2. VA DATA T OOLS VAdata: Virginia’s Sexual and Domestic Violence Data Collection System

3. VA DATA HAS SEVERAL TOOLS THAT MAKE DATA ENTRY EASIER In this module, you will find information about:  Selecting and managing localities  Selecting and managing staff names  Using the Local Only Data field on the Hotline and Advocacy Forms

4. S ELECTING AND M ANAGING L OCALITIES

5. On each VAdata form, there is a drop-down box with a list of localities. You control which localities are automated in the drop- down box. Additional localities can always be accessed by clicking the ‘Show All Localities’ box.

6. H OW TO CHANGE THE DROP - DOWN LOCALITIES LIST : Go to the VAdata Main Menu and select ‘Locality Selections’ in the VAdata Tools section.

7. H OW TO CHANGE THE DROP - DOWN LOCALITIES LIST : On the next screen, select the localities that you think will be used most often (up to 15) and then click the ‘Submit’ button.

8. H OW TO CHANGE THE DROP - DOWN LOCALITIES LIST : The selected localities will appear on every drop-down locality list on VAdata forms and reports pages. Additional localities can always be accessed by clicking the ‘Show All Localities’ box, which is also located on every form and report page. You can change your localities list as often as you’d like.

9. S ELECTING AND M ANAGING S TAFF N AMES

10. On each VAdata form, there is a drop-down box with a list of staff names. You control which names are automated in the drop- down box.

11. H OW TO C HANGE THE DROP - DOWN STAFF LIST : Go to the VAdata Main Menu and select ‘Manage Staff’ in the VAdata Tools section.

12. H OW TO C HANGE THE DROP - DOWN STAFF LIST : You will see a list of all of the staff names. Note that those who have been designated as “active” will be on the drop-down list.

13. H OW TO C HANGE THE DROP - DOWN STAFF LIST : To change a status of a name from “active” to “inactive” or the reverse, click on the ‘Edit’ button.

14. H OW TO C HANGE THE DROP - DOWN STAFF LIST : Select the status (Active – yes or no) and click on the ‘Save’ button.

15. H OW TO C HANGE THE DROP - DOWN STAFF LIST : After you have clicked SAVE, you will see that the record saved successfully. Click ‘GO BACK’ to edit more records or to go back to the main menu.

16. H OW TO C HANGE THE DROP - DOWN STAFF LIST : Some staff may have multiple variations of their name. If this is the case, you will need to decide which one you want to show up in the drop-down list and deactivate the others. Do not “edit” the name on the drop-down list that you want to retain, just change the status of any other name to “Active-No.”

17. H OW TO ADD A NEW NAME : Go to the ‘Manage Staff’ page and scroll to the bottom of the list of names. Click on the button that reads, “Add New Staff Member.”

18. H OW TO ADD A NEW NAME : Type in the Name as you want it to appear on the drop- down list, make sure that “Yes” has been selected in the drop-down box by ACTIVE, and click Save.

19. H OW TO ADD A NEW NAME : After you have clicked SAVE, you will see that the record saved successfully. Click GO BACK to edit more records or to go back to the main menu.

20. W HAT ELSE CAN I DO WITH THIS FEATURE ? You can change the way a name appears on the drop-down list. For example, maybe to save time, you have always used just your first name – Felicia. What happens if another Felicia is hired? You can go to the name “Felicia” and edit it to read “Felicia Martin.” The system will know that “Felicia” and “Felicia Martin” are the same person. Then, you can add the new person with her full name (Felicia Johnson). You can activate and de-activate names on the drop-down list. The names will remain in the system – all you have done is change which names will appear on the drop-down list. You can add a “Volunteer” option on the drop-down list if your program uses volunteers. You may want to run a report that will show how volunteers support services in your program, but don’t find it necessary to add the names of all the different volunteers coming in and out of your program.

21. W HAT ELSE WILL THIS FEATURE DO FOR US ? You can run a Summary Report by Staff. This report is brief and includes the following data by staff name: Number of Hotline calls Number of people to whom Advocacy services were provided Number of Advocacy contacts Number of hours of Advocacy services Number of Presentations/Educational programs Number of Trainings for Professionals

22. S AMPLE S UMMARY R EPORT B Y S TAFF

23. Click on any staff name and a list of records attributed to that person will appear. Click on any record number to go to that record.

24. W HAT H APPENS I F I DON ’ T U PDATE MY S TAFF LIST ? Nothing! This feature was added to improve your ability to query by staff and to enable you to run a report by staff. These changes will not delete any data from VAdata or impact current reports. If you choose not to clean up the staff data, you may still encounter errors when querying by staff and will likely encounter errors if you want to run a report by staff.

25. A N OTE A BOUT Q UERIES : Previously, users had the ability to enter their name into a text box, meaning that some staff may have used multiple variations of their name when entering data (i.e. Kristen, Kristen P., Kris). Because of this, queries by staff name for data entered prior to July 1, 2013 may still be a bit cumbersome. If you would like to query by staff name for data entered prior to July 1, 2013, you may need to “Activate” the old variations of names and do multiple queries. It will be much easier to use the query function for data entered after July 1, 2013 because users had to settle on one variation of their name.

26. L OCAL O NLY D ATA FIELD ON THE H OTLINE AND A DVOCACY F ORMS

27. L OCAL O NLY D ATA On the Hotline and Advocacy forms, you will see a field labeled Local Only Data. In this field, you can enter a number from 1-20. This is a totally optional field, and you may choose never to use it. However, it is field that is completely controlled by your agency, so you may choose to use it to collect specific data of importance to your agency and/or community.

28. H OW TO USE THE LOCAL ONLY DATA FIELD : Decide what data you want to collect. Decide how you might “code” that data in a numeric (1-20) format. For example, you might want to collect data on the zip codes where hotline callers reside. You could designate zip code, 23230 as “1” and zip code 23832 as “2” and so on, up to 20. As another example, you might want to use this field to collect data for a local funding source. Develop a way to communicate to everyone using the Hotline and Advocacy forms how to “code” the data. Implement the coding system.

29. H OW COULD THIS BE HELPFUL ? You will be able to do a Query on this field. The Hotline and Advocacy Data Reports include an option to run a report for a particular number or set of numbers from the Local Only Data field. You will be able to work with the VAdata staff to create uses for this field for your agency.

30. W HAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF DATA WE COULD COLLECT ? You could collect data about calls received as a result of a particular public awareness campaign. You could collect data on a particular demographic that is not already collected in VAdata. You could collect data for a local funding source (which would give you the ability to run a report for that funding source). You could collect data based on zip code, neighborhood, or other “community” within your service area. The possibilities are only limited by the numeric options (1-20) and your imagination. Remember, the VAdata staff are always happy to assist you with data collection design!

31. H OW DO I RUN A REPORT TO REFLECT THE L OCAL O NLY DATA ? From the Reports screen, select the Hotline or Advocacy Data report and enter the Local Only data you want to review.

32. Q UESTIONS ? If you have any questions or concerns about these VAdata tools, please contact your designated SDVA liaison at 804-377-0335.