Information Systems
PWDC offers web-based access to systems for data collection and management. These systems are critical for keeping track of participant activities and attendance, including retention once employed. Managing this information is vital for EARN operations and must follow federal and state guidelines as well as PWDC policies and procedures.
Five systems, Client Information Systems (CIS), CWDS, Kronos, CAPS, and Inspiritec are currently used to:
- Track participant activity and progress through programs;
- Allocate medical benefits, special allowances, and supportive services;
- Provide statistics for services provided, program progress, demographics and trends.
- Verify employment and retention
- Calculate benchmarks and payments
CIS, CWDS, and Kronos are integrated and reconciled on an on-going basis:
- CWDS and KRONOS via PWDC middleware
- CWDS and CIS via BETP middleware
Client Information Systems (CIS)
CIS is the system used by the County Assistance Offices (CAO) and by the state to track eligibility, enrollments, attendance, and to report to federal authorities. Vendors use CIS to lookup participant information, such as days on TANF and more.
Commonwealth Workforce Development System (CWDS)
CWDS is the state’s system used by E&T providers to track participant information. Vendors use CWDS to report participant activities and participation to the CAO, by data entering information into the system. Once the information is data entered into CWDS, it is automatically transferred to CIS. In addition, CIS transfers information into CWDS such as participant demographics and referrals. PWDC uses CWDS data for data analysis, reporting such as Monthly Goals and Standards, and payments. PWDC has created its own middleware (database system) to create these applications based on CWDS data.
Kronos Workforce Central
Kronos is used to collect attendance of program participants in accordance with the Bureau of Employment and Training Programs (BETP) Master Guidelines, and to monitor participation of participants, programs, and agencies. The system:
- Captures attendance for activities, including training, education, job search, community service and hours worked in subsidized or unsubsidized employment
- Collects attendance through time clocks upon entering and exiting the EARN
- Telephone Time Entry (TTE) for locations outside the EARN centers
- Timecard edit by the EARN Center data staff
- Imports demographics and current activity codes from CWDS
- Exports weekly hours of participation per activity to CWDS
- Offers a wide array of data views and reports enables monitoring completion of data collection and participant attendance issues
Connecting All Partners for Success (CAPS)
CAPS is a proprietary system of PWDC. It collects information related to enrollments, such as demographics, activities, and special allowances. More of its functionality has been replaced by CWDS. However, participant tracking is continued until CWDS includes all critical data elements needed for program delivery.
INSPIRITEC
Inspiritec provides employment verification services to DPW and BETP, as well as late data entry. The BETP Online Forum Website has information such as the latest guidelines and available training.
