WRTS TRAINING Many local district staff and several State managers seeking better understanding of how data is constructed within the Welfare Reporting and Tracking System (WRTS) requested that we develop some specialized training in this topic. WRTS is used to track case and client information including employment and work activities in relation to temporary assistance and Food Stamp programs. Familiarity with WRTS is important to districts in monitoring participation rates, payments and in identifying service needs of recipients. Although some reports are written by State staff and distributed to district users, local users can set up their own reports in order to extract the specific information they require. However, extraction of accurate and meaningful data from WRTS requires specialized knowledge of its contents, structure and loading rules. As a joint Office of Children and Family Services and Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance initiative, we asked the Professional Devel- opment Program (PDP), based at SUNY Albany’s Rockefeller College, to explore an appropriate training response. PDP Senior Education Spe- cialist Jodi Kerper spent significant time interviewing State and local district WRTS end users: “One of the common threads was the complexity of the data in WRTS. Staff were unsure what information was maintained in WRTS and where it was. Users were willing to write their own re- ports, but wanted a simplified environment.” This finding coincided with the launch of the WRTS Summary Tables, a system that provides a monthly “snapshot” of WRTS data and was developed specifically for reporting needs, especially those aimed at forecasting or trends analysis. Data from the previous month is extracted from WRTS, transformed and loaded into WRTS Summary Tables. The next month’s data load does not overwrite or alter the previous month’s data. Part of the data transformation process includes creating pre-calculated fields, eliminating the need for many user-defined calculations. Continued on Page 4 The Harlem Training Center Project cele- brates its first year in full operation this De- cember. Established to address the complex training needs of NYC HRA, downstate dis- tricts, and city-based OTDA staff, the multifac- eted project provides management of a state- of- the- art training facility and an expert team of trainers, program developers, and evalua- tors. During 2006, the HTC hosted over 160 events, for 15 organizations, on a broad range of performance improvement topics. “The Harlem project has provided an un- precedented value and resource to the (NYC) HRA workforce”, said Jim Whelan, Deputy Com- missioner of Program Policy and Training for HRA’s Family Assistance Administration (FIA), “The facility is exceptional and our partnering with project professionals has allowed us (HRA) to significantly expand the scope and depth of programming on shared State and City priori- ties.” Staffed by OTDA’s educational partners at SUNY Albany, HTC has developed and delivered numerous priority courses in 2006. Among these include multi-day “Case Processing Review Institutes” for Job and Food Stamp Center supervisors and skill improvement courses for agency Fair Hearing Representatives. These innovative, case-based programs are slated for upstate delivery throughout 2007. Continued on Page 4 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: DIRECTORS SPOT- LIGHT 2 LETTER TO THE EDITOR 2 TRAINING- SPACE.ORG 2 NEW INTER- AGENCY EVENT- CALENDAR 3 ONLINE TAMA TRAINING NEEDS ASSESSMENT 3 SOCIAL WELFARE EXAMINER TITLE 3 2006 LAN CON- FERENCE 4 NEW YORK STATE-OTDA DECEMBER 2006 VOLUME 1, ISSUE 4 TRAINING TIME(S) TAMA TRAINING EFFORTS IN NYC Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance Robert Doar, Commissioner Division of Program Support and Quality Improvement John M. Paolucci, Deputy Commissioner New York State George E. Pataki, Governor TRAINING AND MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS Bureau of Training and Management Analysis Will Zwink, Director Editor: Jason Moran NYC Homeless Shelter Staff attend Domestic Violence Prevention Training in the TAMA Harlem Training center
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W R T S T R A I N I N G Many local district staff and several State managers seeking better understanding of how data is constructed within the Welfare Reporting and Tracking System (WRTS) requested that we develop some specialized training in this topic. WRTS is used to track case and client information including employment and work activities in relation to temporary assistance and Food Stamp programs. Familiarity with WRTS is important to districts in monitoring participation rates, payments and in identifying service needs of recipients. Although some reports are written by State staff and distributed to district users, local users can set up their own reports in order to extract the specific information they require. However, extraction of accurate and meaningful data from WRTS requires specialized knowledge of its contents, structure and loading rules.
As a joint Office of Children and Family Services and Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance initiative, we asked the Professional Devel-opment Program (PDP), based at SUNY Albany’s Rockefeller College, to explore an appropriate training response. PDP Senior Education Spe-cialist Jodi Kerper spent significant time interviewing State and local district WRTS end users: “One of the common threads was the complexity of the data in WRTS. Staff were unsure what information was maintained in WRTS and where it was. Users were willing to write their own re-ports, but wanted a simplified environment.” This finding coincided with the launch of the WRTS Summary Tables, a system that provides a monthly “snapshot” of WRTS data and was developed specifically for reporting needs, especially those aimed at forecasting or trends analysis. Data from the previous month is extracted from WRTS, transformed and loaded into WRTS Summary Tables. The next month’s data load does not overwrite or alter the previous month’s data. Part of the data transformation process includes creating pre-calculated fields, eliminating the need for many user-defined calculations. Continued on Page 4
The Harlem Training Center Project cele-brates its first year in full operation this De-cember. Established to address the complex training needs of NYC HRA, downstate dis-tricts, and city-based OTDA staff, the multifac-eted project provides management of a state-of- the- art training facility and an expert team
of trainers, program developers, and evalua-tors. During 2006, the HTC hosted over 160 events, for 15 organizations, on a broad range of performance improvement topics. “The Harlem project has provided an un-precedented value and resource to the (NYC) HRA workforce”, said Jim Whelan, Deputy Com-missioner of Program Policy and Training for HRA’s Family Assistance Administration (FIA), “The facility is exceptional and our partnering with project professionals has allowed us (HRA) to significantly expand the scope and depth of programming on shared State and City priori-ties.” Staffed by OTDA’s educational partners at SUNY Albany, HTC has developed and delivered numerous priority courses in 2006. Among these include multi-day “Case Processing Review Institutes” for Job and Food Stamp Center supervisors and skill improvement courses for agency Fair Hearing Representatives. These innovative, case-based programs are slated for upstate delivery throughout 2007. Continued on Page 4
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Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance Robert Doar, Commissioner
Division of Program Support and Quality Improvement John M. Paolucci, Deputy Commissioner
New York State George E. Pataki, Governor
TRAINING AND MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS
Bureau of Training and Management Analysis Will Zwink, Director
As we end this calendar and training year I’d like to take this opportunity to thank those who have supported our many training initiatives — our local district Staff De-velopment Coordinators, our program divisions, our university partners and contrac-tors and our colleagues at OCFS. We particularly want to thank Commissioner Robert Doar and Deputy Commissioner John Paolucci for their ongoing interests in our work. They have demonstrated an exceptionally strong commitment to local district training. Certainly we will go through some significant change over the first few months of 2007 as we welcome a new administration. We’ve prepared briefing material for our new leadership and we hope they will come to understand the necessity of the train-ing we provide. We fully intend to continue supporting local district training needs. We also want to say a heartfelt thank you and farewell to several local district Staff Development Coordinators who have recently retired or will be retiring very soon. These are people who have been vital to the training delivery system Statewide: Judith Holthoff, Erie County; Judith Carbone, Westchester; Esther McGuire, Ulster County; Emily Skiff, Franklin County; Donna Carter, Nassau County; Linda Sweet, Rockland County and Bill Stryker, Suffolk County. Each of these SDCs have contributed immeasurably to the content and process of OTDA and OCFS training programs. As we face an exciting new year of training we want to also welcome some new Staff Development Coordinators into the fold: Carol Gallo, Cattarau-gus; Denise Thorsen, Nassau; Brian Kearns, Montgomery; Karen Hillis, Washington; Vicki Powers, Onondaga and Jackie Salz, Suffolk. (Pictured l-r are Linda Sweet, Esther McGuire and Judith Carbone with Will Zwink, Peter Miraglia and Bruce Muller) So…a big, big thanks to everyone involved in our training world! TAMA and I wish you all a wonderful holiday season!
TAMA, At recent regional meetings, SDCs had questions about the current process for requesting onsite training. While the TAMA system does seem to run smoothly, some SDCs have mentioned lengthy waits when attempting to coordinate onsite offerings. How do SDCs know if a request for onsite training has been received by TAMA and addressed? Does TAMA have a protocol for fulfilling onsite requests? Is there a rough timeline that you would be able to provide to give SDCs an idea of the estimated waiting period? Thank you,. Joan Smrtic, SDC Cayuga County Please see TAMA Response on Page 4
D I R E C T O R ’ S S P O T L I G H T – W I L L Z W I N K
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L E T T E R T O T H E E D I T O R — J O A N S M R T I C , S D C , C A Y U G A C O U N T Y
T R A I N I N G S P A C E . O R G : N E W C O U R S E S : T E N A N T S A F E T Y A N D H E A P
In late September TAMA held a kick-off meeting to begin the development of a new web-based training course for all OTDA Tenant Safety Organization (TSO) members. The Bureau of Management Services delivered TSO classroom refresher courses at each OTDA facility during the fall, concluding in November. A new TrainingSpace course will be available to the volunteer TSO members as a refresher. In addition to the course, an online discussion tool will be devel-oped so that the TSO members can share information amongst themselves. The TSO members provide an important service for all OTDA employees. Having an easily accessible course and discussion forum will improve the ability of TSO members to perform their important roles. We also released a new HEAP Eligibility and Certification web-based course, providing train-ing in determining Regular and Emergency Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) benefit decisions. The course uses interactive examples to review the steps involved in processing and verifying an application for HEAP. It also explains how to determine the eligibility of an applicant, and how to calculate the value of benefits that may be due to a household in need. The course covers poli-cies, procedures and best practices that
help assure an efficient and accurate implementation of the HEAP program. Welcome to Training Space
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Following almost two years of collaboration among OTDA, OCFS, DOH and OFT, a new version of an Interagency IT Events Calendar is available for use by State and local district staff. The purpose of this calendar is to make available the schedules of major system events to allow better coordination of efforts and resources. Each State agency will check the calendar in advance of producing systems rollout schedules or PC training to ensure their event does not conflict or negatively impact local districts or initiatives of other partner agencies. Local district staff are welcome to use the calendar to ad-vise agencies of potential scheduling conflicts. The calendar uses Sharepoint technology and can include supplemental information—such as counties impacted, site locations, travel direc-tions, contact names and reading material or links if appropriate. To avoid clutter, the calendar will not list all training events, just those rele-vant to systems issues (such as the annual LAN conference). Designated agency contributors charged with entering their agency's IT events into the calendar are:
• OTDA: Dawn Abbey, Joe Kasson, Amy Kircher and Will Zwink • OCFS/Connections: Donna Cramer • DOH OMM/eMedNY: Cindy Krueger-Farley • OFT or County Events: Deb Olds
To view the calendar, please use this link: http://tdashare1.otda.state.nyenet/sites/iaiec/default.aspx
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Issues surrounding the Social Welfare Examiner position have impacted districts for many years. Staff recruitment, retention, provisional appointments and the changing scope of duties have been voiced in several forums. Local district Staff Development Coordinators requested TAMA’s assistance to help address these concerns. In turn we solicited expertise from OTDA’s Bureau of Human Resources (BHR) to meet with local districts to discuss those issues that are negatively impacting the recruitment and retention of candidates. Over the past few months Mary Beth Lindsay of BHR met with eighteen counties - Albany, Chemung, Clinton, Columbia, Essex, Fulton, Greene, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Otsego, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren, Washington, Wayne - to gain a greater appreciation of the situation. Although Mary Beth recently left OTDA to assume a position at the NYS State Insurance Department, OTDA BHR staff are continuing to explore the issues. BHR had a preliminary meeting with the NYS Department of Civil Service Municipal Services Division (MSD) and is now facilitating idea sharing to broker a relationship with that office. Counties are encouraged to continue working through their local Civil Service offices as State level discussions occur. Colleen Brooks-Legnard of BHR has assumed this undertaking: "So far Civil Service has been very receptive to hearing about county hiring issues and I’m glad to assist the districts in referring information to MSD.” One of the more prevalent issues has been the provisional appointments that have been made to the Social Welfare Examiner and Senior Social Welfare Examiner titles. In October, BHR requested that local Commissioners of Social Services provide information about the current numbers of filled and vacant Social Welfare Examiner and Senior Social Welfare Examiner positions and level of provisional appointments. Thirty-six of fifty-eight counties responded to the survey. Survey findings are being compiled and OTDA will meet again with the Department of Civil Service MSD to determine how best to assist the local districts with issues surrounding these titles. As a concurrent step, BHR staff also conducted desk audits of Social Welfare Examiners in Columbia County. Colleen and Susan Grimshaw of BHR observed the daily process conducted by Temporary Assistance and Medicaid examiners. Analysis is underway and will be shared with Department of Civil Service MSD.
Twenty-seven counties responded to a recent TAMA Training Needs Assessment Survey conducted on TrainingSpace.org. Many respon-dents took time to share their ideas on a variety of training topics and methods. Local responses to a question on training methodology are of particular interest as TAMA looks at new forms of delivering training. We found it interesting that those who have been exposed to training methods other than stand-up or classroom training tend to prefer com-puter-based deliveries for certain courses. Responses also indicated that the use of teleconferences is preferred for specific content area that is not open to complex or varied interpretations. We sought feed-back on the effectiveness of various training methods. More than one respondent mentioned that they would be interested in a combination of delivery methods depending on the course. Where the intent of the training is to influence attitudes or develop interpersonal skills, respon-dents indicated that these should be offered in a classroom setting along with opportunities for skills practice. There were strong opinions regarding the impact of teleconferences: when travel is an issue and the intent is to reach large numbers of staff with the same message, teleconferences may be preferable. Where the information is complex, counties indicated they may not be as useful. TAMA is appreciative of the responses received and will use this information as we move for-ward planning our next training year. We have begun to incorporate multiple training approaches in our Blended Learning initiative.
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Office Contact Info: Will Zwink, Director 40 N Pearl St. 12-C Albany, NY 12243 Phone: 518-402-9600 Fax: 518– 408-3346 Please forward all com-ments: Jason Moran
Dawn Abbey Regina Andrews Stephanie Boshart Al de Paz Patty Gotte Jason Moran Mike Prevost
TAMA Staff (click a name to send an e-mail)
Tammy Provost Lisa Rounds Kevin Sullivan John Thompson Carlise Lovelady JoAnne Wilson
Opportunities for Training and
Technical Assistance
George E. Pataki Robert Doar Governor Commissioner
Division of Program Support and Quality Improvement John M. Paolucci, Deputy Commissioner
Bureau of Training and Management Analysis
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W R T S T R A I N I N G ( C O N T ’ D )
The WRTS Summary Tables may provide an easier entry point for staff unfamiliar with the intri-cacies of WRTS - especially local district staff who have technical expertise in the use of reporting tools, but little familiarity with the complexities of a program such as temporary assistance, Food Stamps, or HEAP. The launch of this system, coupled with staff requests for a simplified reporting environment, led us to focus the new training efforts on WRTS Summary Tables. In May 2006, OTDA, OCFS and PDP launched the training course: “WRTS Summary Tables Overview.” Although Cognos Impromptu is used to perform the classroom hands-on exercises, the learning objectives are focused on the data – the information within WRTS Summary Tables. Jodi and SUNY Albany PDP staff are excited about the upcoming plans for migrating reporting access to the various data repositories (including WRTS) to Cognos 8, which will provide a web-based reporting tool. Additionally, TAMA, OCFS and PDP staff participated in the customization of Cognos Report Studio classroom training and our TrainingSpace.org web site now houses Cognos Report Studio and Query Studio CBTs, along with links to the materials for the Cognos Report Studio classroom training.
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Following nearly a full year of collabora-tive planning between staff from TAMA, OTDA DIT, DOH, OCFS and OFT, the 2006 LAN Conference continued a five-year tradi-tion of delivering “News You Can Use V” to over 200 State and local district partici-pants. This year’s conference was again held in Lake George, NY at the Fort William Henry Conference Center. The conference was expanded this year to allow time for more workshops and networking. Each agency was represented through sponsored workshops. Workshop titles ranged from Information Security, presented by OTDA’s Information Security Officer, to NYSeMail: Present and Future, pre-sented by OFT. Of additional value to this year’s attendees was the presence of Hands-on-Training Labs. The labs were equipped to allow attendees to preview and test some of the vari-ous computer applications/tools available in local district offices; this included Webstar, Data Reporting, the new Electronic Eligibility Decision Support System (EEDSS) and Video Conferencing Technology. The closing session included an update on SWMS and Curam functionality. Confer-ence evaluations indicate that participants find the conference provides a unique opportunity for them to receive training; network with other local districts as well as State representatives; and provides access to vital information that impacts them in their day-to-day work responsibilities as LAN administrators.
The 2006 Training
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2006 Training
Joan, Thank you for bringing these concerns to our attention. We handle many requests from local districts for onsite training - from specialized TA topics to Cornell HSLI offer-ings. Much of our training can be delivered regionally or in a specific district if there will be a sufficient number of trainees. Some counties sponsor a regional offering for their neighbouring districts. In our current process, requests are sent to Lisa Rounds electronically or by fax using a special request form. Once re-ceived, Lisa follows up with the requesting district to inform them of her receipt of the request. Once approved by the TAMA con-tract manager, the form is sent to the ap-propriate contactor so that arrangements can be made. Throughout the process Lisa attempts to keep the requestor up-to-date with the status of the request. However, there are times when a request is delayed while the logistics for multiple requests are being finalized (such as several requests for our new Mental Health Awareness train-ing). Our contractors have to work out trainer schedules which can cause some delays in finalizing the requests. We’re happy to report that we have been revamping this whole process and will introduce a new automated Onsite Training Request Form in the near future. It will provide notification of receipt. We’re in the testing mode with the developers and will test it with some SDCs soon. Forms can be submitted by SDCs or district staff. E-mail notifications will be sent automatically to a new TAMA shared mailbox, the original requester and the SDC. We will inform the SDC as to which TAMA contract manager is handling the request. While in most cases the SDC is the requester, there are times when program area staff forward the re-quest directly to us. This process will en-sure that the SDC is made aware of the request. TAMA is hopeful that these im-provements will streamline the entire proc-ess and cut down the time associated with the finalization of a request. Thanks again Joan, TAMA
The Harlem Training Center project serves as a cornerstone in OTDA’s broad-based approach to the provision of training and organizational development supports to NYC and downstate dis-tricts. Under the direction of TAMA’s Michael Prevost, the Department provides a wide array of programming including Shelter staff training and a comprehensive series of management and supervisory courses tailored to the specific needs of metropolitan DSS managers. Offered in con-junction with our partners at the CUNY Hunter School of Social Work, CUNY Hunter Brookdale School for Aging, and SUC Buffalo, these courses address such critical managerial challenges as effective supervision, team management, and coaching. As with city-based program training, TAMA plans to review and asses these programs for potential upstate applications during 2007. For more information on the Harlem Training Center and TAMA’s NYC programming, contact TAMA’s Michael Prevost or Stephanie Boshart at (518) 402-9600.
