CFAL & NetCIL Michigan Data Collection Protocol

Table of Contents

Introduction …2

Definitions …3

How to record data …4

Tab – Consumers Demographics …4

Tab – Community Activities ...6

Tab – Community Outcomes ...6

Tab – Consumer Services ...8

Tab – Consumer Outcomes ...9

Transmitting Data to DNM …10

Table Configuration …11

Additional Information …14

Introduction

These instructions describe the methods that should be used to collect data via the CFAL-NetCIL database system for reporting to the Disability Network-Michigan (DNM). Following these instructions will ensure the accuracy of the statistics that you provide to the DNM via the MI Data Compilation Report (MDCR) Excel spreadsheet. These instructions are also compatible with the updated data collection procedures that are required for RSA/704 use as of FY 2006.

The CFAL database system is comprised of four major components. All data is stored in a Microsoft Access database file server that resides in a shared folder on your network. Most data entry is performed via a second Microsoft Access client application that is installed on each workstation that runs CFAL. Each client application connects to the network file server.

Two new-technology applications called NetCIL are used with CFAL. Both are written using Microsoft .Net application software. NetCIL IRLog is an application that is designed to perform quick intakes and to log anonymous I&R requests. It is designed to replace the functionality of the CFAL Phone Referral form, and its use is optional. NetCIL Manager is a second .Net application that will generate the MDCR spreadsheet and the 2006+ version of the RSA/704 report. You must use NetCIL Manager in order to generate these reports, and to transmit data to the DNM web database.

The following diagram illustrates the flow of data using CFAL and NetCIL to generate an MDCR spreadsheet and to transmit data to DNM:

CFAL Access Client
		CFAL Access File Server		NetCIL Manager			MDCR Excel spreadsheet
NetCIL IRLog
							DNM / SILC SQL Server Database and Website

Definitions

Before you begin data entry, please consider the following CFAL database concepts:

1. Definition of a “Consumer”

People in the CFAL database are categorized by their “Contact Type”. Contact type can be set on the People form or the NetCIL IRLog application. When you first begin to interact with someone, it’s usually because they are seeking information and referral assistance; therefore when a new person is entered into the CFAL database, their contact type defaults to “Information and Referral.” When you begin to provide services to or set goals for someone, they then become a “Consumer,” and you should set their contact type accordingly. Once set, the database will never automatically change a person’s contact type.

2. Definition of “Transactions”

Every case note, work log entry, provision of service, or goal is considered by the CFAL database to be a transaction. Each transaction has an associated date, which normally will be written automatically as the current date and time when a record is entered. You can always edit the dates of any of your records, and it’s important to review dates for accuracy, especially when recording data for a transaction long after it actually occurred In order for statistics regarding these transactions to be included in a report, the transaction dates must fall within the reporting period as described below.

3. Definition of “Entities”

Every organization in the CFAL database will be reported as an “Entity” in the MDCR.

How to record data for the Michigan DNM Report:

The following instructions describe the recording methods that should be used with the CFAL “People” form, NetCIL IRLog, and NetCIL Manager. Please ensure that you are using the following software versions or higher:

CFAL: 3.88

NetCIL IRLog 1.41

NetCIL Manager: 1.62

If you need assistance with software updates, please contact ed2c customer support toll-free at (888) 678-0683.

Tab – Consumer Demographics:

To be counted in the “Consumer Demographics” section, a person’s contact type must be set to “Consumer” or “Inactive Consumer.” An exception is Section A, where any person who receives a service will be counted in the “Other” category.

A. Consumers Participating in CIL Services:

Persons whose contact type is set to “Consumer” or “Inactive Consumer,” and who receive a service during the reporting period, will be counted as having received “Individual Services.” Services can be recorded in via the CFAL Notes form, the Referrals form, or the NetCIL IRLog New I&R Services form. Any other contact type receiving services during the period will be counted as “Other Consumers.”

B. Numbers of Consumers by Gender:

When a new record is entered in CFAL or NetCIL, gender defaults to “Trans/Unknown” or “Other,” and will be reported in the “unknown” row unless you select “Female” or “Male.”

C. Numbers of Consumers by Age:

Age is calculated automatically based on date of birth and the end date of the report. If date of birth is unknown, leave the field blank, and it will be counted in the “unknown” row. If a birth date must be estimated, enter the approximate age, and an appropriate date of “1/1/yyyy” will be entered as a convention.

D. Numbers of Consumers by Disability:

A consumer’s primary disability determines how they are reported. Each disability will be reported according to its associated “State” category in the Site Profile – Configure Disabilities form. Try to select a primary disability that best describes the consumer’s condition according to one of the standard state categories If the consumer’s condition is a combination of any of these main categories, list their primary disability as “Multiple.” Any other primary disability will be listed in the “Other” category.

E. Number of Consumers by Race:

Select the appropriate racial group from the dropdown box. If no race is selected, information will be reported as “Unknown.” CFAL allows “Hispanic” to be selected as a race; however, Michigan DNM has directed that ILCs not select this category. If Hispanic is selected, CFAL will automatically select the “Hispanic” ethnicity checkbox, and race will counted as “Other.” CFAL does not allow the selection of multiple races; select the race that the individual most closely identifies with.

F. Number of Consumers by Ethnicity:

Select Hispanic as an ethnic group or check the “Hispanic” checkbox as appropriate. If Hispanic is selected in the race dropdown box, the “Hispanic” checkbox will be automatically selected. For reporting purposes, it is possible to designate a person as “Hispanic” by checking the appropriate box without assigning them to that racial category. Data in this section will be reported based upon the setting of the “Hispanic” checkbox.

Tab – Community Activities:

To record activity in the Community Activities tab, perform the following steps:

1. Press the “Work Log” button on the Main form.

2. Write a new record, and record the time spent in the “Hours” dropdown list. Note that all times are rounded to the nearest fifteen minutes.

3. Select the appropriate categories from the “Priority Area” and “Activity Type” dropdown lists that most closely defines the work that has been performed.

4. If a Community Activity is selected, the following fields will default to values based upon the configuration of the selected Activity: Desired Outcome, Priority Area, and Activity Type. These fields can always be edited. Data entry in all other fields is optional.

5. If the work was performed in conjunction with an organization, select the appropriate entry from the dropdown list. Organizations will be reported as “Entities” on the spreadsheet report.

Tab – Community Outcomes:

Community Activities are designed to measure the provision of indirect services, and to model your annual plan. To record data in this section, perform the following steps:

1. Press the “Community Activities” button on the Main form.

2. Write a new record, and select the “Outcome,” “Issue,” and “Activity Type” that most closely define the goals of the “Community Activity.” It isn’t necessary to define an “Outcome” until it is achieved, but doing so at the beginning will allow you to measure the level of effort that is expended towards the achievement of the Outcome.

3. Define a “Start Date” and, if desired, a “Target End” date for the activity, but leave the “Actual End” date blank. No Community Activities will be reported on the Community Outcomes tab until an “Outcome” is selected and an “Actual End” date is recorded, indicating that the Outcome has been achieved.

There are two ways to record time spent working on Community Activities towards the achievement of Community Outcomes:

Method 1:

1. Press the “Work Log” button on the Main form.

2. Write a new record, and select the appropriate Community Activity from the dropdown list that most closely defines the work that has been performed.

3. Record the time spent in the Hours dropdown list. Note that all times are rounded to the nearest fifteen minutes.

4. Some fields such as Desired Outcome will default to values that have been pre-defined in the Community Activities screen. If a Community Activity is selected, the following fields will default to values based upon the configuration of the selected Activity: Desired Outcome, Priority Area, and Activity Type. Edit the values of the Desired Outcome, Priority Area, and Activity Type as appropriate. Data entry in all other fields is optional.

Method 2:

1. Press the “Outreach” button on the Main form.

2. Write a new record, and select the Community Activity and “Priority Service Area as appropriate from the dropdown lists.

3. Record the time spent in the Hours dropdown list. Note that all times are rounded to the nearest fifteen minutes.

Tab – Consumer Services:

Section A Subpart III of the 2006 RSA 704 report now distinguishes between services requested and services received. In order to maintain compatibility with the 704 Report, CFAL and NetCIL Manager now differentiate the two circumstances as follows:

1. For a single instance of a service provided on a single date, write a case note (“Notes” button on the CFAL People form) and specify the service and the Priority Area in the appropriate dropdown lists. All such services and hours will be included in the totals for individual services.

2. For service requests that have not yet been fulfilled, make an entry in the “Services & Referrals” section of either the People or Phone Referral forms. Note that a service can also be recorded in the lower section of the Phone Referral form by pressing F6. In such cases ensure that a “Referral to Staff” entry is made so that CFAL can alert the appropriate staff member about the request. NetCIL IRLog will automatically write an open service request whenever a “Referral to Staff” record is written. All Service and Referral records for which the “Completion Date” is blank will be considered to be “open” referrals, and they will not be counted in the Consumer Services totals in the spreadsheet. Please refer to the updated RSA 704 data collection protocol for more information.

You can configure your own list of services through the Site Profile section of the CFAL database, and then list as many as you wish in a consumer’s profile. In order for these services to be properly reported on the MDCR spreadsheet, each must be associated with a standard “State” category.

For all categories but “I&R”, the “Individual” number reported in the spreadsheet represents the distinct count of consumers who have received a given service as noted above. The “I&R” rows report a distinct count of any contact type and also includes a duplicated count of any anonymous I&R services recorded using the NetCIL IRLog. If the I&R Service is associated with a Priority Area in the Site Profile – Configure Services screen, the services will be recorded in the appropriate section of the Individual Services tab.

Tab – Consumer Outcomes:

To record Consumer Outcomes, perform the following steps:

1. Retrieve the consumer record using the People form.

2. Open the Consumer Goals form (“Consumer Goals and ILP” button).

3. Press “New,” and select a “Desired Individual Outcome” from the list that most closely describes what the consumer wants to accomplish. A “Significant Life Area” will be automatically selected based upon the “Desired Individual Outcome” that is chosen; this value can be edited if necessary.

A goal is considered “Set” if its “Goal Start Date” is before the end of the reporting period and the goal’s “Actual End Date” is blank or after the beginning of the reporting period.

A goal is considered “Met” if the “Actual End Date” is within the reporting period and the goal’s “Outcome” is not “Dropped”. An Outcome will not be recorded in this section unless the Goal has been met.

The “Target End Date” field in CFAL is for reference purposes only.

Transmitting Data to DNM

Following these steps will allow you to create and transmit Michigan Compilation Spreadsheet data to the DNM website www.misilc.org

1. Run NetCIL Manager and ensure that you are using version 1.64 or higher. NetCIL manager will normally self-update from the NetCIL website.

2. Select “File…Transmit to DNM.”

3. A message box indicating success or failure will appear when the process is complete.

Table Configuration

If Community Activities or Outcomes do not appear to be recording correctly, ensure that the contents of the following two tables are configured as described here:

CommunityServices
CommunityServiceID	CommunityDesc	Category	CategoryCode
1	ACC Modified architectural plan or physical structure for increased accessibility	Accessibility	1
2	ACC Modified program or services to assure access	Accessibility	1
3	ACC Other	Accessibility	1
4	AT Assistive Technology	Assistive Technology	2
5	ED Education	Education	3
6	EM Employers educated	Employment	4
7	EM Employers providing reasonable accommodation	Employment	4
8	EM Other	Employment	4
9	HC Health Care	Health Care	5
10	HO Increased number of accessible/affordable housing	Housing	6
11	HO Other	Housing	6
12	OCS Ongoing Community Supports (Deinstitutionalization and PAS/PASREP):	Ongoing Community Support	7
13	TR Services expanded geographically	Transportation	10
14	TR Service hours expanded	Transportation	10
15	TR Service increased accessibility	Transportation	10
16	TR Other	Transportation	10
17	Other	Other	11
18	REC Recreation	Recreation	8
19	REL Relocation	Relocation	9

WorkLogCodes
WorkLogID	WorkLogType
1	Accessibility
2	Assistive Technology
3	Education
4	Employment
5	Health Care
6	Housing
7	Ongoing Community Supports
8	Recreation
9	Relocation
10	Transportation
11	Other

If Consumer Goals are not being recorded correctly, verify that the contents of the “Consumer Goal Standards” table are properly configured. The Goals form contains a control labeled “Goal Standard”. This control uses data from the table “Consumer Goal Standards,” and it is designed for internal agency use. If you predefine a set of goals for your agency, proper default values will be automatically entered into each consumer’s Goal History records.

To use the Goal Standards feature, you must manually enter records into the Consumer Goal Standards table as follows:

GoalType: Name of goal as known to your agency

GoalCode: Dropdown list of standard RSA-recognized goal types.

Description: Default text description of the goal

AccessCode: 1 = Assistive Technology; 2 = Health Care Services; 3 = Transportation

When a user selects a Goal Standard for a consumer, the “Type of Goal” will be set to the value in the GoalCode field. For Michigan users,, the “Access Category” will be set automatically to the “AccessCode” value, and the “Goal Description” text box will be filled with the text from the “Description” field of the selected record in the “Consumer Goal Standards” table. Access Codes cannot be directly edited by the user. This restriction was provided at the request of DNM to enhance the accuracy of goal information. For convenience, there is a query in versions 4.6 and above named “Sample Consumer Goal Standards Query” that is designed to assist with data entry into the Consumer Goal Standards table.

Services Configuration should be set via Site Profile as indicated below:

ID	Service	Description	Priority Area	RSA/704	State
1	Advocacy/Legal services			Advocacy / Legal	Advocacy/Legal services
2	Assistive Technology		Assistive Technology	Assistive Devices	Assistive Technology
3	Children’s services			Children	Children’s services
4	Communication			Communication	Communication
5	Counseling & related services			Counseling And Related	Counseling & related services
6	Employment		Employment	Vocational	Employment
7	Family Services			Family	Family Services
8	Health Care Services		Health Care	Other	Health Care Services
9	Housing, home modifications		Housing	Housing, Home Modifications, and Shelter	Housing, home modifications
28	I&R Accessibility		Accessibility	Information And Referral	Information and Referral
29	I&R Assistive Technology		Assistive Technology	Information And Referral	Information and Referral
30	I&R Education		Education	Information And Referral	Information and Referral
31	I&R Employment		Employment	Information And Referral	Information and Referral
11	I&R General			Information And Referral	Information and Referral
32	I&R Health Care		Health Care	Information And Referral	Information and Referral
33	I&R Housing		Housing	Information And Referral	Information and Referral
34	I&R Ongoing Community Supports		Ongoing Community Supports	Information And Referral	Information and Referral
35	I&R Recreation		Recreation	Information And Referral	Information and Referral
36	I&R Relocation		Relocation	Information And Referral	Information and Referral
37	I&R Transportation		Transportation	Information And Referral	Information and Referral
10	IL Skills Training			IL Skills Training and Life Skills Training	IL Skills Training
27	Job Club		Employment	Vocational	Employment
12	Job Development		Employment	Vocational	Job Development
13	Job Placement		Employment	Vocational	Job Placement
14	Mobility Training			Mobility Training	Mobility Training
15	Other			Other	Other
16	PAS/PASREP			Other	PAS/PASREP
17	Peer Support			Peer Counseling (incl. Cross-disability Peer Counseling)	Peer Support
18	Personal Assistance Services			Personal Assistance Services	Personal Assistance Services
19	Preventative Services			Preventative Services	Preventative Services
20	Professional Counseling			Vocational	Professional Counseling
21	Prostheses and Other			Prostheses And Other	Prostheses and Other
22	Recreational		Recreation	Recreational	Recreational
23	Rehabilitation Technology			Rehabilitation Technology	Rehabilitation Technology
24	Therapeutic Treatment			Therapeutic Treatment	Therapeutic Treatment
25	Transportation		Transportation	Transportation	Transportation
26	Youth Services			Youth	Youth Services

Additional Information

For more information on any of the topics covered in this document, please refer to the CFAL Client User’s Guide and the RSA 704 Data Collection Protocol.

For additional assistance with the CFAL or NetCIL applications, please contact ed2c technical support toll-free at (888) 678-0683 x0 or by sending e-mail to techsupport@ed2c.com.

For assistance with other issues, contact Rodney Craig at DNM, rodneycraig@bwcil.org.

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