by
Terry Carrilio, Ph.D.
Director , Social Policy Institute
San Diego State University School of Social Work
6475 Alvarado Road, Suite 236
San
Diego, CA 92120
William
Ganger
San
Diego State University Foundation
6475
Alvarado Road, Suite 236
San Diego, CA 92120
KEY
WORDS:
MIS
(Management Information Systems)
Case
Management
Quality
Management
Implementation
ABSTRACT:
This presentation describes core principles in the development of effective management information systems for use in social service settings. The challenges of working with end-users, identifying reports and processes which can be used at multiple levels within an organization, and using the management information system to assist with quality management will be explored.
The
presentation describes core principles in the development of management
information systems, and explores the need to work with funders and agency staff
at all levels to implement an effective MIS.
The
presenters briefly review some of the settings in which they have had experience
and explore some core principles for MIS development which have emerged from
these experiences. These principles
include:
1.
To
be user
friendly@,
data elements must be few, intuitively clear and mutually exclusive.
2.
Data
should be collected at the time of the activity to avoid errors, and data entry
screens should mirror the hard copy forms available to staff.
3.
Data
collection forms should be integrated into the case recording system so that
staff do not have to repeatedly complete the same information.
4.
Data
processing should involve the maintenance of hard copy@
for data entry separate from the Ahard
copy@
which remains in the case file.
5.
Administrative
staff need to be part of the development of a data processing plan which
includes how data will flow, how compliance will be monitored, what reports will
be produced, and at what intervals.
6.
On-going
training and support need to be available to staff. This requires administrative
and supervisory understanding of the benefits of the MIS and regular use of the
available reports and queries.
7.
The
MIS is a living system, requiring on-going refinement of definitions and
development of new reports over time.
8.
The
evolution of the system must be communicated to staff and administrators clearly
and regularly so that updates are understood and incorporated consistently.
9.
The
MIS should fit seamlessly into a quality management and case recording system.
10.
The MIS should be constructed so that it articulates easily with other
data base systems and statistical packages , thus reducing the need to re-enter
data for research and evaluation purposes.
11.
New data requirements should be handled through refining the reports
whenever possible so that the line staff experience very few changes in the
forms, definitions, or front end@
component of the system.
The
presentation is intended for social
service supervisors, administrators, program evaluators and IT administrators.
While there is no prerequisite knowledge required, participants who have had
experience with reporting to funders, program evaluation, or collection of
process data will find the session most useful.
Learning
objectives for the presentation include:
·
Introduced to core principles for
developing MIS programs which have developed over time in a variety of social
service settings.
·
Exploration of
ways to handle typical data needs
·
Discussion of the ways in which an
integrated case management, data management, and quality management approach can
emerge form the development of a management information system.
The
lead presenter for this session developed the core principles as part of an
effort to collect process data for a research project in 1979. Since 1994, the
two presenters have been collaborating both on the conceptualization, structure,
application, and programming of a series of applications related to research and
evaluation projects and large state wide initiatives.