RD184 - Annual Report on the Development of an Automated Day Care Assistance Program


Executive Summary:
The purpose of this report is to provide the Governor and the General Assembly information on the automation of child care assistance programs. Item 362 J of the 2005 Appropriations Act requires the Department of Social Services (VDSS) to report by October 15 of each year on the status of automation, system adequacy, and needed actions.

The child care subsidy program is one of the largest assistance programs administered by VDSS. It has grown significantly over the past decade, with expenditures increasing from approximately $9 million in State Fiscal Year (SFY) 1989 to over $161 million in SFY 2005. In SFY 2005, child care assistance was provided to over 61,000 children. While steps have been taken toward a comprehensive automated system to support the program, comprehensive automation is not yet fully operational.

Automation to support this major program has been limited. However, VDSS has moved forward in providing monthly child care program reports to both state and local agency users via the local department of social services web site. The program reports contain data on individual program codes, budget lines for children served through subsidies, and a breakdown of the ages and types of placements children receive in care.

The Child Care Project, VDSS' project for automating the child care program, continues to progress in satisfying child care user requirement. Examples include the following:

• A consultant was hired to gather multiple user requirements and provide leadership in the development of a simplified sign-on across multiple systems. This effort assisted in the development of an in-house application for a single customer ID across multiple systems as a component of the Child Care Project.

• The research and documentation necessary to incorporate interfaces of all the state social services systems is progressing in collaboration with the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA). VITA is providing system oversight, guidance and assistance in locating vendors to meet the system communication mandate as well as providing a standard for state procurement.

• Research and evaluation of the Child Care Project automation is included within VDSS' Information Technology Strategic Plan. The Child Care Project is one of two major VDSS initiatives that have been promoted to VITA.

The VDSS continues its support to obtain and provide a comprehensive child care automated system to manage the child care program, as well as to provide the framework for a department-wide integrated system. The VDSS is working closely with VITA to promote the Child Care Project and to ensure that automation efforts are part of VDSS' integrated system.