AWARE v5.3 Features

Case Management

Displays all cases meeting specified search criteria using the Case Search datapage.  Search results can be defined using a combination of over 30 different search criteria, including participant’s last name, first name, SSN, caseload number and work status.  Cases displayed include all cases for an individual (past and present) stored in the system.  Case Search can be configured for specialized use, including:

• Caseload Search - Case Search Displays all cases assigned to a specified caseload group. Users can sort cases by many variables, including participant name, SSN, case number, caseload number, reporting structure (e.g., district office), case status, application date, activity due, activity due date, and closure date.  Users have the ability to customize the columns displayed on this page.

• Caseload Reports - Prints a series of Caseload Reports, including Open Caseload (by status, name and county), Transition Cases, Closed Cases, Annual/Monthly Performance, and Expenditures (if the agency budgets by caseload). 

• Report Mode - A special “report mode” feature provides two ways to access reports.  For users who manage cases, there is “Datapage” mode that uses normal case access security.  For users who need limited access to case data found in reports but who don’t need access to case data in general, there is “Report” mode.  These modes are available on Case Search.

• Guest Access - (see security section of this document for a description of “guest access”).  Prints a series of Guest Access reports, including Open Cases and Activities by Month/Year.

• Returned Records Configuration - Allows agencies to configure the number of records that can be returned by any search page based on server capacity, database size, number of concurrent users, etc.  This is useful to prevent users from inadvertently requesting too large a search and affecting system performance.  The default is 1000 records.

Activity Due Reminders
Displays and prints Activity Due reminders.  Using system parameters, the Agency defines which activities users will be notified of and the reminder time frame.  Agency activities vary for each case type. VR “Agency activities” include: Eligibility, Trial Work End, Trial Work Review, Extended Evaluation End, Extended Evaluation Review, Plan Due, Service End, Closure, 6-Month Plan Review and Annual Plan Review, and Post Employment Services.  Each user can also set “custom” activity reminders using the Activity Due datapage.  Additionally, the system will alert the user when a case has more than one activity due.

Participant Contacts
Allows participant contacts to optionally be displayed on the Quick View page along with other high-level information about the participant.

Catalog of Letters
Displays a catalog of letters that can be printed for one or more participants.  Allows agencies to add standard letters that are used during the life of a case.  System allows letters to be customized and spell checked before printing.  Letters are available in the Referral and Participant modules.

History of Key Events
Displays a chronological history of key events in the life of a case using the Case Management datapage.  Allows staff to review case activities, such as when the application was signed, when eligibility was determined, when plans were signed, authorization information, employment information, the date the case was closed and Post Employment Services activity.  The Case Management datapage also displays each case note that has been entered and comments for all authorizations.  Prints a series of Participant Reports, including Application, Eligibility, Plan and Closure.

Check Out Cases
Includes the ability to “check out” cases and perform basic case functions on a notebook computer that is not connected to the central database.  Available functions include new case creation, determination of eligibility, plan development, and adding case notes.  This feature allows staff the freedom to manage cases without having to be in a specific location.

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Case Flow and Documentation

Stores all federally required case service data elements and documentation.  System integrates narrative documentation with data and status changes.  Federal reports are generated directly from the data collected by counselors and support staff as part of their day-to-day system activities.

RSA-911 Reporting
Collects data in the format required for the RSA-911 Case Service Report (RSA-PD 00-06) for VR cases open on or after October 1, 2001.  Maintains data in the format required by the previous version of the report (RSA-PD-99-09) for cases closed before that date.

Referrals
Tracks and reports on clients who have been referred for services.  The referral process seamlessly integrates with the new case process so that a referral can become a new case with minimal effort.

Order of Selection
Tracks and reports on participants for whom service delivery is delayed due to Order of Selection.  Allows an agency to indicate when they are using Order of Selection and then move participants with a disability priority not currently being served to Delayed Status.  Includes a process for canceling authorization items unavailable to those participants moving from Eligible to Delayed status.

Ticket To Work
Tracks and reports on participants participating in the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program administered by the Social Security Administration.

New Case Process
Links a participant’s case with any prior cases they’ve had using the New Case process.  The New Case process includes entering Personal Information, Application (Intake) values, Job History, Disabilities, Special Programs and Application Documentation.

SSN#
Prohibits users from entering two participants into the system with the same SSN.  Does not allow users to create more than one open case of a particular case type for a participant.  The system allows users to edit open case information if the user has the proper security.

Case Status
Provides statuses to indicate case progress.  Statuses include Application, Eligible, Service, Employment, and Closed.

Sub-Case Statuses
Provides sub-statuses to indicate additional information about the status of a case.  For example, a case in Application status in which the participant was engaged in Trial Work Experiences displays the case status of Application-T.  Other sub-statuses include Extended Evaluation (Application-X), Extended Eligibility Determination (Application-E) and Job Ready (Service-J).  Note: Sub-statuses only apply to the VR case type.

Eligibility Determiniation
Records logic, rationale and date of Eligibility Determination.  Records Eligibility Determination Extensions, Trial Work Experience Plans and Extended Evaluation Plans prior to Eligibility Determination when appropriate.  Provides Activity Due reminders for Trial Work Experience and Extended Evaluation Plans.  Note: Trial Work Experience and Extended Evaluation only apply to the VR case type.

Individualized Plans for Employment (IPEs)
Develops and stores Individualized Plans for Employment (IPEs).  Written in the first person singular tense, the IPE is designed for a counselor and participant to use together to support the client’s choice of employment goal, services and service providers.  The system allows staff to amend (clone) a plan or record a short revision to the plan.  All plans and revisions are stored on-line and can be viewed by anyone with security access.

Job Ready
Optionally records when a participant is “job ready”.  Designed to gather all data required for a job bank database, the Job Ready datapage collects agency-defined data elements about the participant’s education history and job interests.  (Only applicable for VR case type.)

Employment
Documents employment occurrences, including employment start date, federal employment type, employer, job function and reason for leaving (if no longer employed).  Preserves the original employment start date so that multiple employment records can be counted cumulatively toward the federal 90-day employment requirement.  With the appropriate security, selected staff can also enter new employer information.  (Only applicable for VR case type.)

Case Closure
Records information related to case closure, including collecting federal closure data elements and rationale of closure.  For VR case type, guides users to correct closure outcome (Rehabilitated or Other than Rehabilitated) based on case status and duration of employment.

Closed Case
Allows users to reopen a closed case for Post Employment Services (PES) by building a Post Employment Services Plan.  Once reopened, staff can enter authorizations, case notes and other data elements within the case.  Records outcome and rationale when closing the Post Employment Services Plan.  (Only applicable for VR case type.)

Annual Follow-Up
Prompts for and records 6-month and annual follow-up of cases closed Rehabilitated, too severely disabled and in sheltered employment, and for a case closed after the fiscal year 2002, extended employment (per federal law).  Also allows users to request another follow-up.  Based on agency parameters and closure type, provides for recording changes in employment and benefits.  (Only applicable for VR case type.)

Case Notes
Allows for entry of multiple case notes in the system.  In addition to federally required documentation, case notes can be used for non-federally required events (such as telephone calls and on-site visits), to note services provided, and set up custom activities due.  Allows users to launch a new email message addressed to the participant with the contents of the case note as the text of the email message.

Older Blind and Independent Living
Allows an agency to track Older Blind cases either through the IL case type or a separate OB case type.  With either option, case service statistics for required federal reporting are automatically gathered.

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Budgets, Authorizations and Payments

Allows budgeting of case service funds at any level of the organization (referred to as Reporting Structure). Budgets can be distributed using any combination of three distribution methods: “All Caseloads,” “Selected Caseloads” and “Next Level.” Budget module allows authorized users to maintain case service budgets. Module calculates amount distributed, authorized and remaining.

Informational Budgets
Allows agencies to set up informational budgets. These budgets distribute funds available for authorizations and available for reporting but do not restrict the issuance of an authorization if the authorization exceeds the Available Budget amount. If the Authorization Amount exceeds the Available Budget, the system checks the parent budget record for sufficient funds. If the parent budget is a Restricted budget, then the Authorized Amount must be less than or equal to the Available Budget.

Authorization Categories
Provides for five different categories of authorization for services: Vendor, Direct, Recurring, Group, Bulk, and Service. (Agency specifies which types are available by setting system parameters.)

• Vendor authorizations authorize one or more services to a Vendor (information on authorized Vendors is stored in the AWARE Vendor database).
• Direct authorizations authorize one or more services to a participant.
• Recurring authorizations authorize recurring expenses to a participant such as maintenance or transportation. Once authorized, a batch process can create the payment records for these authorizations or staff can manually enter associated payments.
• Group authorizations authorize a vendor to perform the same service for more than one participant. Users process a single authorization for several participants; the vendor only needs to bill the agency once and the authorization is added to a participant’s case and the counselor’s caseload.
• Bulk authorizations authorize the purchase of items without having to associate the items to a specific case or cases.
• Service authorizations authorize goods and services to a participant such as services provided by agency staff or through a pre-negotiated contract with a third party.

Tracking Authorizations
Allows an agency to use an expanded authorization number field to track authorizations. The optional expanded authorization includes a prefix to differentiate authorizations of one type from another.

Authorization Item
Allows an authorization to contain more than one item. Each item consists of a service, a number of units and a unit price. The system calculates a series of amounts related to each authorization including: Original Authorized, Current Authorized, Paid to Date and Outstanding Balance.

Authorization Payment Method
Allows the agency to designate a particular method of payment for an authorization, for example credit card or cash payment. If credit card is selected, an optional field can be displayed for the credit card holder.

Authorization and Payment Rules
Allows an agency to customize authorization and payment rules with system parameters, such as:

• Define the level of detail for an authorization item (Service Category, Sub-Category or Procedure Code). Set maximum unit prices for a Service Category, Sub-Category or Procedure Code.
• Require sufficient funds in budget before an authorization can be issued.
• Require separation of duties (one person issues an authorization, a different person enters payments.
• Require all authorizations to be closed before case can be closed.
• Use the authorization and payment process to record emergency/petty checks.

Authorization History Logging
Allows authorization history logging of critical transactions associated with a given authorization for later reporting.

Payment Refunds
Allows agency to account for payments refunded back to the agency.

Ad-hoc Authorizations
Provides structured ad-hoc authorization, payment and warrant inquiries via the Financial module. The module allows users to locate information based on a combination of over 20 search criteria. Reports can be generated from search results and displayed either in PDF format or in RTF.

• The Financial module also allows staff to quickly review a group of payments from multiple authorizations and provided users the ability to review, release, unreleased and rollback payments stored in the database.

Vendor Information and Maximum Fees
Allows vendor information to be entered into the database manually or electronically. Optionally collects and provides inquiry capabilities based on many criteria including: Vendor Type, Counties Served, Services Provided and Special Registration. Also supports creating and maintaining maximum fees for service categories/subcategories/procedure codes for individual vendors and registration types. Maximum fees can be of two types: a maximum rate provides a maximum limit on the authorization rate, while a Set rate indicates that the authorization rate will be a specific amount.

Voided Warrants
Allows for entry of canceled (voided) warrants to maintain accurate case expenditures and budgets using the Financial module. The Financial module also allows authorized users to search for warrants by date and warrant number.

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Security

Requires the use of a login ID and password to enter the system. System parameters allow the agency to define the basic characteristics of the password, how often users must change their password, the number of times a password can be reused and the number of times users can attempt to login before the system locks them out. The system supports single login capability to allow network/domain authentication to be passed through to AWARE.

Caseload Groups
Maintains confidentiality security by establishing Caseload Groups. Cases are assigned to caseload groups rather than individuals. Staff members are assigned as “members” of a caseload group. A staff member who is a member of a caseload group can access cases assigned to the caseload group. The Caseload Group module allows authorized users to setup new caseload groups and to change the primary staff member assigned to each group.

Guest Access
Allows authorized staff members to set up “guest access” to a particular case. A guest has access for a limited amount of time and for a specific level of security (for example, a guest may be able to issue authorizations but not enter payments).

Statewide Access
Allows authorized staff members statewide access to all cases in the system.

Security Levels
Provides seven levels of security that define the level of access for caseload access, guest access and Statewide access. These levels provide a range of options from read-only access to full update access.

Personal Security
Allows authorized staff members to perform specific system functions through the use of personal security parameters, which are maintained in the Staff module. Once a user is entered into the system, he/she can only perform the functions to which he/she has access. Examples include:

• Access to specific modules in the system.
• Create a new case, determine eligibility and enter a plan signature/start date.
• Draft a new authorization, issue an authorization up to a specific dollar limit, enter a payment up to a specific dollar limit, reprint an authorization and reopen an authorization. Note: Authorization personal security parameters are specific to each authorization type (Vendor, Direct and Recurring).
• Access to system administration functions such as the ability to override date entries, change a social security number, add a participant photo, adapt a system parameter, and modify records that are normally unavailable for edit such as all plan and employment data.

Transaction Logging
Logs actual transactions based on agency-defined system parameters. Log can store a record of tables and/or fields updated.

Security Templates
Provides a Security Templates feature that allows agencies to assign common personal security to groups of staff members at one time using a security template. The new function also includes the ability to search for staff members by their assigned template.

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Summary Reports

Generates VR and IL required federal reports. Includes detail reports to itemize and validate numbers on the summary level reports. Reports include:

• Annual Vocational Rehabilitation Program/Cost Report (Form RSA-2, Section II data only)
• Quarterly Cumulative Caseload Report (Form RSA-113)
• Annual Case Service Report (Form RSA-911)
• Section 704 Annual Performance Report (Form RSA-704, Subparts IB and IC only) for Independent Living programs
• Annual Report for Independent Living Services for Older Individuals who are Blind (Form RSA-7-OB, Parts III and IV only)

Performance Evaluation and Indicators
Allows an agency to review performance relative to the evaluation standards and performance indicators described in 34 CFR Part 361 Subpart E for any part of the agency’s reporting structure.

Management Reports
Generates essential management reports, including Performance Statistics and Budget vs. Expenditures reports.

Print Report Catalog
Provides a “shell” program for staff to create a catalog of reports to print. Allows agency development staff to create and catalog reports for statewide distribution.

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Other Notable Features

Provides an online user manual for the following modules: Participant, Referral, Service, Employer, Payment Review, Group Authorization, Summary Reports, Staff and Check Out/In modules. Users can drill down to learn how to use a particular datapage or report. Users can also consult the associated data dictionary for descriptions of each field on the selected datapage.

Employer Information Management
Provides an Employer module for managing employer information and providing a link between employers, employer services and participant placements. Highlights of features include: creating and editing records, maintaining multiple employer locations and contacts, and recording employer activities. The system also supports those agencies that have teams of staff working with a specific set of employers.

Statewide Electronic Phone Book
Provides a Staff module for inquiry into a statewide electronic phone book.

Accessibility
Works proficiently with screen readers and other accessibility software and devices.

System Adaptation
Includes tools for updating system parameters and lookup tables.

Custom Case Type
Provides a “custom” case type that allows an agency to set up a new parameter-configured case type without custom programming.

Batch Processing Tool
Provides a Batch Processing tool for authorized staff to schedule batch processes from within AWARE to run at specific times.

Data Validation
Includes functionality for identifying data integrity issues, such as invalid characters, duplicate or mismatched social security numbers and missing disability records. Help Desk staff and system administrators can use this feature to correct data errors before they show up on federal reports.

Educational Data
Uses an automated approach for keeping educational data synchronized throughout the case flow process. This includes level of education, transition program data, and Individualized Education Program (IEP) information for Special Education participants.

Service Management
As an optional component, the Service module provides a management tool for staff who work in service delivery facilities. It is designed to work in conjunction with the Service authorization process in the Participant module.

Survey Tool (Single or Comparative)
Includes the Survey Datapage Tool which allows agencies to setup pages to collect answers to standardized questions such as for a Functional Assessment. Agencies can define the name of the survey, the type (Single or Comparative), the questions, and the format for the answers. Each survey can be setup as required or optional.

Help Desk
Consolidates the management of caseload, employer, and service groups into a central location in the Help Desk module.

Large-Print Reports
In the Participant, Budget, and Vendor modules, provides the option to display reports in standard or 18-point large-text versions. Both versions are available in either PDF or Rich Text Format (RTF) based on a user’s personal preference. In addition, the user can set the preference to always use the same format or to be prompted with format choices.

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