Head Start Family Information System Volunteers

ACYF Administration on Children, Youth and Families	U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Administration for Children and Families
	1. Log No. ACYF-IM-HS-95-03	2. Issuance Date: 01/19/95
	3. Originating Office: Head Start Bureau
	4. Key Word: Head Start Family Information System Volunteers

INFORMATION MEMORANDUM [See Attachment at the bottom]

TO: All Head Start Grantees and Delegate Agencies

SUBJECT: Head Start Family Information System Volunteers

INFORMATION:

The purpose of this notice is to solicit volunteers for participation in the implementation of the Head Start Family Information System (HSFIS).

HSFIS is a fully automated record keeping system which is designed to improve the quality of Head Start record keeping, reduce the amount of time staff spend managing information and promote better case management in the delivery of services.

HSFIS consists of a series of modules which correspond to the service areas, including intake and enrollment, education, health (including medical, dental, nutrition and mental health), social services, disabilities and parent involvement. The data elements within the component modules are based on the Head Start Performance Standards and, therefore, are limited to the demographic and socioeconomic information about Head Start families which is necessary for determining eligibility for enrollment, identifying family service needs and recording and managing the actual delivery of services. The benefits to local programs are:

It Is Easy To Use

Although it will be necessary for each program to have a staff person with the specialized skills necessary for maintaining HSFIS and for training staff, the system is designed for use by Head Start staff, not computer-experts. Careful attention has been paid to the number of key strokes required to log on the system and to enter and retrieve data so that staff at all levels can learn to use the system quickly. Most of the data can be entered from a "pick list" with a single key stroke, which means there are no codes to memorize in order to enter data and the chances for data entry error are minimized.

It Reduces The Data Collection Effort

The HSFIS forms are designed as a fully integrated set to eliminate duplication of information gathering throughout the program year. The data entry screens exactly match the forms so that data is easily transferable from the form to the computer, irrespective of who does the data entry. The system will produce the forms used later in a case history with pre-printed information collected earlier from the family so that the collection of basic family data will not be duplicated at every point in the service delivery process.

It Supports Case Management

once information about a Head Start family is entered into HSFIS, that information becomes immediately available (based on the confidentiality requirements encoded in the system by the program) for use by other components. This provides component staff who have not yet had contact with the family with the opportunity to become acquainted with important information about the family. HSFIS is, therefore, less intrusive to families, helps services to get underway more quickly and frees case workers to spend more time working with families.

It Is Customizable

space is reserved at key points throughout HSFIS for Head Start programs to localize the data to conform to the demographic and service characteristics of their local community. Some examples include the enrollment priorities, the resource directory, and the racial/ethnic categories.

It Promotes Quality

HSFIS has the capability to produce pre-programmed reports for directors, component coordinators and component staff to assist them in their daily activities, as well as providing critical information on attainment of component objectives on a regular basis. The simple push of a PF key will generate such reports as waiting lists, average daily attendance, USDA reimbursement and the end of the year Program Information Report . The system is also capable of producing detailed cross-tabulations of the data (ad hoc reports) for managers, which provides programs with the capacity to use information collected through HSFIS for planning purposes.

Implementation of HSFIS is scheduled to occur over a multi-year period, beginning in the Spring of 1995. Technical assistance will be provided through a peer support system made up of the current group of 22 HSFIS pilot test programs. In order to ensure that adequate technical assistance is available to all new users of the system and to expand the peer support network, the number of programs selected to participate in the first year will be limited to a small group of approximately 100 programs with the most automation experience. In addition to experience, programs will be selected based on geographic location and size in order to maintain the current distribution and makeup of peer support programs.

Those programs selected to participate will be provided, at no additional cost to the program, a copy of the HSFIS software and User's Manual and all necessary hardware and/or hardware upgrades.

If you would like to volunteer, please submit a letter of intent which contains the information in the attached to the following address by no later than January 31, 1995:

Lihong L. Ma, Project Manager
Head Start Family Information System
Ellsworth Associates, Inc.
8381 Old Courthouse Road, Suite 200
Vienna, VA 22182

If your program is selected for participation, you will be contacted by Ellsworth Associates regarding the next phase of activities.

Sincerely,

Helen Taylor
Associate Commissioner

ATTACHMENT

PROGRAM NAME: _________________________________________________

ADDRESS: ________________________________________________________

CITY: ____________________________________________________________

STATE: ___________________ ZIP CODE: ____________________________

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: ____________________________________________

TELEPHONE: ______________________________________________________

HEAD START DIRECTOR: ___________________________________________

TELEPHONE: _____________________________________________________

1. Provide the following information about your program:

Funded enrollment
Counties/cities served
Number of centers
Number of classrooms at each center

2. Provide the following information on each Personal Computer (PC) in use by your program:

CPU (286,386 or 486) and MHz
Megabytes bytes of RAM memory
Megabytes bytes of hard drive memory
Floppy drives (5 1/4 or 3 1/2 or both)
Disc Operating System (DOS)
Printer type

3. Describe your current record keeping system. Include information on all software packages currently in use in your program.

4. Indicate whether or not you are willing to become a part of the peer support network.