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The SSIS Business Section at DHS is seeking agencies to pilot SSIS Version 22.4 (v22.4) October 26 – November 28, 2022. V22.4 Statewide Release is scheduled for Tuesday, November 29, 2022 and will include many fiscal changes including Family First Preventive Services Act (FFPSA) claiming. Special thanks to staff in Freeborn and Red Lake Counties for volunteering to assist.
Pilot agencies receive priority SSIS Help Desk assistance and are the first to hear what’s ahead in the upcoming Statewide Release. For more information regarding v22.4 or to assist with piloting contact Cynthia Shypulski.
A new ICWA/MIFPA manual has been posted on the SSIS Resource page under SSIS Worker Documentation. The manual includes helpful information regarding ICWA and MIFPA, and covers frequently asked questions pertaining to both Acts. The manual can be used in conjunction with other ICWA/MIFPA resources including:
ICWA/MIFPA Manual-2022
ICWA/MIFPA Data Entry in SSIS
Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy | SSIS Training Unit (website which includes multiple ICWA related resources as well as links to the seven ICWA Coffee Talk webinars presented in 2021)
Beginning October 1st, 2022 the Federal Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) data entry timeliness requirement, regarding entry of the start and discharge dates of placements, is changing from the current 60 day entry expectation to a 30 day entry expectation. Entry dates are not editable in SSIS, they are system generated based on when a user enters the start or discharge date for a placement.
Timeliness errors for AFCARS may negatively affect the state IV-E federal grant award, which would in turn affect county and tribal agencies that receive these funds. With the tightened timelines for data entry of placement information potentially impacting IV-E funding, it will be especially important for agencies to ensure timely entry of placements.
Agencies should use the Repository report to review, find, and fix AFCARS related errors. Over the coming months many AFCARS related changes will be included in SSIS and the related Repository errors. These changes will be included with the SSIS quarterly release notes and shared with agencies prior to each release, as well as during the related SSIS coffee talk release webinars.
SSIS System Governance Group and Input Group Kickoff October 4, 2022
There has been a DHS Agency-wide effort to standardize IT system governance and dedicate MNIT resources to entire applications rather than projects across all applications. Each information system that DHS administers is now represented by a System Governance Group and an Input Group. The reasons for changing to this model of governance that puts the decision making in the hands of the policy areas is to better engage stakeholders, including end-users; formalize decision-making across all systems; ease of participation for members; and better accountability to leadership. This new approach has the welcome addition of members representing local agencies. We will be taking the next few months to integrate these two new groups with the current SSIS governance. Please contact Alex Mentes, SSIS Manager with questions. Alexandra.mentes@state.mn.us
System Governance Group (SGG)
- Part of the formal governance structure
- Made up of decision-makers/organization leaders in the appropriate areas: Child Safety and Permanency Policy, Adult Protection Policy, MNIT SSIS leadership, local agency SSIS mentors.
- Group that has the responsibility to make the final decisions re: prioritization/ranking/sequence of system change requests and oversight of Gateway Projects assigned to their SGG.
- Monthly meetings
Input Group
- Not part of the formal governance structure, but critical to success
- Closer to day-to-day operations
- Group that is close to the work and is responsible to prepare information for the SGG to make decisions
- Made up of representatives of stakeholders: Child Safety and Permanency Policy, SSIS Subject Matter Experts, Adoptions, Adult Protection Policy, MNIT SSIS leadership, local agency SSIS mentors.
Meeting schedule TBD
Congratulations to Samantha Breidenbach in her transition to SSIS Fiscal Subject Matter Expert effective October 26, 2022. Sam’s experience includes positons at both McLeod and Carver Counties prior to joining DHS as Tier 1 Help Desk staff in 2021 and she brings extensive SSIS expertise, including fiscal reports, claiming, and supporting users.
Sam is an animal enthusiast with five rescue pets and loves kayaking, hiking, playing the guitar, Nintendo Switch, and doing crossword puzzles.
SSIS users are invited to join the SSIS Business Section at DHS Monday, November 28, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. as they share what’s ahead in SSIS Statewide Release v24.4. Registration is required and will remain open until one hour prior to the event. This session will be recorded and posted, along with related materials, to the MNCWTA SSIS Training page seven to ten business days following the webinar.
Visit the SSIS Resource page to view upcoming release dates, general release information, and prior release notes.
Training opportunities for new SSIS users or those seeking a refresher are now available to SSIS users. Courses are great for those new to SSIS or those seeking a refresher. Click the topic below for course descriptions, schedules and registration information.
SSIS webinar materials and previous recordings can be found on the MCWTA site.
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