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Staff Schedule

The Schedule tab allows sites to document each employee’s schedule, which informs staff/child ratio reporting.

schedule tabClick the ‘Add Schedule Period’ button to record an employee’s schedule. Specify the days of the week, begin time, end time, room and activity. If an employee’s hours or room vary from day to day, enter each day’s schedule details separately.

Note: site activities, such as lunch break or prep time, can  be created in the Rooms tab of the site set-up.

recording schedule

Click ‘OK’ to save the schedule. The saved schedules will appear in the Staff Schedule grid.

staff schedule grid

 

 

 

Staff Log

The final tab in the Staff record is the Log, which reflects the updates made to an employee’s record in ChildWare. Note: not all changes to a record are recorded to the log. If you subscribe to ChildWare PLUS, you will have an attendance log which records staff arrival and departure time. Click here to learn more about the Attendance and Time Tracker.

staff log

This tab is especially helpful to investigate the details of an update or deletion to the staff record. The grid display includes:

  • the type of change that occurred (either ‘Update’ or ‘Delete’);
  • the tab and field which was changed;
  • the old and new value of the field that was changed;
  • the date that the change occurred; and
  • the user who made the change.

Staff Clearances

The Clearances tab in the Staff record stores child care and medical clearance information for each employee, including a place to record completed child abuse checks, FBI checks, physical examinations and tuberculin tests.

staff clearances tabUpload documentations for child abuse and FBI clearance checks, as well as physical completion documents, using the attachment icon. Click ‘OK’ to save information on this tab.

attachment

Unless an employee has been marked ‘exempt’, clearances will expire according to state regulations. It is helpful to set up your To Do list to receive notifications for staff whose clearances are approaching their expiration date or have expired.

Staff Credentials

The Credentials tab enables agencies to record credentials, PA Keys career lattice levels and ECE credits for each staff member. The number of years of ECE experience is calculated based on the years of experience at hire (on the Hiring tab) and the staff member’s current employment history.

credentials tab

To record a credential for a staff member, click the ‘Add Credential’ button. Based on the credential type selected, credential-specific fields appear, such as license type, date enrolled, date awarded and expiration date.

add credential

The Career Lattice/ECE Credits grid is tailored to the PA Keys to Quality Early Learning Career Lattice, which provides a roadmap for early childhood practitioners as they plan the credentials and degrees needed to obtain the early childhood position they desire.

To add a new career lattice/ECE credit verification record, click the ‘Add Career Lattice/ECE Credit’ button.  Lattice level, ECE Credits and information on the person, agency and date of verification can be recorded here. Click ‘OK’ to save. You can verify career lattice level and ECE credits separately or together. If you are reverifying ECE credits, list the complete number of credits earned, as reporting will look at the most recent verification on file and not the total.

career lattice

Staff Hiring

The Hiring tab in the Staff record houses information on each employee’s experience, references, required documents (such as resume, proof of age and residency verification) and former Head Start parent designation. Many of the fields on this tab link up with reporting for DHS inspection.

hiring tabIn the References area, you can capture name and date of reference verification, as well as attach letters of reference or other similar documentation.

To upload a letter of reference, click on the attachment icon. Choose the file you would like to attach, record relevant notes in the Comments field and click ‘OK’ to save.

attaching reference upload

The References area will display attached files in blue.

references area with saved attachmentClick ‘OK’ on the Hiring tab to save.

Staff Main

The Main tab in the Staff record serves two purposes: to record demographic information (such as date of birth, sex, race, ethnicity and language) and to reflect employment history (including transition, termination and rehire).

Record demographic details in the provided fields and click ‘OK’ to save.

staff mainThe Employment History grid may be updated in two ways; first, to terminate a current staff member, click ‘Select’ to the right of the employment record. Record transition/termination date, reason and notes and click ‘OK’ to save.

terminatingThe Employment History grid will update with the termination date and note. When a previously-vacant Head Start position has been filled, users will need to return to the terminated employee’s record to check the ‘Position Replaced Mid-Year’ checkbox. This information is especially important for the yearly PIR (Program Information Report) that is submited to the Office of Head Start.

To add an employment record, click the ‘Add Employment History’ button. Hiring information, such as location, hire date, title, type (including contractor, paid employee and volunteer) and status can be recorded.

If the new employment record is for a Head Start position, select the ‘Head Start Staff’ and ‘Fulfilling Vacant Position’ checkboxes where relevant.  Depending on the title and status selected, additional checkboxes will appear to indicate if this position is filling a vacancy of more than 3 months or if this position has a family caseload.

add employment record

Click ‘OK’ to save the new employment record. The new employment record will display in the Employment History grid for the staff member.

employment history with new role

 

Financial

The Financial tab enables users to review and record financial transactions for each child. The tab includes a Financial History grid that displays all billing and payment transactions for the child. A billing transaction will appear in the Financial History grid when family billing has been processed (accessible via Billing on the main menu).

The Balances bar that displays across the child record reflects both the child balance and the family balance. Family balance is the sum of all child balances for the primary billing contact. For sites requiring deposits, deposit charge and balance on file are also included in the Balances bar.

Individual financial transactions can be recorded using the ‘Add Financial Transaction’ button, invoices can be produced using the ‘Print Invoice’ button and the financial history may be printed or exported using the ‘Print/Export List’ button.

financial tab

Record a new transaction using the ‘Add Financial Transaction’ button.  Fields appear to document transaction category (payment/credit, charge or transfer), transaction type, billing contact, date, amount paid, payment method, receipt number and notes. If no receipt number if entered, the system will generate a unique receipt number once the transaction is saved.

A charge may be added in the event of a deposit requirement, field trip, late fee or refund, for example.

Click ‘OK’ to save the transaction.

add transaction

Click the ‘Print Receipt’ button to produce a paper receipt for the transaction.

payment receipt

Click ‘Select’ to the right of a transaction in the Financial History grid to review its details. To correct an error in a recorded transaction, make your changes and click ‘OK’ for the update to be reflected in the Financial History grid.

select transaction

To print an invoice for a family, select ‘Date Range’ from the ‘View or Search By’ filter and enter the range in the ‘From’ and ‘To’ fields. Click ‘Search’ to view transactions for this period.

view or search by filter

When the transaction records appear for the date range selected, click ‘Print Invoice’ to produce a family invoice for all billing and payment transactions for that period. The invoice will include starting balance, fees,  payments and ending balance.

search and print invoice

family invoiceUse the ‘Print/Export List’ button to export all transactions in the Financial History grid.

child financial list

 

Services

The Services tab stores data related to billing and scheduling. It also includes other data that may change over time, such as care level or classroom assignment. The main portion of the tab provides a summary of data stored on the current service profile.

To view the details behind the summary, select the service profile from the Service Profile History grid. To add or edit the service profile record, click the ‘Add/Change Current Service Profile’ button.

services tab

The Service Profile includes three sections: Services, Subsidies/Scholarships, and Costs/Payments. The Services area displays the care type, scheduled days, time in and time out, classroom, care level, meals and family financial information (including meal subsidies) for the selected service profile. The expected schedule is used to create attendance and meal rosters. The schedule and expected meals prepopulate in the attendance and meals roster based on the active service profile within that range. If you subscribe to ChildWare PLUS, the system uses this  data to mark the child absent. Read more about Attendance tracking here.

service profile_services area

Note: If a child has aged out of their original care level, the system will display a reminder to review the care level.

review care level

The Subsidies/Scholarships grid contains all subsidies or scholarships associated with the service profile, along with subsidy care level, subsidy rate and frequency, and copay and copay frequency details. Use the ‘Add Subsidy/Scholarship’ button to document a new subsidy or scholarship or click ‘Select’ to the left of the subsidy to review details of the record.

subsidies_scholarships

subsidy details

Children are automatically assigned a private tuition rate based on care type, scheduled days and care level. If the child pays privately, this fee will be billed in the parent payment schedule. You can apply discounts as needed.

private pay summary

If a child has a subsidy, the tuition rate listed serves simply as a reference to the cost of care. If there is a difference between private rates and subsidy reimbursement, you can charge an additional copay or leave as a subsidy discount. The parent payment schedule will include the subsidy copay and any other additional recurring charges.

cost and payment

 

Health

The Health tab assembles information about each child’s physical and cognitive development. Because there are many categories of health data, this tab has been divided into the following six subtabs:

INSURANCE & PROVIDERS

Insurance & Providers is the first health subtab and is where a child’s primary care physician, dentist and insurance details can be added and updated.

Records that appear in the Providers and Insurance grids are verified records, and those details become read-only. If there is an data entry error, the original verification record should be deleted and a new verification should be added.

health tab

Verified provider and insurance information is especially important for Head Start programs and their end of year Program Information Report (PIR). As part of the PIR, programs are required to report the number of children who:

  • enrolled with or without insurance
  • enrolled with or without a medical home
  • enrolled with or without a dental home
  • received insurance coverage or a provider during the program year
  • lost provider care or insurance coverage by the end of enrollment

Add a provider record via the ‘Add Provider Verification’ button. In the Provider screen, use the ‘Provider Type’ menu to indicate if you are adding a Primary Care or Dental Care provider verification.  If the child does not have a Primary Care or Dental Care home, check the ‘No Primary Care Home’ or ‘No Dental Care Home’ checkbox. It is important to verify that the child does not have primary care or dental care for the PIR.

adding provider verification

A list of existing doctors will be available to choose from or you may add a new doctor. Be sure to look through the available list of provider records (accessible via Admin on the main menu) before creating a new one to avoid duplicate data in the provider list.

provider type and provider list

Once an existing provider is chosen,  address, telephone and practice details appear. Click ‘OK’ to save.

Insurance coverage information is added using the ‘Add Insurance Verification’ button. The ‘Insurance Type’ and ‘Insurance’ drop-downs contain options to indicate what type of insurance the child has (for example, dental or primary health coverage) and the specific insurance provider (such as Medicaid or private insurance). Policy number and group number fields are also included.

If a child does not have insurance coverage, the ‘Has No Insurance’ checkbox should be checked. As with provider verifications, it is important to document if a child does not have insurance for Head Start reporting.

add insurance verification

ALLERGIES & NUTRITION

Many young children may have diagnosed allergies or food restrictions.  The Allergies & Nutrition tab enables providers to document these conditions, their severity and any ongoing treatment or food substitution plans. The Allergies & Nutrition tab is organized into three areas: Infants/Toddlers, Allergies/Food Restrictions and Nutritional Events.

The first section, Infants/Toddlers, includes fields that are relevant to very young children; here you can record formula consent (along with a place to upload consent forms), formula choice, diaper size and other information.

allergies and nutritionThe Allergies/Food Restrictions grid displays allergies or special diet information.  When a new allergy is diagnosed or food substitution is requested, use the ‘Add Allergy/Food Restriction’ button to record this information.

To add an allergy, select ‘Allergy’ from the ‘Type’ menu, which prompts the ‘Severity’ field to appear. A notes field provides a place to record action plans.

adding allergy

Record a food restriction/special diet by selecting ‘Food Restriction’ from the ‘Type’ menu. A ‘Reason’ menu appears to specify if this special diet is for religious or health reasons. Meal substitution plans or other details may be recorded in the notes field.

food restriction

Click ‘OK’ to save.

The last area in the Allergies & Nutrition tab is the Nutritional Events grid, where completed nutrition questionnaires and nutrition consultations are displayed. Click the ‘Add Nutritional Event’ button to record a nutrition event.

nutritional eventThe date of assessment, event type (Nutrition Questionnaire or Nutrition Consultation), name of the staff member and relevant plans/recommendations can be noted. When creating a Nutrition Questionnaire, a checkbox appears to indicate if the event has resulted in an identified concern and details of the concern. After saving the assessment, corresponding documentation can be uploaded.

ASSESSMENTS & SCREENINGS

Assessments & Screenings is the next health subtab and it includes both health and mental health screenings.  The Assessments and Screenings grid displays all screening/assessments for a child, screening date, screening results and notes.

assessments and screenings tab

Document a new assessment or screening by clicking the ‘Add Assessment/Screening’ button.

The ‘Type’ drop-down determines which assessment-specific fields appear.  For example, selecting ‘BMI Assessment’ causes height, weight, BMI and weight category fields to display. Be sure to select the correct type based on the paper documentation. For example, the drop-down list includes dental assessments and dental screenings, which differ based on who conducted the exam/screening. An assessment is a formal examination completed by a doctor or dentist while a screening may be conducted by non-medical staff.

adding screening assessment

Note: a link to the CDC’s child BMI/weight category calculator is included in the BMI assessment. The CDC’s calculator requires screening date, child’s date of birth, sex, height and weight to produce the correct BMI and weight category.

bmi assessment as example

Other screening types–such as hearing, vision and dental screenings–are enabled to record a concern that was identified through the screening.

Click ‘OK’ to save the assessment/screening.

SPECIAL NEEDS

In the Special Needs subtab, providers can document physical, developmental and mental health needs as well as prescribed medications and completed IEP/IFSPs.

special needs tab

The Special Needs grid displays all special needs for a child, any accommodations for that need and when the need was entered. Click ‘Select’ to the left of the special need to review it or record a new special need using the ‘Add Special Need’ button.

review or add special need

Diagnosis date, special need type, accommodations and treatment fields are included. If a child is not receiving treatment, a ‘reason’ field will appear to explain why treatment/service has not been provided. It is important to complete the full form for Head Start reporting.

adding special need

Click ‘OK’ to save.

In the Special Needs subtab, the Medication grid contains medication a child is taking. Document a new medication using the ‘Add Medication’ button.

add medicationTo record a medication, add the name of the medication, if it is a prescription, dosage amount, administration time and whether or not the medication is required on an ongoing basis or during a period of time (start date/end date). Click ‘OK’ to save. adding medication administration info

Finally, the Special Needs tab also includes an area to record IEP/IFSPs, which can be added via the ‘Add IEP/IFSP’ button.

add iep_ifsp

The IEP/IFSP add screen includes start date,  end date, diagnosed primary disability, caseworker and service provider fields. If the child recently transferred to your program, they may have an IEP or IFSP but may not be currently receiving services. It is important to note this for Head Start reporting.

adding iep

Click ‘OK’ to save. Once saved, the IEP/IFSP will appear in the IEP/IFSP grid to review at any time.

VACCINES

Immunizations are housed within the Vaccines subtab, which includes a chart of required vaccines/expected schedule for administration, a vaccine history grid, and an area to record temporary or permanent vaccine exemption.

Document a new vaccine with the ‘Add Vaccine’ button.

vaccines tab

Record a dose by selecting from the ‘Vaccine’ drop-down. Based on the vaccine chosen, the disease name will appear in the ‘Vaccine/Dosage Information’ section. The system will calculate the next required dose, while you will record the date the dose was given. Add any useful notes in the ‘Comment’ field and click ‘OK’ to save. To save time during the data entry process, the page will refresh and set to the next dose of that immunization type. After you have saved your last dose, click ‘Return’ to return to the child’s record.

Note: If all required doses have been administered, the vaccine will not appear in the ‘Vaccine’ drop-down.

add vaccinationOnce saved, the dose will appear in the Vaccine history grid.

Record a temporary or permanent immunization exemption in the ‘Vaccine Exemptions’ section of the Vaccines subtab.

EPSDT

The final health subtab tracks EPSDT (Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic or Treatment) status according to state guidelines. This tab contains three sections: an Assessment/Screening Summary, a Vaccines grid and an area to record EPSDT Verifications.

EPSDT verification is especially important for Head Start programs’ Program Information Report (PIR). Head Start programs are required to report the number of children who were up-to-date on EPSDT as of enrollment and the number who were up-to-date on EPSDT at the end of enrollment. The Assessment/Screening Summary and Vaccines grid will help you decide whether the child is up-to-date, as it summarizes data entered in the Assessments & Screenings tab and the Vaccines tab.

Record a verification record via the ‘Add  Verification’ button.

EPSDT tab

Fields appear to document verification date, EPSDT area (general health, dental health or immunizations), EPSDT status (up-to-date, not up-to-date or on an immunization catch-up schedule), verifier’s name and notes.

add epsdt verification

Click ‘OK’ to save.

The EPSDT verification record will then display in the Verifications grid. If there is an data entry error, the original verification record should be deleted and a new verification should be added.