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As a result of the three SSIS application outages between November 12 and November 15, the SSIS Business section is working closely with Children and Family Services Assistant Commissioner Tikki Brown and MNIT@DHS Application Services Director Deb Tibstra on a communications plan to update all county and tribal social services administrators on important SSIS matters in a more comprehensive, understandable and timely manner. While we will continue to provide updates via the existing communication channels, we feel a need to communicate more with local agency administrators who are not engaged in existing meetings and do not necessarily know SSIS well. Most of the SSIS performance problems thus far appear to lie within hardware and software managed by MNIT Enterprise, which serves all State agencies. We hope to develop a stronger partnership with MNIT Enterprise to better understand these problems and be more proactive in finding long term solutions. Please send any feedback you have on this effort to Alex Mentes, SSIS Manager, alexandra.mentes@state.mn.us.
Maintaining HCBS eligibility is one of the many requirements under the maintenance-of-effort agreement required for states receiving an enhanced federal match for the cost of Medicaid (MA) and Alternative Care (AC) services. States must protect vulnerable people from the loss of needed supports and services during the public health crisis and be able to document compliance with maintenance-of-effort requirements, which includes documenting HCBS eligibility.
Visit the Minnesota Department of Human Services webpage for updated frequently asked questions and scenarios regarding maintaining HCBS eligibility during the public health emergency.
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, changed from the 60 day entry expectation to a 30 day entry expectation. Entry dates are system generated based on when a user enters the start or discharge date for a placement and are not editable in SSIS.
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 correct AFCARS related errors.
Please join the SSIS Business Operations Section at DHS for December’s Coffee Talk, SSIS Frequently Asked Questions: Help Desk, Worker & Fiscal. This Coffee Talk Session will focus on helpful reminders from the SSIS Help Desk, common questions and answers from the SSIS Worker Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), as well as a review of some of the recent claiming and proofing updates with the SSIS Fiscal SMEs. Thom Jones, MNIT Division Manager, will begin the coffee talk by sharing status updates related to SSIS technical issues.
Tuesday, December 20, 2022
9:00 – 10:30 a.m.
Registration is required and will close one hour prior to the event. This session will be recorded and posted, along with presentation materials, to the Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy website seven to ten business days following the presentation.
New and existing SSIS mentors are encouraged to visit the SSIS Resource page when seeking assistance related to SSIS mentor/coordinator roles, SSIS training, Statewide Release, Horizon system updates, fiscal and worker documentation, and processes.
Resources available on the SSIS Resource page:
- Mentor program information:
- The SSIS Mentor Manualprovides an overview of mentor/coordinator roles and responsibilities as well as technical guidance for administering SSIS at the local agency level. Technical guidance includes, but is not limited to, resetting passwords, enhancement requests, Stream read errors, printing issues.
- Users may also access the SSIS Worker Documentationand SSIS Fiscal Documentation pages for program or task specific resources.
- SSIS agency contact lists are updated quarterly and include fiscal and worker mentor/coordinator contacts from all Minnesota counties and Tribes.
- SSIS Statewide Release information:
Annual release dates, release notes, and general release information are located on the General SSIS Release Information page.
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SSIS Update Archives – The SSIS Update is a biweekly electronic newsletter dedicated to SSIS. Issues include program/system updates, training information, user tips, and more. A link to subscribe to the SSIS Update can also be found SSIS Update archives include all issues published the past two years.
- SSIS Training includes web based eLearnings, classroom calendars and activities, and fiscal and worker training information.
Horizon environment information includes migration project related materials, Horizon Client instructions, and known SSIS/Horizon issues.
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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