Collaborative News

CIMS Training Complete; Wizards Lead the Way

Family Connection Partnership led statewide training in January and February for the new Collaborative Information Management System (CIMS), an online database for Family Connection collaboratives to store and submit reports. Coordinators received hands-on training in entering information for their collaborative plans and self assessments during the three-hour training sessions led by Family Connection Partnership community facilitators.

Christopher Wilson, Family Connection coordinator for Meriwether County, practices entering information into CIMS.

"The beauty of CIMS is the built-in wizards that lead you through the step-by-step process," said Community Facilitator Paula Semple. "This eliminates the need to reference large user manuals or online help. All the information you need is given in each step."

Simplified data entry is one benefit of CIMS. Another value of the reporting database is its potential
to streamline the collaborative reporting process.

Prior to CIMS, the process for submitting plans was time consuming. It required collaboratives
to correctly identify codes, manually balance budgets, and adjust document formatting to comply with state standards before submitting the plan via paper copy to Family Connection Partnership for processing.

Once the plans from 159 counties arrived at Family Connection Partnership, it took weeks to review them for compliance before submitting them to the State. Plans must be compliant in order for collaboratives to receive fiscal year state funds.

The newly automated features in CIMS reduce potential errors and the amount of time it takes to submit plans. CIMS automatically applies the correct codes, calculates budget items and displays unallocated amounts, and formats plans, assessments, and signature pages.

With the click of a button, CIMS electronically submits plans and self assessments to Family Connection Partnership. Coordinators only need to print, sign, and mail signature pages.

Coordinator Julie Chance of the Jenkins County Family Enrichment Commission-a Family Connection collaborative-said she fully understands the potential of an electronic database reporting system.

"Years ago, my region needed a way to provide information to multiple funders, so we contracted with CYAN, the organization that created CIMS, to create a database at the local level," she said.

The Region 7 database was so successful that it planted the seed for Family Connection Partnership to work with CYAN to develop CIMS for the statewide network of Family Connection collaboratives.

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