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The SSIS Business Section at DHS celebrates Terri Quittschreiber from Becker County as September's SSIS mentor of the month. Terri is a pleasure to work with, is knowledgeable, and diligent in her SSIS efforts.
Per Jenny Anderson, Becker County Human Services, "Terri has been an SSIS mentor since its inception! She takes her SSIS mentor duties seriously and supports anyone in our agency who has questions or needs help. Terri offers creative solutions to problems, identifies potential enhancement opportunities, and doesn’t quit until a solution is found. We appreciate her and her SSIS leadership so much!"
Thank you and congratulations, Terri!
The SSIS Business Operation unit is hiring a new Child Welfare Subject Matter Expert (SME). This position plays an important role in representing child welfare user needs for SSIS.
Major responsibilities include:
- Applying knowledge of child welfare program policy, understanding of local agency user needs, and expertise in SSIS system functionality to analyze business/policy requirements for new development and on-going system maintenance related to child welfare programs.
- Providing technical assistance to local agencies
- Coordinating with MNIT and business partners
- Ensuring SSIS follows federal and state program policy mandates and guidelines for the requirements of the delivery of other child welfare services in Minnesota.
Applicants can apply through the State of Minnesota Careers site by searching for Job ID 70084 or with this link: Social Services Child Welfare Subject Matter Expert.
If you have any questions, you may contact Cynthia Shypulski at cynthia.shypulski@state.mn.us.
The Adult Protection SSIS User Guide September 2023 edition is now available on the SSIS Resource Page. There are several updates and additions in the user guide.
For more information about these changes, refer to the Adult Protection User Guide Changes.
Written with input from counties, tribes and youth, the Extended Foster Care Best Practice Guide for Youth Ages 18 up to 21 is available and will replace all former Extended Foster Care bulletins as well as complement Minnesota Statute Section 260.451. Questions can be directed to Nic Vogel, Extended Foster Care policy specialist, at nicolas.vogel@state.mn.us.
The Extended Foster Care Best Practice Guide for Youth Ages 18 up to 21 can also be found on the SSIS Worker Documentation page, under the ‘Placement’ documents.
Effective 8/01/2023, you're no longer required to send the MIFPA notice to the BIA if the identity or location of the child's parent or Indian custodian and Tribe cannot be determined. This came about due to changes in statute 260.761 subd.2b.
For more information, please see MIFPA statute: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/laws/2023/0/Session+Law/Chapter/16/
When working in the SSIS Expanded Editor for case notes and/or time notes, notes will not save to SSIS until the user clicks ‘Save’ AFTER closing the expanded editor screen. If SSIS is allowed to go idle (which can happen if you leave the Editor open for long periods of time, even though you may be working within the Editor) information from within the editor screen could be lost. Two options have previously been recommended to avoid losing notes:
- For large notes that could take a long period of time to create, enter the note in Word or notepad and then copy/paste the info into the SSIS note (without any special formatting additions) and click ‘Save’.
- If creating the note in SSIS and using the Expanded Editor (the ‘E’ Button), be sure to regularly close the note and click the ‘save’ option for the note to minimize likelihood of the system going idle before saving.
The next AFCARS submission is November 14th, 2023. Agencies should use the repository report to review, find, and correct AFCARS related errors.
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. These changes were effective beginning October 1st, 2022.
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.
SSIS is working on AFCARS data integrity issues and agencies may be contacted about specific issues.
SSIS users are invited to join the SSIS Business Section at DHS as they present the remainder of the year’s SSIS coffee talks. Registration is required for each session and will remain open until the webinar begins. Presentation recordings and materials will be posted to the Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy website seven to ten business days following each event.
SSIS Open Discussion
Tuesday, October 24, 9:00 a.m.
Register here
Topic ideas and/or questions are appreciated in advance and can be directed to Heide Moris, SSIS Mentor Program Coordinator.
SSIS Statewide Release v23.4
Tuesday, November 21 @ 9:00 a.m.
Register here
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.
Register for training through the MNCWTA training portal
Structured Decision Making, Oct. 3, Virtual, CWTA X200
ICWA/MIFPA Ongoing Worker Training - Statewide, Oct. 3-4, Location pending, CWTA X212
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