All posts by childware

ChildWare PLUS, How-To

Parent Portal

What is the Parent Portal?
Parent Portal Guide

portal

The Parent Portal is currently in Beta Testing. Once testing is complete, the guide will be uploaded to the website.

The Parent Portal is a secure site where parents can log in to ChildWare to review and update information on themselves and their children. The Portal makes it easier for providers and families to share information and communicate more effectively. In addition to providing secure data access, the portal also enables new and current families to enroll children online and allows providers to email parents directly from ChildWare.

The Parent Portal is currently in beta testing. Current users wishing to join the beta test group should call or email us to get started.

 

How-To, How-To-General

Customized Referral Sources

You can use ChildWare to track your recruitment efforts in more detail  by using a customized list of referral sources. This way, you’ll be able to get much more specific information about how families heard about your program.

AddRefSource1

1 Select Agency/Site from the Admin Menu then select the site for which you want to create custom referral sources (If you are a multi-site you can use different sources for different sites).

AddRefSource2

 

2 Select the ‘Other’ tab, then click ‘Add Referral Source’.

3 Note that ChildWare already has a list of standard referral sources for you to use. These cannot be edited.

AddRefSource3

 

4 On the next screen, enter the name of the new referral source in the ‘Source’ field and click “OK” to save.

AddRefSource4AddRefSource5

5 The new custom referral source will now show up in the list of Referral Sources.

6 It will also be included in the drop-down list of Referral Sources on the ‘Add Child’ and ‘Referral/Enrollment’ screens.

troubleshooting

Why Does Nothing Happen When I Click?

The most recent version of Internet Explorer, IE11, has a few quirks that may make it seem like you can’t access your data in ChildWare. The most common problem is that clicking ‘Select’ in grids does not work. Additionally, drop-down lists and other fields may appear wonky.

Never fear! Follow these simple steps to ensure you have complete access to your files.

How do I know what browser I’m using?

You can tell based on the icon. These are the icons for the four of the most commonly used browsers:

ie firefox safari chrome
Internet Explorer Mozilla Firefox Safari (Apple) Google Chrome

 

How do I know which version of Internet Explorer I’m using?

iesetup

Open Internet Explorer.

1 Click the tools menu

2 Click “About Internet Explorer”; a pop-up window will appear showing you what version of IE you have.

 

 

So now we’ve established that I have IE 11, what do I do?

compatibility
3 Select ‘Tools’ from the Menu Bar. If you do not see a Menu bar, right click on the top of the window and select ‘Menu bar’ to make it visible.

4 Select ‘Compatibility View settings.’ A new screen will pop up.

compatibility2
5 Add phmc.org to the list of websites to be displayed in Compatibility View.

6 Click ‘Close’ to save. Close and re-open Internet Explorer and you should be able to access ChildWare normally.

Still having trouble? Call or email us!

How-To, How-To-General

Viewing & Printing Reports

Report Formats

ReportFormat

There are three formats for viewing reports. After selecting your preferred format and applying any filters, click ‘Preview Report’ to view and/or print the report.

 PDF

This is the default view. When this option is chosen, a new tab or window pops up with the report in PDF format. You can save the file and print from here. If nothing happens when you click ‘Preview Report’, you may have to change your pop-up blocker settings. Find out more here.

Staff Report in PDF
Staff Report in PDF

You might also want to make sure that you have the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader installed; the free software can be downloaded here.

Report Viewer

When this option is selected, the report will pop up as a web page in a new tab or window. In some cases, you will have the the option to sort columns. From this screen, you can export the report to PDF or to an Excel spreadsheet formatted exactly as it is on the screen. Some reports feature custom sorting in Report Viewer mode. If you see two small arrows next to a column header, you can click to sort the report by that column.

Staff Contact Report in Report Viewer
Staff Contact Report in Report Viewer

If nothing happens when you click ‘Preview Report’, check to see if you have your pop-up blocker activated. If so, you will need change your pop-up blocker settings. Find out more here.

Excel (data)

Report data is exported to an Excel spreadsheet in columnar format. This is useful if you want to manipulate data, merge information from multiple reports, or use this data to create your own report. If you select Excel (data) as your format, ChildWare will export the information in the report directly into an Excel worksheet in columnar format. You may receive one of the messages show below after clicking ‘Preview Report’. Click ‘Open’, ‘Ok’, or ‘Yes’ as appropriate.

Excel Prompts
Excel Prompts

The report will open in Excel. The system defaults to Microsoft Excel 2003 for the convenience of users with older versions of the software.

Staff Contact Report in Excel
Staff Contact Report in Excel
troubleshooting

Why Does The Report Say There Is No Data?

Don’t worry, it doesn’t mean your data isn’t there. This is probably because of the Filters used to run the report. If you set the filters to a time period or classroom for which there is no relevant data, the report will be blank. Check to see that you have selected the correct date(s), site(s), and/or classroom(s) and that all other filters for the report are correctly set.

filters

troubleshooting

Why Did I Get This Error Message?

The system generates this error for multiple reasons. If you encounter this error, we recommend that you close your browser and try logging in to ChildWare again. If you get the error message again the likely problem is that there is a data error that the system is unable to reconcile. Common reasons for this include:

  • Inconsistencies in Service Profile data. This is why we strongly recommend that you not delete service profiles, or change beginning and end dates of profiles. If you need to replace or change an existing service profile, use ‘Add/Change Current Service Profile’ to create a new service profile, rather than deleting it.
  • Inconsistencies in Enrollment Dates. Please avoid editing enrollment dates if at all possible. If you must change a date, be very careful to ensure that the date is not contradicted by any other dates on the child’s record. We also do not recommend deleting enrollment records.

If you are unable to resolve the data error, please call or e-mail us with the name and site of the child and a brief description of what happened. We’ll clear up the data error on the back end as quickly as we can.

troubleshooting

Why Can’t I Open This Report?

Did nothing happen when you clicked ‘Preview Report’?

Your Pop-Up Blocker is Probably the Problem

The most likely issue is that you have a pop-up blocker that is preventing the browser from opening the report in a new tab or window. If you look closely, you will likely see that you got one of the following messages:

If you are using Google Chrome:

chromepopupblocker

If you are using Firefox:

firefoxpopupblocker

If you are using Internet Explorer (this will be at the bottom of the screen):

iepopupblocker

In each of the cases shown above, you can click on the error messages and select ‘Allow pop-ups from this site’.

Unfortunately, Safari does not display an error message. However, if you are having trouble opening reports in Safari, click on the gear icon in the upper right hand corner and uncheck ‘Block Pop-up Windows”.

safaripopupblocker

Pop-ups Not the Problem?

You might also want to make sure that you have the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader installed; the free software can be downloaded here. If you need to view the report right away and/or can’t install Adobe Reader your computer, select “Report Viewer” on the “Report Format” section of the Reports Screen. This will launch the report without using Adobe Acrobat.

Still having trouble?

Call or email us!

 

troubleshooting

Why Can’t I Delete This Child’s Record From the System?

Would you believe us if we said that deleting a child’s record causes a rip in the space/time continuum?

Yea, we wouldn’t believe us either, but it can cause some pretty big problems in the system. Each child’s record is connected to multiple points in the system and deleting the record without first removing those connections causes data errors. There is really no reason to delete a child’s record. If they are no longer at your center, you can discharge them. If they did not actually enroll in your center, you can set their status to “Did Not Enroll”.

If you have duplicate records and you’d like to delete one, email us at childware@phmc.org  and we’ll gladly delete the child’s record (and all the associated connections) for you.