need for additional funds for
  the fiscal year.
• Data is through the date the report is pulled.

33
CCRS Reports

• Available on VIEWDIRECT
• Generate from Child Care Reporting Screens (CCRS)
• Only for non-automated counties
• Only as current and accurate as the counties keep
  their information in CCRS updated
• Available monthly on the Monday after the last
  Sunday of each month

34
CCRS Reports

• Four reports generated for each county
• HRKALIST
• HRKARCSE
• HRKAERRS
• HRKARCSS

35
HRKALIST

• Shows monthly county case list alphabetically by
  case head name
• Assess decrease or increase in numbers of
  children served.
• Compare with internal case list to assess whether
  reporting and CCRS is accurate.

36
HRKARCSE

• Shows monthly county case list alphabetically by
  caseload number
• County total are listed by UAS Code and by
  Caseload at bottom of each countys reports
• Assess decrease or increase in number of children
  served.
• Assess number of cases in caseload and
  distribution of cases within county
• Compare distribution of number of cases in each
  UAS by county and caseload.

37
HRKAERRS

• Informs of possibly erroneous data on the CCRS
  screens which the county needs to review and
  correct if needed.
• Can be compared to past monthly reports to see if
  old errors have been corrected.
• If state data appears inconsistent on other
  reports, can be used in investigating causes of
  anomalies.

38
HRKARCSS

• Shows statewide monthly totals by UAS Code and
  county totals for number of children and cases.
• Used more at Region and State level.
• Alert state to changes in numbers of children
  served or number of cases in each UAS code.
• Compare numbers served to regional state
  expenditures to manage state budget.
• Project trends to assess county/region compliance
  with program requirements.

39
Conclusion

• What have you learned about reports and data
  submission?
• Why are reports important in our work?
• What questions do you have that we did not cover?