Relocation of Several Exports

The following reports now appear under the Program Category under Data Exports:
* Client Demographic + Cash Income Information,
* Client Demographic + Non Cash Benefits Information,
* Statistical Demographics Only + Client Special Needs.

In addition, the Collection Stage has been added to these reports. The Collection Stage will show when the data was collected specifically for Cash, Non-Cash and Special Needs. The Collection Stages are:

1. At Entry (When an Intake is done)
2. During Enrollment (While the Client Is Still Enrolled In the Program)
3. At Exit (When the Client is Discharged from a Program)

If you have further questions, please contact the Support Team at 404-639-9933 option 2 or support@pcni.org.

Pathways Updating AIRS Taxonomy

Pathways announces the implementation of the most current Alliance of Information and Referral Systems (AIRS) Taxonomy of Human Needs. Our target date for this implementation is February 15, 2010.

Currently the PATHWAYS COMPASS system utilizes a Taxonomy of about 7,000 Need Codes and associated Descriptions used by human service organizations. On February 15, 2010 Pathways will implement the most current AIRS Taxonomy, which will include more than 9,000 Need Codes and Descriptions. New descriptions have been added, old descriptions have been clarified, obsolete descriptions have been eliminated, and more detailed descriptions have been inserted as sub-levels of existing ones to give Pathways agencies more detailed descriptions of the services they provide.

What is a Taxonomy?
A Taxonomy is a particular classification of things or concepts, grouped into categories and arranged in a hierarchical structure according to their relationships to each other. In our case, descriptions of things and services that clients need are arranged into five levels, from general to specific. The codes assigned to each description range from a single letter for the most general, to several characters for the most specific.

The Taxonomy divides all human needs, services and target populations into ten general categories:

B - Basic Needs
D - Consumer Services
F - Criminal Justice and Legal Services
H – Education
J – Environmental Quality
H – Health Care
N - Income Support and Employment
P – Individual and Family Life
R – Mental Health Care Counseling
T – Organizational/Community/International Services
Y – Target Populations

The more detailed levels are currently represented by 3 digits. The new Taxonomy Need Codes will be expanded to 4 or 5 digits to accommodate the new descriptions.

These changes will be transparent to the user. All current data will be converted to the new codes and descriptions by Pathways. There will be a small number of Need Codes that will require agencies to evaluate the Need Codes most appropriate for them. More information about the specific Codes will be provided during the conversion.

PATHWAYS COMPASS Version 5.15.0.4 Released

Pathways announces the Release of V5.15.0.4. This release includes enhancements for capturing Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing (HPRP) data and system corrections. Additional details are outlined below:

HPRP enhancements:

Service Transaction Page

Previous: The links to record services were named New Non-HPRP Services and New HPRP Services

Current: The links to record services have been renamed to New Services and HPRP Services.

HPRP Preferred Services Page

Previous: This required Agency Admin to setup HPRP Preferred Services based upon funding.

Current: The Agency Admin no longer has to set up the HPRP Preferred Services. The HPRP service/taxonomy code relationship will now be hardcoded. All HPRP Programs will use the same HPRP service/taxonomy codes. These services will appear when selecting the ellipse button on the HPRP Services Page. These specific codes can be found at www.pcni.info on the Forms, Documents and Videos page.

HPRP Service Transactional Page

Previous: The Service End date could be any date in the future.

Current: The Service End Date cannot exceed 90 days form Service Begin Date.

Previous: There were no provisions to indicate time spent with a client on the HPRP Service Page.

Current: The Services Case Management time field has been added to the HPRP Services Page.

Previous: Financial Services did not require a Financial Amount to be entered.

Current: Financial Services Amount is a required field if an HPRP Financial Service Need has been selected.

Previous: No Disbursement and Referral options were available on the HPRP Services page

Current: Disbursement and Referral options have been added to the HPRP Services page.

HPRP Program Enrollment Page:

Previous: Capturing County where service was provided was not available.

Current: On the Program Enrollment Page, a County drop down list will provide the ability to capture the county in which the person received the HPRP service.

HPRP Program Discharge Page

Previous: Program Discharge page previously allowed discharging of multiple programs at one time.

Current: Program discharge has changed to a single select radio button and each Program Discharge must be completed one at a time.

Previous: The Pre-Populate Selection check box was previously visible.

Current: The Pre-Populate Selection check box has been removed.

Previous: HPRP Program Discharge Page fields were editable.

Current: HPRP fields are no longer editable on the HPRP Program Discharge Page.

Previous: Financial Service, and Housing Relocation & Stabilization Start Date and End Date were visible on the HPRP Program Discharge Page.

Current: Financial Service and Housing Relocation & Stabilization Start Date, and End

Date have been removed

Previous: The Financial amount for each category not shown on the HPRP Program Discharge Page.

Current: The Financial amount for each category of Financial HPRP Service will be displayed.

Previous: The Total financial amount for Financial Assistance was visible and editable.

Current: The Total Financial amount for Financial Assistance will be visible but not editable.

Other Enhancements

Previous: Multiple Funding Sources could be selected for an HPRP Program.

Current: Only one Funding Source can be selected for each HPRP Program.

If there are additional question, contact the Technical Assistance and Training Team at 404-639-9933 option 2 or 866-818-1032 option 2.

PATHWAYS COMPASS Updates and Issues

The Pathways Systems Team is continually working to enhance and improve the PATHWAYS COMPASS Community Information Sharing System. Here's a list of the new features that will be available in the next few months, and the system bugs that the team is working to resolve:

Upcoming Releases
v6.0 - New Navigation, updated database connection scheme, Outcomes 2.5 (available 9/30/09)
v6.1 - HPRP Rapid Data Entry/ID Card Scanning (available 10/29/09)
v6.2 - Dashboards, Care Management Pathways, new data center servers (available 12/10/09)
v6.3 - HMIS data standards update/all remaining elements (available 12/31/09)

As always, we will provide full details on everything included in each release as each new system version is made available to you. Just look for information on the right side of the PATHWAYS COMPASS Log-in Page.

The Pathways Systems Team is also at work addressing the following technical issues:

• Service Records sometimes fail to save if no homelessness information exists
• Agency Program Page reflects the wrong number of enrolled clients
• Services are automatically entered on initial residence record creation
• Inaccurate "disabling condition" warning
• Multiple issues with zip code input
• Agency admin cant activate medhelp permissions in user profile
  

Work on the following issues was completed recently, but we must finish testing our work before we can make it available to you.

• Inconsistant/incorrect results - HUD APR and Program Profile reports

Thank you for supporting Pathways and letting us know how we can better serve you. Contact us anytime with your suggestions and requests. You can reach our Technical Assistance and Training Team at 866-818-1032 option 2, or at support@pcni.org.

PATHWAYS COMPASS Release V5.12.1

PATHWAYS COMPASS
Release V5.12.1
Pathways has Released V5.12.1. This release merged the Goals under the Goal Command with the Goals under the Progress Command. Additional details are outlined below:


System Enhancements:

Goals that had previously been entered using the Goals Command in the Client Visit menu has been merged with the Goals entered using the Progress Command, which is also under the Client Visit Menu. The Goals command has been unassigned for all users and should no longer be used.

To conform to the new Goals page users will be required to fill in additional fields the first time they edit the most current merged Goal. These fields are Goal Domain, Goal Type and Achievement Level.

Previously entered Goals will display with the value “Inactive” for Goal Domain, Goal Type, and Achievement Level under the Show History Link. The most recent Goals under each Goal Domain also displays in the Summary Area and can be edited from there.

If there are additional question, contact the Support Team at 404-639-9933 option 2 or 866-818-1032 option 2.

Pathways and HPRP Federal Stimulus Reporting Requirements

The US Dept of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced draft data collection rules for its stimulus effort, the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Rehousing Program (HPRP). As soon as the announcement was made, Pathways immediately began work to update its information systems to ensure that our partner communities will be prepared to comply with HUD's HPRP timetable and rules.

Here's a summary of our major HPRP-related tasks, and their timetable for completion.

HPRP Data Elements:

• PATHWAYS COMPASS users will have access to updated, HPRP-compliant data entry screens by August 1. HPRP data collection requirements actually aren't much different than existing HMIS data requirements, but we do need to add a few fields (and combine three existing fields) so that system users can produce the HPRP Quarterly Performance Report (QPR)

• Agency administrators will have access to HPRP-compliant program profile screens by September 1. They will need to input some HPRP specific program data (grantee name, etc.) so that they can run the QPR

• Pathways will provide PATHWAYS COMPASS users with a full schedule of specialized HPRP data collection and reporting training by August 1

Here's what HPRP grantees and subgrantee organizations will need to do to comply with HUD's rules:

Data Entry

• PATHWAYS COMPASS users may begin to place HPRP client data in the system August 1.

HPRP HMIS Reports:

• Agency administrators will be able to use PATHWAYS COMPASS to run the HPRP Quarterly Progress Report (QPR) by September 1 (six weeks before the first QPR is due to HUD).
  

HPRP Financial Reports:

• HUD has informed us that grantees (and subgrantees) are expected to use their own financial accounting systems to generate responses to financial questions in the QPR. The reason - case management and HMIS systems can show that an agency intended to make a payment (such as a check for rent on behalf of a client), but it cannot show that the check actually cleared. That information can only come from an agency's accounting system

The Pathways team knows how important HPRP is to you and your community. If you have questions, we are ready to answer them. You can call us toll-free at 1-866-818-1032 or you can send us an email. Current PATHWAYS COMPASS users may contact us at support@pcni.org. If you are not a current PATHWAYS COMPASS user, send an email to info@pcni.org.

Benefiting from PATHWAYS COMPASS

As I become more familiar with PATHWAYS COMPASS as a new employee, I realize the more benefits it has to communities and agencies. Features such as “Funds” to maintain program balances and “Beds” to assign housing facility rooms and beds can help you serve clients more accurately and efficiently. Agencies can also run a number of reports to get a clear reflection on how their organization is operating, and what services are being utilized more than others.

It is a pleasure to meet people in the communities we serve, and I look forward to continue to speak with and support Pathways systems users.  

Kory Boone, Technical Assistance/Training Specialist

Technical Assistance and Training Team

Pathways announces the release of V5.11.1.0

PATHWAYS COMPASS system users:
Below are key highlights of enhancements and system error corrections that have been implemented in the PATHWAYS COMPASS system.

Enhancements Added:

Login time extended
After an existing user receives a new password from an administrator, the user now has four days to login before the system automatically inactivates her/him. Previously the user had until midnight that same night.


System error corrections:

Reports: Filtered Reports
Problem: Not able to see all options of filtered report.
On reports that allowed users to filter you can only see 5 need codes in the box that contains the available values and can't scroll down to see more. The only way to see more codes is to move the visible ones to the selected values box, which removes them up in the available values box. This would then allow 5 more to be selected.
Resolution: A vertical scroll bar has been added to allow users the ability to scroll down if the list exceeds what is visible in the window.

Customized Intake: Database Error
Problem: Database error message occurs during the Intake process.
A database error occurs if the following conditions occur:
1. Intake new client using Customized Intake
2. Make an error on the Process General Information page, such as Chronic Homeless = Yes and Disabling Condition = No
3. Click Next, error message displays, click Back
4. Correct the error, such as change Chronic Homeless to No
5. Click Next, the Authorization page displays.
6. Set Authorization on File = Yes and click Save.
Database Error occurs, the client is not saved.
Resolution: When the above conditions are met, the error no longer occurs and the client record is saved properly.

Client Progress Link: HSS Indicators
Problem: HSS Indicators under Progress can be deleted by users.
Users can edit an Indicator, and then Save without entering any Status. However, if they do so, the entire indicator is deleted and no longer visible.
Resolution: The HSS Indicator cannot be saved unless Status is entered. Therefore, none of the HSS Indicators can be deleted by a system user. Every user will always see the Housing, Employment, and Income/Benefits Indicators.

Search page: Mass discharge
Problem: Mass discharge does not delete clients from the Program Roster report.
The mass discharge function properly clears clients from programs (so they no longer appear in program related searches) but the Program Roster report still shows them as being enrolled.
Resolution: When the mass discharge function is used the clients will no longer appear on the Program Roster Report.

Program Profile: Program Description
Problem: The system user would get a database error when entering a long Program Description.
Resolution: The system will not allow a user to put more than 100 characters in the Description field of the Program Profile. Therefore, no pop-up message is generated upon Saving because a user can no longer make the error.

Program Profile: Winter/Seasonal Shelter Questionnaire
Problem: Program Profile Winter/Seasonal Questionnaire doesn't display correctly.
When you select Winter/Seasonal Shelter Program Type and click Save, the Winter/Seasonal Questionnaire doesn't completely display. All that shows is the 2 vertical menus on the left side and the title "Program Type Questionnaire."
Resolution: This page now displays correctly.

Password Hints

As a member of the Pathways Support Team, I have observed that many users seem to experience "password blocks" when creating their PATHWAYS COMPASS password.  

Below you will find a series of suggestions that may help:

1. Your password needs to be 8-14 characters long
   
2. It should include at least 1 number
   
3. You cannot use your User Id, your name or your agency's name in your password choice
   
4. Use a password that is personal and unique to you, and hard for others to guess; i.e., dream destination or vacation location, etc.
   
5. As opposed to creating a brand new password every 60 days, when your password expires, try moving the number.  For example: bahamas77 can be changed to 77bahamas
   

We don't suggest passwords, but whatever you choose...Please don't forget it!  

April Lockett, Technical Assistance/Training Specialist

Technical Assistance and Training Team

What's Under the Hood?

Our Information Systems Team is constantly developing, enhancing and enlarging the function of the PATHWAYS COMPASS Community Information Sharing System.  

Sometimes we're asked about the technologies that make this system run.  PATHWAYS COMPASS uses Java-based Web application development technologies, including the Jakarta Struts MVC framework. The database technology PATHWAYS COMPASS uses is Oracle, which provides powerful functions for data query, manipulation and definition. 

Another application that PATHWAYS COMPASS power users benefit from is our Business Intelligence Component - Oracle BI Discoverer, which provides dynamic, user-friendly interfaces to retrieve batch data from the PATHWAYS COMPASS database easily and effectively.

          

Tony Zhang, Oracle DBA/Systems Administrator

Information Systems Team

Collaborative Champs

What organizations do the best job of coordinating care with others? New statistics from the PATHWAYS COMPASS Community Information Sharing System show that Clifton Sanctuary Ministries led the way in February, working with partner organizations to coordinate care for 78% of its clients.

Rounding out the top ten:
2. Another Chance
3. St Joseph's Mercy Care Services
4. Samaritan House/Cafe 458
5. Odyssey III
6. (tie) Atlanta Enterprise Center; Hope through Divine Intervention
7. (tie) Union Mission Employment and Training Center; Union Mission Housing Services
8. (tie) JFCS Project Connect; Quest 35
9. Central Presbyterian Outreach
10. Atlanta Union Mission Shepherd's Inn

These organizations coordinated care with partners up to 70 percent of the time.

Overall statewide collaboration champions were:
Georgia - Clifton Sanctuary Ministries, Atlanta
Florida - Connections Job Development, New Port Richey
Montana - Community Crisis Center, Billings


Research shows that when human services agencies work together to serve their clients, overall agency workload is reduced and the help agencies offer their clients is more effective. Congratulations to February's collaboration champs, and to other PATHWAYS COMPASS user agencies that have worked hard to increase cooperative care. If you have questions about collaborative case management, contact our Technical Assistance and Training Team at 866-818-1032, Option 2.

New PATHWAYS COMPASS Feature – Program Profile Reports

PATHWAYS COMPASS users with access to their agencies' Program Profiles can now download and print copies of these profiles. These printed profiles are designed for use with funding applications, such as the current Georgia Department of Community Affairs grant competition.
To print the Program Profile:

1. From the Main Menu, click on My Agency
2. Click on the Program link.
3. Find the appropriate Program, then click on the edit button.
4. Click on the Agency Program Profile link near the top of the page.

This will allow authorized administrator users to print the main program profile page and its associated questionnaire.
If you have additional questions, or need assistance, please contact the Support Team at 404-639-9933 option 2 or 866-818-1032 option 2.

New Things

The Pathways Systems Team is working on several projects in order to enhance PATHWAYS COMPASS system functionality. We've finished developing a new ID Card Scanning module, and it's now being tested at the Fulton County (GA) Human Services Department. The module allows clients to access services by scanning a photo ID card that has a barcode on it.

In March we will release our Document Upload project which will provide PATHWAYS COMPASS users with the ability to upload documents and store them in client records. And we're also working on a set of Community Administrator modules - available in the spring - that introduce a new community data collection and reporting concept that we think our community partners will be very excited about (more about this project later...)

Beini Ouyang - J2EE Developer, Pathways Systems Team

Community Collaboration

The term collaboration is bandied about a great deal today. The word collaboration can be interpreted in different ways, and collaborations can take a different form in every community.

Collaborations can be viewed as situations where one party wins and one party loses or where both sides settle for a compromise. If the right people are brought together in a very constructive way, with the appropriate information, they can create visions and strategies that address their joint problems and concerns. When these collaborations include organizations, civic leaders and other community members who have a stake in the same problems, they can more effectively create positive change.

Pathways supports community collaboration with technology designed to meet the diverse needs of human services organizations. Pathways is a not for profit organization with more than 10 years of history working with state and local governments, emergency assistance organizations, homeless service providers and other human services agencies. We understand the issues nonprofits face, such as limited staffing, so our systems are designed to help you do more with limited resources,

Our PATHWAYS COMPASS Community Information Sharing System helps more social services consumers to find a path to success by enhancing collaboration between social service organizations.

Every day, agencies and communities using PATHWAYS COMPASS work collaboratively and effectively by:

• Instantly sharing information on services consumers receive
• Electronically tracking referrals between agencies (via email and paper forms)
  
• Securely and conveniently maintaining internal client records
• Easily collecting & producing community data for local and national funders
• Generating ongoing unduplicated counts of local residents in need, including special populations such as the homeless
  
• Uniformly collecting client assessment and outcome measurement data at human services organizations across the community
  
• Providing a community-wide view of program and service utilization

Pathways would like to work with your collaboration to see how PATHWAYS COMPASS can propel you to meet the increasing compliance demands of your funders, clients, regulators, partners, providers... even in these challenging economic times.

Tommy Phillips, Director, Community Partnerships

PATHWAYS COMPASS Videos

Perhaps you've read about PATHWAYS COMPASS, or you've attended a user class... but you still need to know more about how the system works. Pathways has introduced a new series of online videos that walk you through the PATHWAYS COMPASS system's basic functions. The topics of the first three videos are:

• Client Search - a demonstration of how to use the PATHWAYS COMPASS system to search for people who have received services in your community
• Program Enrollment - learn how to enroll a client in a program and record a service for that client in one transaction
• Program Discharge - a demonstration of how to discharge a client from one or more programs.

Click here to view the videos. If you are a system user and you would like more information after viewing the videos, call our support team at 866-818-1032 x308. If you aren't a system user, Tommy Phillips will be glad to answer your questions. He can be reached at 866-818-1032 x305 or at tommy.phillips at pcni.org.