Category Archives: How-To-General

How-To, How-To-General

To Do List

This guide provides step-by-step instructions on setting up and using your To Do List.

Most To Do List items are associated with federal, state and quality regulations. The To Do List helps you identify records that missing, expired, or due to expire. To set your own deadlines, see Customized Event Reminders How-to.

Set Up Your To Do List

1. Navigate to To Do List Setup on the To Do List Menu.

todosetup1

 

 

 

 

 

2. Click “Edit Setup.”

todosetup2

 

 

 

 

3. Select the To Do List Category. For a full list of categories and items, scroll down to To Do List Definitions.

todosetup3

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Select items that you would like to keep track of in ChildWare. Items selected will appear on you To Do List accessed via the Main Menu.

5. Select items that you would like to see on your home page. This serves as an additional reminder each time you log in to the system.

6. Select items that you would like to include in your weekly To Do List email. This serves as an additional reminder every week to complete selected items.

7. Click “Ok” to save your selections.

*You can use the Select and Deselect All Buttons above each column to speed up the sign up process.

 

todosetup4

 

 

 

 

 

8. Repeat steps 3-6 for each category.

 

 

To Do List Definitions

The To Do List Definitions grid provides you with details about each To Do item, including when each item appears on your list. Most To Do List items are linked with federal, state and quality (STARS) regulations. If there is a change to regulations, contact the ChildWare Team and we will update the system immediately.

1. Navigate to To Do List Definitions on the To Do List Menu.

tododef1

 

 

 

 

2. Each To Do List item is one row of the definitions grid. This grid tells you the category and subcategory of each item, and when the item will appear for each child, contact, staff or site record.

For example, “CACFP expired” notification displays for each child 1 year after the of the prior CACFP enrollment application (Entered as a CACFP Enrollment Application Event). “CACFP due to expire” notifications display after 10 months of the prior application.

tododef2

 

 

 

Access Your To Do List

Now that you have learned how to setup your to do list and when each To Do List item displays, you can begin updating information in the system to keep up with important deadlines.

1. Navigate to To Do List on the To Do List Menu.

todoaccess1

 

 

 

 

2. You can view the full list of To Dos or filter by To Do Category, Specific To Do item, or by Classroom (Child/Room List).

3. As with other grids in ChildWare, you can click the column headers to sort by that specific column.

todoaccess2

 

 

 

 

4. Print the To Do List by item. This option will organize the list by to do item and list all associated child, contact, staff or site records.

5. Print the To Do List by individual record. This option will organize the list by child, contact, staff or site record.

todoaccess3

 

 

 

6. To make updates to individual records, select the record from the list. After making edits, the system will navigate you back to the To Do List to continue making updates to additional records.

todoaccess4

 

 

 

Weekly Email

Weekly emails are sent to you every Sunday. The email includes a summary of all To Do items that you signed up for under To Do List Setup.

todoemail

 

How-To, How-To-General, Recent_Changes

Case Notes and Events

In Summer of 2014, we introduced Case Notes on the Child Record to provide a place for tracking general comments that you want to maintain as part of the child’s file. Part of the reason we created Case Notes was to provide an alternative to creating an Event for what was really a note. Although our initial plan was to separate Events and Case Notes, feedback from our users indicated that the two were and probably should remain linked in some meaningful way. The result is the new Events & Case Notes Tab. We also added the ability to categorize Case Notes to make them easier to manage.

event_case_note_tab

On a single screen you can view, search, add, or edit Events and/or Case Notes. You can also:

  • View Case Notes or Events only
  • View only specific types of Case Notes or Events
  • View Case Notes and Events for a specific date range
  • Search the text of all Case Notes and Events to find what you’re looking for.

event_case_note_retrieve

Case Note Types
  • Administrative
  • Attendance
  • Family
  • Fees/Payment
  • General
  • Health
  • Observation
  • Recruitment
How-To, How-To-General

Customized Event Reminders

ChildWare enables you to keep a record of important events for each child such as parent conferences, observations, and early intervention. Some of these events might require follow-up at a later date and you can use ChildWare to set a reminder for you or a member of your staff.

Reminders will appear on your homepage just above the To-Do List on whatever date you specify. It will remain there until you mark it as complete. You can also request that ChildWare send an email reminder to yourself or a colleague on the specified date.ReminderHome

1. Creating a Reminder

SetReminder

1 On the “Events” Tab, fill in the event information and select the date to be reminded to follow up on this event.

2 You can include information about what exactly needs to be completed.

3 Select the staff member who should be reminded to follow up. This could be you or you can assign it to another staff member. The dropdown list will only include staff that have system user accounts in ChildWare.

4  Check this box if you want ChildWare to send an email reminder to the user specified in Step 3. The email will be sent to the address listed on the staff member’s user account.

2. Dismissing a Reminder

ReminderComplete

1 To mark a follow-up item as complete, go to Events tab on the child’s record and check ‘Action Complete’.

3. Reminder Reports

You can use event reports to get data on reminders.

ReminderReports

1 There are two event reports: ‘Events by Child’ and ‘Events by Type’.

2 Both reports have the same filters. You can filter by site, date, event type, child, or classroom.

3.a. Events by Child Report

eventsbychild

Events are grouped by child and sorted by event date, from most recent to oldest. The report shows which events have reminders and whether or not the follow-up actions from the reminders have been completed.

 3.b. Events by Type Report

eventbytype

Events are grouped by event type and sorted alphabetically by child’s last name. This report also indicates which events have reminders and whether or not the follow-up actions from the reminders have been completed.

How-To, How-To-General

Document Management Guide

The Document Management System allows you to store PDF files associated with child, contact, and staff records in ChildWare.

Document types include but are not limited to health assessment forms, transcripts, and clearances.

ChildWare allows you quick and easy access to files through individual staff and child records, or from the Document Center.

 

1. Document Fields

All documents uploaded to ChildWare must be associated with a specific field. Most fields for which a document can be uploaded will have an icon.

staffdocscreen

document This icon indicates that a document has been uploaded. Clicking this icon opens the document.

nodocument This icon indicates that no document is uploaded. Clicking this icon allows you to upload a document.

Child Health Assessments, Child Events, Staff Trainings, and Staff PD events can all have documents associated with them. However, because they are listed in grids they do not have icons.

For these types of documents, you have to click ‘Select’ in the grid order to see if a document has been uploaded to ChildWare.

staffeventgrid staffeventscreen

2. Documents Tab

Child, contact, and staff records include a Documents Tab which lists all the documents uploaded for that child or staff member.

From this tab, you can view, print, add, and delete documents. You can also print a list of documents available for that child, contact, or staff member, or you can search to find the specific document you want.

childdocscreen

3. Document Center

The Document Center provides centralized access to all child and staff files. From this screen, you can do detailed searches and find, print, or view multiple staff and child documents at once. The Document Center is accessible under “Reports/Documents” on the Main Menu.

DocCenter

4. Viewing and Printing Documents

Regardless of how you access them, all documents will open up in a new window or tab. If nothing happens when you click the icon, you might have to disable your pop-up blocker. Click here for information on how to disable the pop-up blocker

newtab

4.a. Viewing & Printing Documents by Field

The quickest and simplest way to view a document is from the actual field within the child or staff record.

staffeventscreen

document This icon indicates that a document is available for viewing. To view the document, just click the icon.

Remember that Child Health Assessments, Child Events, Staff Trainings, and Staff PD events can all have documents associated with them but that these icons will not show because these documents are listed in grids. To see if there is a document available for viewing, click ‘Select’ in the grid to see the icon then proceed as outlined above.

staffeventgrid

4.b. Viewing & Printing Documents from the Documents Tab

staffselect

1 Click ‘Select’ beside the document you want to view.

staffview

2 On the Document Screen, click ‘View Document’ to open it.

staffsearch

If the child or staff person has many documents in their record, you may find it useful to limit the document list to certain types of documents. To do this:

3 Select ‘Document Type’ from the ‘View or Search By’ drop-down; then,

4 Select the appropriate document type from the ‘Search For’ drop-down list.

4.c. Viewing & Printing Documents from the Document Center

By default, the Document Center will not list any documents. To view available documents, you will need to provide some details on the documents you are searching for.

DocCenterChild 1 First, indicate whether you want to view staff or child documents

2 When viewing child documents, you can filter by document type or classroom, or you can look up all the documents for a specific child. You can also filter by the dates that the child was active or by their enrollment date.

DocCenterStaff

3When viewing staff documents, you can filter by document type, staff title (e.g. all Assistant Teacher documents), program staff vs. administrative staff, site-based vs. agency-wide staff, or look up all documents for a specific staff member. You can also filter based on their hire date or look for documents related to trainings or events that took place within a specific date range.

4 Once you have selected search parameters for the documents you want to view, click ‘Search Documents’.

DocCenterResults

A list of all documents that meet your specified parameters will be displayed.

5 To view an individual document, click ‘Select’ beside the document you want to view.

6 You can also choose to view all the documents in a single PDF file by clicking ‘View All Documents’. This is useful in cases where you need the same document for multiple staff or children – e.g. if you want to print all staff health assessments.

5. Uploading Documents

5.a. Uploading Documents by Field

clickicon 1 To add a document, click on the icon beside the associated field. You will be taken to the document upload screen.

AddStaffDoc9

2 Click ‘Browse’ to find the document you want to upload on your computer.

AddStaffDoc1

3Select the document you want to upload,

4 Then click ‘Open’. You will be taken back to the document upload screen.

uploaded 5 Now the name of the document will be displayed beside the ‘Browse’ button. Verify that this is the document you meant to upload and click ‘OK’ to save.

6 When you return to the staff or child record, the icon will have changed, indicating that a document has been uploaded.

AddStaffDoc10

5.b. Uploading Documents from the Documents Tab

AddStaffDoc 1 On the Documents Tab click ‘Add Staff (or Child) Document’. You will be taken to the Document Upload Screen.

AddStaffDoc2 2 Specify the type of document you want to upload.

AddStaffDoc3 3 For certain Document Types, such as Training, there may be multiple records that the document could be associated with. Select the correct record from the list.

AddStaffDoc4

4 Click ‘Browse’ to find the document you want to upload on your computer.

AddStaffDoc7 5 Select the document you want to upload, then click ‘Open’. You will be taken back to the document upload screen.

AddStaffDoc8 6 Now the name of the document will be displayed beside the ‘Browse’ button. Verify that this is the document you meant to upload and click ‘OK’ to save. The document will now appear in the list on the Documents Tab.

5.c. Uploading Documents from the Document Center

AddChild1 1 On the Document Center screen, click ‘Add Document’. You will be taken to the Document Upload Screen.

*Please note that you need to indicate whether or not you are uploading a child or a staff document.

AddChild2 2 Specify the type of document you want to upload.

AddChild7

3 Next, select the child (or staff person) to whom the document should connect.

AddChild4 4Click ‘Browse’ to find the document you want to upload on your computer.

AddChild5 5 Select the document you want to upload, then click ‘Open’. You will be taken back to the document upload screen.

AddChild6 6 Now the name of the document will be displayed beside the ‘Browse’ button. Verify that this is the document you meant to upload and click ‘OK’ to save.

The document will now appear in the list on the Document Center main screen.

6. Removing or Replacing Documents

  • Documents can only be deleted from the Documents Tab or Document Center.
  • To replace a document, you must first delete the original document then upload the replacement document.
  • Please note that once documents are deleted from ChildWare’s Document Management System they cannot be retrieved.
  • You should delete documents only if you are absolutely certain you no longer need them. You may want to save documents from the Document Management System onto your computer or network before deleting them from ChildWare.Delete

1 To delete a document, click ‘Delete’ in the list on the Documents Tab or Document Center.

7. Document Types

Child Documents

  • Assessments:
    • Blood Lead Assessment
    • Dental Assessment
    • Health Assessment
    • Hearing Assessment
    • Vision Assessment
  • Child Service Agreement
  • Child Service Report
  • Emergency Contact & Consent Form
  • Formula Consent
  • Photo & Media Release
  • Events: (Documents can be associated with all event types)
    • Administrative
    • CACFP Enrollment Application
    • Early Intervention
    • Health
    • Illness
    • Injury
    • Observation
    • Parent Conference
    • Parental Involvement
    • Redetermination
    • Subsidy Application
    • Transition

Staff Documents

  • CDA Certificate
  • Child Abuse Clearance
  • Criminal Background Clearance
  • Diploma
  • Director’s Credentials
  • FBI Clearance
  • Health Assessment
  • References
  • SAC Certificate
  • State Teaching Certificate
  • Transcripts
  • PD Events: (Documents can be associated with all event types)
    • PD Plan
    • PD Activity Documentation
    • Staff Classroom Observation
    • Staff Performance Evaluation
  • Training Certificates
How-To, How-To-General, Photos

Photo Guide

ChildWare allows you to upload photos of children and contacts making it easier for center staff to identify children and family members.  These photos are stored on the individual child and contact records and appear on several reports.

You can also see a quick overview of photos of a child’s contacts on their relationships tab (below).

photos13

1. Technical Details

  • Photos can be uploaded by computer or smartphone
  • Photos are automatically resized to 200×200 pixels
  • Photos can be cropped after upload to capture the most relevant part of the photo
  • Photos must be in JPEG/JPG or PNG format
  • Photos must be 2MB or smaller
  • For the best report output, a plain white background is recommended

2. Uploading Photos from Your Computer

photo1

1 On the Main Tab of the Child (or Contact) Record, click “Choose File”.

photo2

2 Find the file you want to upload on your computer.

3 Photo files must either be JPEG/JPG or PNG files and must be under 2 MB (2,000KB) in size.

4 When you have found the file you want, click “Open”.

photo3

5 The photo you selected will appear on the bottom left corner of the screen. You can crop it to remove any unwanted portions of the background. To crop the photo, click on it and drag your mouse to select the area you want. Once you have the area you want, click “Crop & Save”.

photo46 The photo will now appear on the Child’s Record. It can be removed by clicking “Delete Photo”.

3. Uploading Photos from Your Smartphone

Note that most smartphones by default take very large photos. For best results, we recommend switching your smartphone camera to the lowest setting for photo size before taking photos for ChildWare.

photo1

1 Log into ChildWare on your smartphone, find the record of the child whose photo you want to take/ upload and click “Choose File”.

Depending on the make/model of your smartphone, some version of this screen will appear.
photo5
2 Select “Camera” if you want to take a new photo to upload.

3 Select “Gallery” (or the equivalent) if you already have the photo on your phone and just want to upload it.

After you take or select the photo you will be returned to the Child’s Record in ChildWare. The photo will be displayed on the bottom of the screen.

photo6
photo7

4 Tap the photo and drag your finger to select the area of the photo you want to use.

photo8
5 Once you have your desired area selected, zoom in on the outer area of the screen to select the “Crop & Save” button.

The photo should now appear on the Child’s Record.
photo9

4. Photo Reports

Photos are included in the following reports, all of which appear under Child/Family on the Reports Screen:

  • Child/Contact Photos (New as of July 2014!)
  • Birthdays by Room and Month
  • Emergency Contact and Health Information
Child/Contact Photo Report

photo12
1 Child’s name and classroom assignment

2 Any other children in the agency listed as siblings

3 The Primary and Secondary Billing Contacts are listed first followed by all other contacts in alphabetical order

4If a contact has any pickup status other than “Any Time”, it will appear in red.

Birthdays by Room and Month Report

photo10

Emergency Contact and Health Information Report

photo11

How-To-General

Batch Updates for Child Records

This slideshow could not be started. Try refreshing the page or viewing it in another browser.

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.

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