ABOUT OUR WORK

Research and evaluation activities center around helping service providers understand how their programs are implemented and the outcomes they achieve. The Center can assess the extent to which services are implemented as expected (e.g., whether it meets model fidelity, where implementation plans could be more specific or consistent, where there are variations in practice, etc.); determine client satisfaction with services received and capture key feedback for program improvement; and/or evaluate program impacts on clients in the short and long term. This information will help the program establish their success, learn about aspects they need to improve, and potentially expand their operations.

Technical assistance services focus on guiding service providers toward program improvement. The Center may undertake cycles of continuous quality improvement (e.g., assessing current status, selecting a goal for short-term improvement, developing and implementing strategies to achieve that goal, assessing impacts of those strategies, and determining next steps); staff or stakeholder training (e.g., providing trainings for program staff on use of data for program improvement, or trainings on use of particular data systems); or ongoing staff support in use of a data system. These processes support improvement and provide a skill-building scaffolding for the program staff to further continue this process independently and allow for informed decision-making and long-term success.

Information technology support is the provision of data management services for service providers, whether state agencies or small community organizations. Service providers need to efficiently and effectively record information about who they serve, how clients were served, and their service outcomes. Programs often have specific and complicated model requirements that mean that sophisticated databases are required; further, many staff may need to use and access this information, requiring cloud-based systems.

The Center can leverage its extensive cloud-based database and web application development experience to create and support appropriate data systems for such organizations. These databases will allow programs to record and access critical information to establish model fidelity and determine program impacts. We also provide outstanding client service, in the form of live helpdesk support, application training, and ongoing client communication.

Specifically, the Center has developed Home Visiting Online, a custom-made web application and database aligned with the requirements of the Healthy Families America home visiting model; the system is currently in use by X programs in Y states. For more information on HVOnline, see linktosubpage!

Please note that CHSES can provide both simple and complex data system development; we are happy to work with programs to develop a proposed system that meets your needs and budget requirements.

Home Visiting Online

CHSES has developed Home Visiting Online, a case and program management software created to meet the implementation and research needs of Healthy Families America programs. Programs can use this system to enter data and use it to assess program impact and model fidelity. For example, programs may use this data to examine timelines of service provision milestones and ensure they meet model expectations; determine program retention for cohorts of enrollees; assess child and parent needs and service access at program enrollment and after a year of involvement; and compare disposition at discharge between relevant subgroups of participants.

Reporting
The Home Visiting Online application currently includes 126 reports. Report types include:
• Quarterly Reports: These reports provide calculations on the services provided to verify if the program is delivered as intended (e.g., the number of Home Visits conducted while in the home).
• Enrollment Reports: These reports provide calculations of the flow of client intakes and client characteristics to verify if the program is serving the targeted population (e.g., the number of families enrolled who have a child under three months of age).
• Accreditation Reports: These reports compare the services being provided with best practice standards established by credentialing bodies. These document whether a program is being delivered with fidelity.
• Performance Target Reports: These reports calculate the percentage of participants that reach a certain established performance metric (e.g., the number of children immunized within a prescribed period).
These reports are updated over time to reflect the ongoing changes required by Healthy Families America’s Best Practice Standards, and ensure the reports allow for effective program evaluation by users and administrators.

Continual Programming and Updates
Due to HFA’s updates to the model’s Best Practice Standards, and to the continually shifting web environment, the application is constantly evolving. Programming, design and research into maintaining the application is constantly undertaken by the CHSES programming staff to keep the application current and relevant and address any issues that arise.

Technical Support
In order to support programs’ ability to use the application, program staff will need technical support from CHSES staff to support their work. Technical support includes the following:
1. Password changes
2. Adding new users and programs
3. Fixing mistakes in data entry
4. Maintenance and correction of programming logic errors (e.g., “bug fixes”)

Application Security
CHSES absolutely understands the importance of data security and so has implemented the highest levels of security protocols. Only CHSES personnel who need access to the data to support the application’s implementation have such access. All staff complete data security training. CHSES uses secured storage to protect the data and uses encryption consistent with industry-wide best practices to secure the data during any transmission. The data system is NIST-800 compliant.

Software Security
• 256 bit SSL encryption on all web applications
• Account used by .NET application to access SQL Server date utilizes a ‘Least Authorized Account’
• User access is limited and can only be attained by an authorized application administrator
• Users must digitally sign a confidentiality agreement when first entering the application
• The database server (where user data is located) has limited access only to the IP address of the web server and the specific IP addresses of CHSES programmers
• Once client information is entered into the web application, it is only accessed using a case number, not the client name
• Users of one program cannot see data from other programs

The data is hosted in Microsoft’s Azure cloud environment. Azure utilizes Intrusion Detection Services, File Integrity Monitoring and Continuous Audit (Tripwire), Web Application Firewall, vulnerability assessment, Log Review and Alerting services. For additional security information concerning Azure, please visit their website here.

Home Visiting Online Pricing

See: https://healthyfamilies.azurewebsites.net/ for detailed pricing