To:[Executive Director name]

From:Karen Dvorak, Data Manager

Texas CASA

Date:May 12, 2010

Subject:(1) Quarterly Submission of Statistical Data

(2) Future of Case Management Software after COMET

Note:I know that data collection and submission may be one of the least enjoyable parts of your job. It is, of course, important that we have a good system in place and timely report data to our funders. With the additional funding from the legislature, I have been reminded of how important it is that we do as good a job as we can to prove to the legislature that we making the best use of our new funds. On top of that, I know that with National CASA announcing recently that it will no longer support COMET and is instead promoting a private vendor, you have a need for assistance in deciding your next steps.In order to improve our timely reporting the state and to assist you in responding to National CASA’s changes, we are taking the following steps as outlined by Karen Dvorak’s memo to you below. If you would like to serve on the ad hoc committee Karen has outlined or have questions please contact Karen or myself. Thank you. Joe Gagen.

Quarterly Submission of Statistical Data

CASA programs in Texas have demonstrated, since the beginning of this funding year, the capacity to put additional funding to work in the most positive possible ways—recruiting and training volunteers to advocate for those most vulnerable in our state. In both quarters, we have been able to report to the legislature and the Office of Attorney General that our programs are recruiting more volunteers and serving more children.

Reporting performance data is the primary way in which we are held accountable by our donors and funding agencies, and is critical for sustained funding. The majority of CASA programs in Texas report high quality data to us in a timely manner. Nevertheless, some programs submit their data late, or very late, and others submit data with obvious errors. Late data submissions cause us to miss deadlines established by the OAG and other grantors. Inaccurate data can raise concerns of the funding entities.

To enable Texas CASA to prepare and submit accurate reports in a timely manner, observance of data submission deadlines is essential (Attachment).

In addition, in order to ensure data accuracy, Executive Director approval on data submissions to Texas CASA is requested. Other than the requirement for Executive Directorapproval of data submissions, programs that submit quality data in a timely manner are not affected by the policies.

The Texas CASA data dictionary is being updated to reflect the revised reporting protocol. In addition, each data field in the data dictionary will include the reason it is reported to Texas CASA.

Future of Case Management Software after COMET

As you are aware, National CASA plans to discontinue support of COMET in December 2010, and promote a new case management application, Efforts to Outcomes (ETO).

Texas CASA is assembling an adhoc committee including local program representatives with the following charges:

(1) poll CASA programs in Texas on the case management software currently in use;

(2) evaluate options and make recommendations on case management and reporting software for CASA programs in Texas, including, but not limited to, COMET, ETO, ProMedDa, and CTK; and

(3) make recommendations to Texas CASA staff and board for improvements in or alternatives to CTK for reporting to Texas CASA.

Specifics on the ad hoccommittee will be provided in a separate email.

Two conference call times are scheduled for your comments and questions related to all information above:

Wednesday, May 26, 2010, 1:00pm, telephone number 1-877-802-4003 participant code 230861

Thursday, May 27, 2010, 3:00pm, telephone number 1-877-802-4003 participant code 230861

Please call with any questions you may have.

Please forward this information to staff in your program responsible for data submissions, if appropriate.

Attachment

In accordance with Texas CASA Adopted Policies, the following revisions become effective three months after local programs have been notified; that is, at the time of data submissions for Quarter 4 FY2010.

  1. The Child Case Data (CCD) and Staff, Board, and Volunteer Data (SBVD) forms each have two new fields:
  2. Executive Director approval. The Executive Director must type in his or her name to indicate that he or she is in agreement with the statement, “The name of the Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer/Official Designee certifies that the CASA program has verified the accuracy and the authenticity of the data submitted for the collection.” CCD and SBVD forms without the approval are considered incomplete and are not accepted.[a]
  3. Date of Executive Director approval. The Executive Director, Chief Executive Officer or his or her designee adds the date of approval.
  4. The database with CCD and SBVD data is locked after midnight on the submission deadline for quarterly statistical data submissions. Late data are not accepted.
  5. Data are not corrected after the database is locked.
  6. Data submitted in a timely manner are included in reports submitted to the Office of the Attorney General and other donors and funding agencies. Programs with data missing from the aggregates are indicated as missing in reports to the OAG.
  7. A reimbursement of Crime Victims Compensation (CVC) funds is not processed if a quarterly statistical data submission is outstanding.
  8. Texas CASA reviews the data submission requirements regularly and deletes data reporting requirements that are not needed.
  9. For the reference of all local programs, Texas CASA incorporates the justification for each data reporting requirement in the Texas CASA Information Management System (TCIMS) Data Dictionary.

To Release CVC Reimbursements

  1. The program requests that CCD and SBVD forms are unlocked.
  2. The program enters and saves CCD and SBVD data, and notifies Texas CASA.
  3. The program CVC reimbursement is processed and released.

To Submit Corrections for Funding

  1. Child and volunteer counts are used to calculate Fiscal Year funding for local programs in late spring and early summer.
  2. Programs are given an opportunity once a year to submit to Texas CASA corrections in child and volunteer counts for funding purposes.

P:\Administration\Data\2_Procedures\1_Databases\PolicyDevelopment\Letter_Programs_v3.doc12/4/20181

[a] Data are not accepted late because the Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer is not available on a submission date. If the Executive Director plans to be out of the office on a deadline for quarterly statistical data, the program must plan to complete its data submission, obtain the approval of the Executive Director, and submit the data in advance. If the Executive Director is unexpectedly unavailable on a deadline for quarterly statistical data, he or she must designate an alternate to approve the data for submission.