1. Information Technology Support of EECs System Building Efforts May 8, 2012 EEC Board Meeting Summary Presentation

2. Requests IT needs through established prioritization process Supplies resources to provide input on business needs of IT applications Very involved in requirements, testing, and training phases IT Leadership ensures alignment of IT goals with EEC Strategic Goals EOE/ ITD Leadership provides executive level sponsorship and oversight Provides feedback on current IT issues and on new applications Involved in user acceptance testing Presents comments on application usability and rollouts EEC IT Strategic Visioning Commissioner Killins defines Strategic goals and direction of the agency Commissioner with Sr. Leadership drives prioritization of IT projects and process improvements EEC Leadership EEC User Community EEC EECs vision for leveraging IT to meet Strategic Goals involves support and feedback at the Secretariat, Agency, and User levels EOE Support 2

3. Business Application Definitions Quality rating levels for early education and care and after school programs QRIS – Quality Rating and Improvement System Information on educators such as their professional certifications and information about professional development opportunities PQR – Professional Qualifications Registry Information on licensed child care providers in the Commonwealth Licensing Manager Application intake, eligibility determination and waitlist management KinderWait Provides an improved process for all Commonwealth children and families to access and receive services Unified System Single data store for child, family, program, provider and educator information Will assist in child outcome and program analysis as well as provide messaging capabilities for families and providers ECIS – Early Childhood Information System 3

4. FY12 EEC IT Applications KinderWait-childcare waiting list application Web-based application implemented in August 2011 to replace a legacy waitlist application Allows for ease of use: MA211 & families can also enter data Application taking Eligibility wizard Waiting list system Voucher Reassessment – streamlined VM process Child Care Financial Assistance (CCFA) Service Web-based application that will improve attendance, billing, payment, and compliance processes Collect uniform, universal, and high quality data on all children Reports and data from this application will support ongoing research, policy decision making, and budgetary planning 4 The launch of these IT Initiatives were born from the strategic direction and visioning of EEC

5. FY12 EEC IT Applications contd QRIS Automate Level 1 verification for licensed programs in good standing Added functionality that enables users to copy data from one application to another Enhanced Summary of Application Profile page to display list of standards a program must achieve to get to the next Level by user role and status of a QRIS application PQR Monthly emails to registrants and administrators regarding expired registrations Streamlined instructions pages and developed monthly instructional emails to registrants and administrators regarding pending registrations Enhanced matching criteria to prevent addition of multiple records for registrants and non EEC programs 5 Enhancements were completed on our existing applications These modifications support the Agencys vision of improving applications based on efficiency realization and user feedback

6. Implementation Lessons Learned Data quality ISSUE: The KinderWait implementation brought over family data from a legacy system. A lack of full understanding of the data elements in the new system and their significance led to data quality issues. LESSON: Data conversion is an important part of many implementations and needs to be handled with detail to attention and full understanding of system impacts Communication ISSUE: End users have felt unprepared by application implementations or did not have the full set of expectations conveyed to them LESSON: Constant communication is critical to the success of a project which also includes thorough training and end user guides HelpDesk ISSUE: End users have felt lack of response from HelpDesk LESSON: HelpDesk should be prepared prior to implementations to handle additional user requests 6 Past application implementations had several issue areas In order to streamline implementations and also provide on going user support the HelpDesk is streamlining its processes by monitoring outstanding work orders and ensuring cross training of its staff

7. Vision for the Future Efficient and innovative technical solutions for families, providers and EEC staff Open and transparent engagement with business sponsors and users of EEC to prioritize initiatives Accurate and timely data for policy making, service delivery, and results evaluation Streamlined applications that are appropriately integrated and linked 7 EEC seeks an IT environment that will enable…

8. Ease of Technology and Mobility 8 EEC leadership proactively seeks ways to increase productivity through use of technology Mobile Internet Access Situation: At the Jan 2012 Region 1 meeting access to the internet while in the field was requested Result: Sponsorship from Commissioner Killins enabled IT to provided each region with mobile Wi-Fi hot spots devices for use in the field SSI Single Sign In Situation: Users were prone to forgetting their password and usernames which was creating a large burden on the HelpDesk Result: Users are now asked to enter their email address twice (double entry) to reduce errors. Screen workflow was improved for did you forget username/password screens. E-mail templates were streamlined that provide instructions to users for their username/password Data Quality Situation: Legacy systems have had missing data and incongruous data making it a challenge to run reports and analyze data in an accurate and meaningful way Result: EEC and IT stakeholders participated in feedback for Common Education Data Standards CEDS version 2. All applications moving forward will utilize the latest version of CEDS in order to promote data consistency and quality within EEC and across education agencies

9. Improved process and end user benefits 9 Streamlined processes for child care systems directly impact the field Field issues will be addressed by collecting feedback and improvements to application workflow will be implemented Move towards web based applications to ensure ease of connectivity and support Ensure consistent rules and practices are coded in the system versus fragmented business rules Ensure workflow and application rules comply with current regulations CCR&Rs, CPs, and EEC staff will have positive impact from improvements in IT Applications Applications will be provide built in help functions to improve end user productivity Provide reporting capabilities through the application (ie. This will assist CCR&Rs to manage caseload) System maintenance will be less cumbersome with the move towards online applications Ability to upload documents into the application will assist in workflow, organization and tracking of information

10. Data Driven Policy Administration Unleash the potential of existing data Multi-dimensional views of data for All children By program setting, region, funding source, age group Assessment data coupled with parental consent Provider/Program Data on programs in QRIS Data on PQR registrants Data across time Combination of data streams for longitudinal view Coordination with LDS-P20 initiative and share data across Commonwealth agencies EWIS report to indicate distribution of risk levels 10 EECs vision is to enable data driven management

11. ECIS Implementation: Phased Approach Massachusetts has developed a high quality plan to strengthen EEC systems and build interoperability among them, with a specific focus on data accessibility Linkage of EEC systems Single data source Reporting on children demographic data and enrolled programs Initial System Web portals for parent entry of core child data and assessments Web portals for provider entry of screening and assessment data Ability to collect and report on non- subsidy programs and children Report on attendance, age of entry and length of engagement for subsidy children Parent and Provider Portals Automated messages to families or providers Report on status of children across ages and over time Report on child outcomes using formative assessments Executive level dash boarding monitoring trends Robust Childhood Information System

12. Linking it all together – EEC IT will continue to ensure appropriate system links 12 PQ Registry CORI/ BRC Manager Prof. Developm ent Calendar Professio nal Certificati on (TQ) Licensing Manager EECRS Incidents / Complaints CORI/ BRC manager Links from a Licensing Perspective Links from an Educator Perspective QRIS Licensing Manager PQ Registry Links from a Quality and Program Perspective Licensing Manager QRIS PQ Registry CCFA Links from a Financial Assistance Educator Perspective