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Supporting Success June '99 NACHSA Networker Official Newsletter of the National Association of County Human Services Administrators A successful strategy in California may become a new model for human services agencies implementing major information systems. The California approach involves the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and a team of Computer Application Technicians (CATS) from a software company with strong experience in public sector work. The results have earned high marks from the DCFS: "We could not have completed implementation without the CATS." The road to CATS began 1996 when the State of California implemented the Child Welfare Services Case Management System (CWS/CMS), a statewide information system for child welfare agencies. Two years later, all California counties of this state-managed but county-supervised system had identified ways in which staff could benefit from assistance with hardware and software. The fundamental goal of this assistance was clearly defined: enable staff members to develop the necessary expertise for using the CWS/CMS application to full functionality while they also carried out their primary mission of child protection. Initially, California counties attempted to reach this goal by training existing staff–social workers as well as clerical and eligibility staff–to develop expertise with the application so they could train and mentor their fellow staff in its use. The expectation was that after several months, all agency staff could use the application to full functionality and that the re-deployed training staff could then return to their original functions. In some counties, the approach proved successful. In other counties, however, workload demands made it impossible to deploy staff for support purposes. One of these was Los Angeles County where, after evaluating a pilot effort involving one regional office, the DCFS decided to turn to outside specialists for implementation support. The DCFS carefully crafted the requirements for a CATS support staff to ensure expertise in information technology as well as with the particular software application used by the CWS/CMS. One of vendors was Transnational Computer Technology (TCT), a leading provider of successful information system solutions with a diverse client base in the private and public sectors. By Spring of 1999, TCT 's team of specially trained consultants had been supporting DCFS social work staff for over a year. After helping roll out the CWS/CMS successfully in eight geographic LA County regions, involving over 25 separate office locations, TCT consultants had begun working in individual offices to provide "hands-on" application support for end users. TCT professionals resolve application problems, manage problem tracking, and provide follow-up systems support. The consultants are available to any staff who need assistance with system navigation, training on application changes, and help with overcoming the challenge of working in an automated environment. TCT's assistance has proved its worth to such an extent that, according to one DCFS official involved in the implementation process: "The CATS are the key to our success." Other California counties that tracked TCT's performance in Los Angeles County have now begun to contact the company about CAT support for their human services agencies. TCT has recently implemented support in San Bernadino County and has been requested to begin similar support in Riverside County. Discussions with other agencies both in and outside California indicate a high level of interest in the TCT model. TCT executives emphasize the fact that their consultants bring clients an unusual combination of expertise. "Our CATS teams not only have exceptional technical proficiency, but they're also trained and managed by human services professionals with many years of agency experience," says Vice President of Government Relations Louisa Moore. "We've worked hard to develop consulting teams that can excel at this type of support–and now we're happy to see that our efforts have translated into real benefits for our clients." For more information about the TCT model, contact the Human Resources Director at TCT, 17th Floor, 100 North Sepulveda Boulevard, El Segundo, California, 90245. Telephone: (310) 615-0881 |
