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.

Internship Opportunity - Systems Administration

Pathways is seeking a part time/intern Systems Administrator to work with our Systems Team. The work schedule is flexible and is designed to accommodate a student's schedule. Click here to download the job announcement.

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.

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