Karen Hallenbeck, B.S

Karen Hallenbeck, B.S.

Director of Project Operations

Since joining Hornby Zeller Associates, Inc. in 1998, Karen Hallenbeck has served as the Director of Project Operations, working from the firm’s New York office. She interacts closely with office and project managers located in the firm’s offices in other states to ensure that adequate resources are available to meet project obligations. She works diligently to ensure that all products meet HZA’s high quality standards, as well as the client’s needs and expectations. Ms. Hallenbeck coordinates with the firm’s principals and staff in the production of materials and products for clients. Ms. Hallenbeck works in all aspects of a project from the initial development of data collection tools to the production of the final reports and documents.

Ms. Hallenbeck also serves as the project manager for many of HZA’s endeavors. She is heavily involved in all of HZA’s workload studies, managing the development of data collection and analytic tools, and supervising the data collection and analysis process. She conducts focus groups with participants to develop an inventory of tasks and definitions of case types for the studies, coordinates the training efforts of participating staff and leads the analysis of collected data. For several studies she has developed automated tools for state and local users to project resource need using the results of the respective studies. Most recently, Ms. Hallenbeck has led workload studies in Minnesota; Westchester County, New York; Alaska and Virginia.

In Pennsylvania, Ms. Hallenbeck led testing and implementation teams for the Childnet-PA project which spanned across multiple counties. For this project HZA developed the code and user requirements, which complied with SACWIS requirements, for a case management system which was purchased by the state and is currently operating in eleven counties.

Ms. Hallenbeck has also been involved in performance evaluation and outcome measurement projects. She is responsible for providing oversight and direction in monitoring the state’s ability to adhere to federal and state regulations and policies in meeting the safety and permanency needs of children. Ms. Hallenbeck plays a key role in many of the projects and studies that are conducted by HZA from initial conception to completion of the project.

Prior to her arrival at HZA, Ms. Hallenbeck served as the Assistant Project Director for several projects on behalf of the New York State Department of Social Services. During her tenure with the state she was responsible for the coordination of several statewide revenue maximization initiatives which focused on retroactive claiming and corrective actions involving Title XIX, IV-E and Title IV-A/EAF programs. She was responsible for the development and implementation of a federal expansion project which produced $100 million in gross claims. As part of her efforts, she served as a liaison between counties and state officials. Ms. Hallenbeck received her Bachelor’s degree from Siena College in Loudonville, NY.

Case Management System

From Connecticut Data Collect System Consult – 2007

Karen Hallenbeck, B.S., Director of Project Operations

Since 1998, Ms. Hallenbeck has served as HZA’s Director of Project Operations. She works closely with HZA’s principals and project managers to ensure that sufficient resources are available to meet the company’s obligations in a timely and efficient manner and that all products meet HZA’s quality standards. Ms. Hallenbeck conducts a review of all products prepared on behalf of HZA’s clients prior to the final review conducted by HZA’s principals.

Prior to joining Hornby Zeller Associates in 1998, Ms. Hallenbeck was employed by the New York State Department of Social Services, currently known as the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, and by private consulting firms which focused on maximizing federal reimbursement for medical and public assistance programs. She was responsible for managing statewide projects which included directing and coordinating regional activities and processes. Prior to leaving New York State, where $150 million in Title XIX funds were maximized annually, Ms. Hallenbeck produced a reference manual on how to identify and document Title XIX and Title IV-A Emergency Assistance eligibility, including protocols for evaluating documentation (i.e., medical records for potentially disabled individuals) and processing claims for federal reimbursement.

Ms. Hallenbeck has served as project manager for a number of HZA’s engagements. For instance, in 2006 she managed a workload study for Alaska’s Department of Public Assistance (DPA). Ms. Hallenbeck used a detailed project plan to track task achievements; held bi-weekly meetings to assure that the work was being performed on schedule; troubleshot problems that arose and planned for contingencies. She also took the lead in communications with Alaska’s DPA Project Manager and steering committee of agency executives. She performed similar duties for a workload study HZA conducted for Alaska’s Office of Children’s Services in 2005.

Ms. Hallenbeck has been the company’s primary manager and communicator in relation to a case management software product called “ChildNet-PA.” Developed in partnership with a software development company, ChildNet was designed for use by Pennsylvania county children and youth agencies. Ms. Hallenbeck, working with Ms. Hornby, helped design the specifications for the system, worked with the development company during the construction of the system to ensure that the system met state and federal requirements, designed the reports to come from the system, supervised the training of users, serves as the primary point of communication with the users including a standing users group, and supervises the help desk functions for the system.

For HZA’s project related to 16 and 17 year-olds, Ms. Hallenbeck guided the early day-to-day operations of the project (Ms. Hornby took that function after Ms. Hallenbeck underwent surgery) and also performed much of the analysis of the contract information herself. She was the primary person responsible for communicating with CSSD in relation to the details of the data collection processes.

CFSR/PIP/QSR Support

From Arkansas Quality Service Reviews Proposal – August 2016

Karen Hallenbeck, Director of Project Operations

Since joining the firm in 1998, Karen Hallenbeck has served as the Director of Project Operations, working from the firm’s New York office. She interacts closely with office and project managers located in the firm’s offices in other states to ensure that adequate resources are available to meet project obligations. She works diligently to ensure that all products meet HZA’s high quality standards, as well as the client’s needs and expectations. Ms. Hallenbeck coordinates with the firm’s principals and staff in the production of materials and products for clients and works on all aspects of a project, from the initial development of data collection tools to the production of the final reports and documents, including those produced by staff in and outside of Arkansas for DCFS.

From Pennsylvania Data Gathering, Analysis, and Reporting; Technical Assistance and Training Proposal – December 2015

Karen Hallenbeck, Director of Project Operations

Since joining HZA in 1998, Karen Hallenbeck has served as the Director of Project Operations. She interacts closely with office and project managers located in the firm’s offices to ensure that adequate resources are available to meet project obligations. She works to ensure that all products meet HZA’s high quality standards, as well as the client’s needs and expectations. Ms. Hallenbeck coordinates with the firm’s principals and staff in the production of materials and products for clients. Ms. Hallenbeck oversees all aspects of a project from the initial development of data collection tools to the production of the final reports and documents. She will work closely with Mr. Zacks and Ms. Arthur to ensure the high level of quality and commitment HZA has provided to OCYF in recent years continues.

Aside from her executive duties, Ms. Hallenbeck manages specific projects, particularly those related to workload measurement and revenue maximization. In Minnesota she not only managed a workload study of child welfare caseworkers, she also created an analytic tool which allowed county agencies to estimate their staffing needs on an ongoing basis and to correlate workloads with the achievement of child welfare outcomes. She has helped states such as Georgia, Kansas and Mississippi increase their federal Title IV-E claims, and she is currently assisting agencies in both Kansas and Nevada with Medicaid claiming.

From Alaska Title IV-E Consultant Proposal – November 2014

Karen Hallenbeck, B.S.

Director of Project Operations

Estimated Hours:418

Work Location:Troy, New York and Anchorage and Juneau, Alaska

Since joining Hornby Zeller Associates, Inc. in 1998, Karen Hallenbeck has served as the Director of Project Operations. She interacts closely with office and project managers located in the firm’s offices in other states to ensure that adequate resources are available to meet project obligations and works to ensure that all products meet HZA’s high quality standards, as well as the client’s needs and expectations.

Ms. Hallenbeck is the firm’s Title IV-E expert due both to her background working for New York State and because of her roles in HZA’s finance projects. She led HZA’s review of Georgia’s Title IV-E eligibility determinations and managed the development of the automated tools which allowed Mississippi to track expenditures made prior to a child’s eligibility determination which could be retroactively claimed under Title IV-E maintenance. She also drafted the changes to the cost allocation plan for Mississippi and took the lead, along with Robert Baldacci, in HZA’s work on Title IV-E for the Kansas Department of Corrections. In addition, she worked with HZA’s Information Technology Manager to conduct the testing for ARMARS, the random moment system created for the Colorado Department of Human Services. She had a critical role in the Foster Care Rate Study which HZA performed for Alaska in 2012 as well as the various workload studies performed for OCS and Public Assistance.

Prior to her arrival at HZA, Ms. Hallenbeck served as the Assistant Project Director for several fiscal projects on behalf of the New York State Department of Social Services. During her tenure with the state she was responsible for the coordination of several statewide revenue maximization initiatives which focused on retroactive claiming and corrective actions involving Title XIX, Title IV-E and Title IV-A/EAF programs. She was responsible for the development and implementation of a federal expansion project which produced $100 million in gross claims. As part of her efforts, she served as a liaison between counties and state officials.

From Pennsylvania Data Gathering, Analysis, and Reporting; Technical Assistance and Training Proposal – October 2012

Karen Hallenbeck, B.S.

Director of Project Operations

Since joining Hornby Zeller Associates, Inc. in 1998, Karen Hallenbeck has served as the Director of Project Operations, working from the firm’s New York office. She works closely with office and project managers located in the firm’s offices in other states to ensure that adequate resources are available to meet project obligations. She also ensures that all products meet HZA’s high quality standards, as well as the client’s needs and expectations. For Pennsylvania, Ms. Hallenbeck reviews all of HZA’s responses to ad hoc data requests and supplements the Harrisburg office staff with others, when needed. She also reviews QSR reports before they are finalized and oversees the writing of HZA’s summaries of the key points of the data packages. She will continue to perform the resource deployment and quality assurance functions for the OCYF data analysis project.

Prior to her arrival at HZA, Ms. Hallenbeck served as the Assistant Project Director for several projects on behalf of the New York State Department of Social Services. During her tenure with the state she coordinated revenue maximization initiatives which focused on retroactive claiming and corrective actions involving Title XIX, IV-E and Title IV-A/EAF programs. She was responsible for the development and implementation of a federal expansion project which produced $100 million in gross claims. As part of her efforts, she served as a liaison between counties and state officials. Ms. Hallenbeck received her Bachelor’s degree from Siena College in Loudonville, NY.

From PA OCYF Data Analysis Re-Bid – May 2012

Karen Hallenbeck, B.S.

Director of Project Operations

Prior to her arrival at HZA, Ms. Hallenbeck served as the Assistant Project Director for several projects on behalf of the New York State Department of Social Services. During her tenure with the state she coordinated revenue maximization initiatives which focused on retroactive claiming and corrective actions involving Title XIX, IV-E and Title IV-A/EAF programs. She was responsible for the development and implementation of a federal expansion project which produced $100 million in gross claims. As part of her efforts, she served as a liaison between counties and state officials. Ms. Hallenbeck received her Bachelor’s degree from Siena College in Loudonville, NY.

From NJ Production of Longitudinal Data, Analysis and Reporting Proposal – April 2012