North Carolina Department of Human Resources



DSS-1571

Electronic Upload Preparation

User Manual

2000 Version

Program Design, Development, and Documentation by:

Ric Lloyd, Consultant, CII

Division of Information Resource Management

North Carolina Department of Human Services

Table of Contents

Section 1. Introduction 1

Starting the Program 1

Section 2. The File Menu 2

County Information 2

Part I – Positions 4

Part I – Time Reporting 6

Part II – Fixed Costs 8

Part IV – Purchased Services 9

Generate Transaction Files 11

Section 3. The Reports Menu 13

Section 4. The Utilities Menu 14

Clear Data Files 14

Import Data Files 15

Part I – Sequence Numbers / Function Codes 16

Re-Index Data Files 18

Appendix – Import File Record Layout 19

Section 1. Introduction

The DSS-1571 Electronic Upload Preparation program provides for the entry of county administrative expenses for reimbursement.

The program uses simple point-and-click mouse actions to perform almost all of its processing, making it very easy for experienced and novice computer users.

Starting the Program

To start the program, double-click the program’s icon on the Windows desktop. When the program starts, it will display a menu of options available.

|Menu |Description |

| | |

|File |Allows for the selection of the form for data entry, and provides the option for creating the |

| |transaction files for sending to the state. |

|Reports |Provides for the printing of the information keyed in the forms for review. |

|Utilities |Contains functions used on an occasional basis, i.e. clearing the data files, importing the Part |

| |IV information, and assigning function codes to sequence numbers. |

|Help |Displays a screen describing the program |

Section 2. The File Menu

The File Menu provides the specific functions of the program for maintaining the information pertaining to the administrative expenses.

When this option is selected from the menu, the following options are displayed.

|Menu Option |Description |

| | |

|County Information |Identifies the county and services provided |

|Part I - Positions |Information about the county administrative employees |

|Part I – Time Reporting |Provides allocation of time to programs |

|Part II – Fixed Costs |Allows allocation of fixed costs to program/fund codes |

|Part IV – Purchased Services |Allows entry of specific costs for contract or purchased services |

|Generate Transaction Files |Creates the data files in the required format for sending to the state |

|Exit |End the program and return to Windows |

County Information

The County Information screen allows you to identify your county and the type of services provided. It also provides for the entry of the service month/year that are required in the transaction files generated for the state.

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County

The county names are provided in a drop-down list box. To select your county, press the left mouse button on the county box. Scroll the list of counties displayed until yours is highlighted. Then either press the left mouse button on the county name or press the tab key. Once initially specified, this will not change.

Provider or Organization Type

Each agency has at least one of the entities or organizations listed: Social Services (which includes IV-D if you report it on DSS-1571 IC); Child Support (separate entity from the DSS and not reported by the DSS); or Indian County (separate entity from the DSS). Make your selection of the provider type for which you are preparing the report, by pressing the left mouse button on the appropriate selection for your agency. Once initially specified, this selection would not normally change on a monthly basis.

Because the provider or organization type is passed to the state with the transactions created, the DSS-1571 Electronic Upload Preparation program is specifically designed to work with each provider/organization type separately. Therefore, if your agency provides more than one of the choices listed [example: your agency files a report for the DSS (which includes the Part IA, IB, and IC), and the Indian County], separate installations of the program will be required; one installation for the DSS and one installation of the Indian County (in this example).

Service Month

Prior to generating the transactions each month for the state, this field should be entered to specify the month of service the transactions are being submitted for. Simply press the tab key until the blinking cursor is located in this entry field, then key the month number, (1 – 12).

Service Year

Like the service month, the service year needs to be specified each month prior to the creation of the transaction files to be submitted to the state. Again, press the tab key until the blinking cursor is located in this entry field, then key the year.

Part I – Positions

When this form is selected, the program displays a list of positions currently on file and the employee’s name in each position.

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On this screen, you have the options of adding new positions, and changing or removing either of those positions listed. To add a new position, press the left mouse button on the Add push-button. The program will display a screen with empty entry fields for you to complete. To change or remove a position, move the highlight to the position/employee desired and press the left mouse button on the appropriate push-button. The program will display the information pertaining to the selected position/employee and allow you to key the changes or confirm its removal.

The entry screen for position information allows you to identify the administrative positions, employees in those positions, and compensation provided.

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Part I – Time Reporting

When this form is selected, the program displays a list of positions currently on file and employee name

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On this screen, there are 2 lists. The top list displays the position records entered. The bottom list shows the time reporting records associated with each position in the list above. As you move the highlight bar on the list of positions, the time reporting records for the highlighted position will appear in the list at the bottom.

You have the options of adding new time records, and changing or removing either of those time records listed. To add a new time record, move the highlight to the employee in the top list that you wish the time record to be entered for, and press the left mouse button on the Add push-button. The program will display a screen with empty entry fields for you to complete. To change or remove a time record, highlight the position record in the top list that the time record is for, then, move the highlight, on the bottom list, to the function code you wish to change or remove, then press the left mouse button on the appropriate push-button. The program will display the information pertaining the selected time record and allow you to key the changes or confirm its removal.

The entry screen for time reporting allows you to allocate the time spent by the employee for a program or function code.

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Part II – Fixed Costs

When this form is selected, the program displays a list of current program / fund codes that have fixed costs. On this screen, you have the options of adding new program/fund codes, and changing or removing either of those listed. To add a new program/fund code record, press the left mouse button on the Add push-button. The program will display a screen with empty entry fields for you to complete. To change or remove a program/fund code listed, move the highlight to the program/fund code you wish to change or remove, then press the left mouse button on the appropriate push-button. The program will display the information pertaining to the selected program/fund code and allow you to key the changes or confirm its removal.

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The entry screen for fixed costs allows you to enter a new program/fund code and its cost.

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Part IV – Purchased Services

When this form is selected, the program displays a list of client numbers and service codes. On this screen, you have the options of adding new purchased services, and changing or removing either of those listed. To add a new purchased service, press the left mouse button on the Add push-button. The program will display a screen with empty entry fields for you to complete. To change or remove a purchased service listed, move the highlight to the client id of the purchased service that you wish to change or remove, then press the left mouse button on the appropriate push-button. The program will display the information pertaining to the selected purchased service and allow you to key the changes or confirm its removal.

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The entry screen for purchased services allows you to enter the information about the purchased service.

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Generate Transaction Files

When all of the administrative expense information has been entered for the month, choose this option. The program will display a confirmation screen asking that you verify the month and year for the transactions being submitted. If the month or year is incorrect, choose the cancel push-button and go to the County Information screen and enter the correct month and year.

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When you have verified that the information is complete and ready to be submitted to the state, choose the Ok push-button. The program will read the information entered for Parts I, II, and IV, and create the files in the required format for submission to the state. (You may use the DSS1571 Transfer program to send the files to the state.)

When the files have been created, the program will display the location of the files created, (so that you will know where they are for the transfer program). It will also ask if you want reports of the information.

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Section 3. The Reports Menu

The Reports Menu provides the specific functions of the program for reporting the information entered for the administrative expenses.

When this option is selected from the menu, the following options are displayed.

|Menu Option |Description |

| | |

|Part I – Positions / Time Reporting |Reports administrative employees and current time reported |

|Part II – Fixed Costs |Reports the allocation of fixed costs to program/fund codes |

|Part IV – Purchased Services |Reports the specific costs for contract or purchased services |

Examples of these reports are located in Appendix A.

Section 4. The Utilities Menu

The Utilities Menu provides the specific functions of the program for reporting the information entered for the administrative expenses.

When this option is selected from the menu, the following options are displayed.

|Menu Option |Description |

| | |

|Clear Data Files |Remove the information currently in the data files |

|Import Data Files |Import the Part IV information from external data files |

|Part I – Sequence Numbers / Function Codes |Assign function codes to sequence numbers |

|Reindex Data Files |Repair the order of the data files |

Clear Data Files

After submitting the data files to the state each month, you may want to clear the information in the current data files and key the information new next month. If so, choose this option. The program will display a sub-menu of options to further specify the data file or files to clear.

|Sub-Menu Option |Description |

| | |

|Clear Part I – Time Reporting |Remove the information currently in the time reporting data files |

|Clear Part II – Fixed Costs |Remove the information currently in the fixed costs data files |

|Clear Part IV – Purchased Services |Remove the information currently in the purchased services data files |

|Clear All Data Files |As it’s name implies |

Choose the clearing option that you desire. Prior to actually removing all of the records from the data file(s), the program will ask that you confirm the action. By choosing the No push-button, you can cancel the request.

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Import Data Files

The program will import the information for Part IV – Purchased Services if the file to be imported is in the proper format. When this option is selected, the program will display a sub-menu of import options.

|Sub-Menu Option |Description |

| | |

|Print Import File Layout |Allows the printing of a layout of where fields are expected to be located in|

| |the file to be imported |

|Import Part IV – Purchased Services Records |Begin the import process |

Choose the import option desired. To ensure that the information being imported from another application is correct, the Import File Layout should be printed to determine the necessary positions of data fields.

When the Import Part IV option is selected, the program will display a screen asking that you provide the location and name of the file containing the information to be imported.

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First, you must specify the type of file that is being imported. If importing the information from an ASCII text file, press the left mouse on the Comma-separated Text File radio button. If importing from an Excel spreadsheet, press the left mouse on the Excel Format File radio button. Then, press the left mouse button on the push-button with the 3 dots on it. This will allow you to use the Windows file locate facility to select the file to be used.

Once completed, choose the Ok push-button. The program will begin the import. If the data being imported contains values that are too large to fit in the appropriate data field, an error will be displayed, and the data file will contain errors. Editing the Part IV records and changing entries can find these errors.

Part I – Sequence Numbers / Function Codes

To change the assignment of function codes to sequence numbers, choose this option. This will determine which section of the Part I the function will be reported in, (1A, 1B or 1C). The program will then ask you to choose the function codes to maintain.

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Choose the function codes to maintain by pressing the left mouse button on the part 1A, 1B, or 1C radio button. Then press the left mouse button on the Change push-button. The program will display the function codes for the selected part.

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This screen displays the function codes used by the selected part, (those that are checked), and those that are currently not used by any part, (those with white boxes not checked). To assign or un-assign a function code to this part, press the left mouse button on the box to the left of the number of the function code you wish to assign/un-assign. If assigning, this will place a check mark inside the box. If un-assigning, this will remove the check mark from the box. Choose the save push-button to complete the function.

To change the assignment of a function code, it must be unassigned and then assigned.

Re-Index Data Files

There may be occasions when the help desk may ask you to re-index 1 or all of your data files. As a file maintenance function, the re-index data files option is available. When this option is selected, a list of files used by the program will be displayed.

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If instructed by the help desk to select a specific file, press the left mouse button on the file name to highlight it, then press the Re-Index push-button. Otherwise, press the Select All check box to re-index all files.

Appendix – Import File Record Layout

Field Field Maximum

Number Type Length Contents

1 N 11 Client ID

2 C 1 First Initial

3 C 1 Middle Initial

4 C 14 Last Name

5 N 3 Category Code

6 N 3 Service Code

7 M 5 Authorized Rate

8 N 5 Units Provided

9 N 2 Month Paid (01 - 12)

10 N 2 Day Paid (01 - 31)

11 M 8 Amount Paid

12 M 8 Imposed Fees

13 M 8 Collected Fees

14 M 8 Un-Recovered Fees

15 C 1 Fund ID

16 N 1 Method of Service Provision

Field Type: C - Character field

M - Money field – numbers with assumed decimal

N - Numeric field - numbers only (no decimal assumed)

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