Status Reports

There are now more than 1600 children imported into the SHAKA application from CPSS and more than 350 of these children are in DHS Permanent Custody at this time.

The application moved to the SHAKA production server on June 25, 2009. All users will now access the system via https://shaka.dhshawaii.net.

The SHAKA development team is currently focusing on refining and customising the Permanent Custody Reporting Application. This module went "live" on March 21, 2009. Since then, users have requested features and reports that were not included in the base module. DHS has requested that fields be added to the database and input forms. This is normal for any new application. This is the first module of the SHAKA system to deploy. On a daily basis, the programming team provides technical support to DHS staff across the state. Most of the issues relate to user login situations and application feature use. Users have reported errors and bugs in the system and the programming team works closely with DHS staff to resolve these issues. Improvements have been made to optimize page loading times for lengthy reports.

Social Workers are required to complete the Permanent Custody report monthly for children assigned to them. If the report is not completed by the 5th day of the following month the system requires that DHS Program Development unlock the report and requests an explanation for the delay. Section Administrators can also track the status of the reports and follow-up with Social Workers to help ensure timely submission.

A common user complaint is that they are "timed-out" of the Internet connection after a DHS system imposed period of inactivity. This can cause users to lose important information that they haven't saved and force them to start over. The MCC team is working on a solution to this issue. We've tested it with a user in Hilo successfully.

The team is currently importing previously developed code for CWI, Case Management, and Payments into SHAKA. We hope to have the Intake module ready for user testing by the middle of September.

Staff Training

On-site training was conducted for DHS staff at the following locations during the last 3 months:

• May 4th - Oahu - WBC
• May 13th - East Hawaii - Hilo
• July 29, 2009 - West Hawaii - Kona

Greenbook - Procedures Manual

The Greenbook procedures manual has been consolidated and converted into PDF format. It is now available on the SHAKA website for users who are logged in.

Issue Tracking

Issues, bugs, feature requests, and more can now be tracked by all interested parties at:

SHAKA Project Management

The web site allows for feedback and we encourage all system users to check the site and note the status of any issue they may be tracking.

Hilo and Maui are reporting DHS Internet connection time-out issues.

Network Infrastructure

All servers are backed up. The SHAKA server is backed up hourly. All other servers are backed up daily.

Internship Update:

Two interns completed the Spring 2009 semester and two interns just finished the Summer 2009 semester. All four interns enjoyed their experience with the project and gained valuable work experience. The spring project involved application development and graphics. The summer project involved application and server security. We are currently recruiting students for the Fall 2009 semester.

NYTD Conference

John Dunnicliffe (MCC) and Lee Dean (DHS) attended the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) conference held in Bethesda, MD on June 25-26, 2009. The conference provided updates and guidance on NYTD and will ensure that Hawaii DHS meets the requirements set by the Federal Government for reporting on foster children transitioning to adulthood.

To Do:
Computer Procurement - Required under the Task Order. We need a lead person for this purchase on the DHS side.

End of Report

The first deployment of a SHAKA module went "Live" on March 21, 2009. Children in DHS permanent custody are being tracked and reported on by social workers and service providers via SHAKA. Section Administrators can monitor SW reports and higher level admins can track all reports. A single comprehensive spreadsheet can be displayed showing the current status of all foster children in permanent custody. Admins can manage users and service provider information. This module includes many of the features that were requested for the new SHAKA application.

Features:

• Dynamically Generated Charts and Graphs (Dashboard)
• Custom reports for Administrators, Social Workers, and Service Providers
• Email Reminders and Ticklers (almost ready)
• Pictures of the Children, ability to upload and edit (crop)
• Search Functionality

There are currently more than 500 foster children in the new SHAKA system with Social Workers and Providers providing monthly reports. One key reporting requirement is the date and location of the last visit with the social worker. Admins and SWs can now quickly view a report showing number of days since last visit for all tracked children.

Import routines were developed to migrate CPSS data required for this module into SHAKA. Data and modules will be added to SHAKA from this point forward. Intake, case, legal, services, contact logs, and more will be introduced into the current working environment up to the point where users can work with the entire case. Modules will be added to the testing environment first and then deployed to the production server after feedback and approval.

Internship Update

Five MCC students completed internships with the DHS SHAKA project for the Fall 2008 semester. Students received $1,000.00 each and a letter grade. The Fall 2008 semester was the first group of interns to participate and their projects were diverse. The Spring 2009 internships are more structured and the interns work in the office with the SHAKA programming team. There are two new student interns for Spring 09. They are directly assisting the programming team in the development of the SHAKA application.

We are currently recruiting students for the Summer 2009 session and have 5 applicants so far. The Summer session is 8 weeks and two students will be selected from the pool of applicants.

Project Updates

Med-QUEST
At the request of Director Lillian Koller, the MCC programming team developed a functional online Med-QUEST application. The application needs to be polished and refined, but is fully functional and can be tested at https://mqd.dhshawaii.net. The program allows for a person to register as a user, create a new Med-QUEST application (multiple applications if on behalf of others), submit or save it, and provides for administrative review and approval. This functionality will be incorporated into the SHAKA system. We started the project on September 10, 2008 and finished the first draft on September 30, 2008. Refinements would include the ability to upload documents and improvements to the user interface.

Hawaii Police Dept SHAKA Access
A model search interface screen for use by the county police departments has been developed. This would allow police dispatchers to access filtered information in the SHAKA database. The goal here is to provide police officers in the field relevant information from the SHAKA system when a child may be in imminent danger of harm.

SHAKA – Intake
Work is continuing on the Intake portion of the SHAKA system. We’ve begun developing the user interface for the Case section of the system. Updates are posted to the website on a regular basis.

Project Interns
This is one of the most important components of the MCC DHS Task Order 6 project. It allows MCC students to gain valuable "real world" experience in a professional setting. Students work with the software development team and contribute ideas, research findings, and content for the various web sites that comprise the project. MCC has 5 student interns for the Fall 2008 semester under the guidance of Diana McKeague (DHS MCC Internship Project Coordinator). The interns meet with the MCC programming staff weekly and will prepare project summaries at the conclusion of the semester in December 2008. Projects include:

• Brandi: Develop MCC outreach strategy specific to Hawaii foster youth and enhance the Foster Ohana Portal website to provide information to foster youth interested in going to college.
   
• Christine: Research current DOE school counselor level of involvement with foster youth and present proposals to allow the SHAKA system to better deal with educational tracking.
   
• Kahea: Develop a web application that will focus on tracking Permanent Custody (PC) youth in the SHAKA system and allow contractor’s to consolidate reporting to DHS CWS.
   
• Kathy: Focus on mental health issues for foster youth, parents, providers, etc. Provide mental health information on the Foster Ohana website.
   
• Brenda: Assist Grace Bumanglag with the development of the DHS Foster Ohana website.
   

NYTD Survey Instrument
Jonathan Park (MCC Programmer) has developed a model National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) survey instrument for DHS. This instrument will allow DHS to meet Federal guidelines for data collection that take effect beginning in 2010. The NYTD survey can be viewed on the SHAKA website.

Christine Costello (DHS Project Lead) and the MCC programming team will be visiting all the islands in early December 2008. Project applications will be demonstrated and feedback from DHS personnel will be gathered and appropriate requests and changes will be incorporated into the SHAKA application.

National Child Welfare Data and Technology Conference

The MCC team has created two new interactive database driven websites for DHS. One is for the CFSR. This site will host documents, comments, PIP information, and Self Assessment information for DHS. The other site is the development server for the Foster Care Portal. The Portal will serve as a gateway to Foster Care services and information for youth and adults involved in the system as well as to provide information to the public.

John Dunnicliffe and Jennifer Fones are currently in Washington DC attending the Children’s Bureau 11th National Child Welfare Data and Technology Conference. They will also be attending the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) Technical Assistance (TA) Meeting. The NYTD TA Meeting will be July 23-25, 2008 at the Capitol Hill Hyatt Regency in Washington, D.C.

On July 15, 2008 members of the MCC programming team attended the 2009 Child and Family Services Review and on July 16, 2008 the team met with Gene Thompson from the National Resource Center for Child Welfare Data and Technology to discuss and demonstrate the upgrades in-progress to the CPSS system.

A major component of the Task Order 6 project is to purchase and distribute computers to DHS staff across the state. Planning has begun for this procurement and Grace Bumanglag is working with Christine Costello to develop a pilot distribution project. Approximately 70 computers will go out as part of this first wave of the deployment.

The Maui High Performance Computing Center (MHPCC) has offered to host some of the production servers related to the Task Order 6 Shaka project. The MCC team is discussing the logistics of this hosting and preparing a draft requirements document. The main benefit of having MHPCC host production applications is the reliability of service factor. They host military applications and must provide 24/7 support and 5 day power reliability in the event of a disaster.

Grace converted a PDF version of “The Green Book” into Microsoft Word format. This will allow DHS to edit this 800 page document.

The Shaka database has been normalized and all prototype application development is now being programmed against this database. The Intake and Complaint sections are now crude, but functional. User testing is underway.

May Update

The MCC team is preparing to move the production Intake Assessment Tool server to the Kaaike building on campus. This building has a diesel generator to provide backup electricity in the event of a power outage. It might be two more months before the move takes place. We will also be moving the application to a new server (cpsintake.dhshawaii.net). This new server will be “virtual” and will allow us to backup easily. In the event of hardware problems or disaster, this configuration will enable us to recover and be back online quicker.

The Shaka prototype can now be accessed at http://shakadev.dhshawaii.net

Jennifer Fones has developed some sample AFCARS reports based on data provided by DHS. The reports can now be viewed online. Go to: http://www.dhshawaii.net/reportweb/default.aspx

Grace Bumanglag, our new project support assistant, will be starting on June 2, 2008. One of her main jobs will be to help us facilitate the computer purchase and deployment for DHS staff across the state.

Intake Complaint Section Functional

The Complaint Section in the SHAKA prototype is now functioning. This section is used by Intake when a caller first contacts CPS with a complaint. We have enabled the ability to create a new complaint, select a person from a list or create a new person record and create a new complaint. Edit the complaint and edit the person are now functional. These screens are very rough right now but the functionality is there. The next step will be to translate a complaint into an official Intake.

Jonathan Park (new network admin / programmer) started yesterday, May 1, 2008. Jonathan has extensive experience in the Linux environment and will be setting up the deployment environment for the SHAKA application. He will also be developing various tools such as “Spell Check”, “Calendars, “Email Blasting”, etc. that will be incorporated into the application.

The MCC team will be sending two representatives to the National Child Welfare Data and Technology Conference to be held during the week of July 21st in Washington DC.

Caller - Complainant Intake Process Integration

We are now working on the initial contact with complainants/callers to CPS Intake. Intake Workers will be able to take the call, save the contact information to a contact log, and then convert the contact information to an Intake. This prototype will be functional in the next 10 days. The new app features an inline “Rich Text Editor” which will allow workers to format their narrative sections with styles such as bold, underline, change font size, etc..

The prototype can be viewed at Shaka Prototype.

The MCC team will be enhanced with the addition of a new network administrator/programmer (Jonathan Park) beginning on May 1, 2008.

Jennifer Fones has created and sent sample dashboard screenshots to Christine Costello. We will post samples on the web site soon.

We are actively recruiting interns for the Spring 2009 semester and we have been interviewing candidates for the Internship Coordinator position. Flyers describing the internship component of the project were distributed at a campus job fair on April 16, 2008.

Update - Intake Screens and AFCARS

Intake Screens & SQL Reports for AFCARS

During the past week, the MMC development team created new input screens for the Intake component of the new SHAKA application. Screens include: New Intake, Add Complainant, Add Adult Data, Add Child Data, Add Victim Data, and Disposition. The fields are not programmed yet, but the page navigation is working along with all links on the left side menu bar.

AFCARS Report Module

Jennifer Fones has developed a prototype for the AFCARS reporting module. The module displays 7 mini-charts on a single page. We will upload PDF files of the charts sometime this week for review and feedback.

Personnel notes: 5 candidates were interviewed for the Project Support Assistant position.

On April 10, 2008, John Dunnicliffe and Jennifer Fones attended the NRC-CWDT Webinar on the new National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD).

March 2008 - Web Application Framework – Ruby on Rails

The final choice for the enterprise production framework for the new CWS management information system is Ruby on Rails.  We’ve tested it thoroughly during the past 3 months and have determined that it will allow us to build the application rapidly while maintaining the agility required to adapt to changes in requirements from DHS and other stakeholders in the system.  The Rails framework can incorporate java libraries and gives the MCC team a high degree of flexibility.

During the past two weeks we’ve built screens for Intake, Complainants, Contact Log, Add Adult Data, and included a “rich text” editor in the narrative fields.  The “rich text” editor will allow CPS workers to format their narratives just like they would in Microsoft Word or a similar desktop word processor.  This was one of the most requested features of the new application.

Work in progress:  Dashboards and charts for semi-annual AFCARS reports.  

DHS has requested a special reporting tool for the AFCARS (Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System) reports.  These Federal reports are submitted by DHS semi-annually.  The MCC team is currently building this tool.  The tool will generate graphs and charts and will allow for instant analysis upon receipt of the CWS data.  A working prototype will be complete by the end of April 2008.  We are utilizing Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services to generate the reports.  The raw data has been ported to a MS SQL Server 2005 database.  The new SHAKA application will incorporate these reporting capabilities.

On March 18 2008, Patricia Newlin and Lynda Arnold met with John Dunnicliffe to discuss Federal reporting requirements and the role that the National Resource Center for Child Welfare Data and Technology (NRC-CWDT) might play in providing assistance to the MCC team during the application development process.  MCC team members will attend the National Conference in Washington DC to be held in July 2008.  Lynda Arnold is the Director of the NRC-CWDT and will facilitate meetings with other state technology providers with the MCC team.

During the first week of March the CPS Intake Tool application was duplicated onto a virtual machine for rapid deployment in the event of a hardware or major software failure.


MCC is currently in the process of hiring the Internship Coordinator and the Project Support Assistant.  We expect to have the positions filled by the middle of May.  

February 2008 - Subversion and Linux Servers Setup

February was the month for server setup and configuration. The MCC team will be utilizing Subversion as the version control system for the DHS CWS SHAKA management information system. Subversion allows for the team to work on various parts of the application and upload their software changes to the development server where it can be tested prior to deployment to a production environment.

The application will be hosted on an Ubuntu Linux server in a VMWare virtual environment.  Virtualization allows us to create portable and redundant servers without incurring the cost of new hardware.  We’ve got the development environment servers built and have deployed applications to them successfully.

Christine Costello came to Maui for a project review on February 28,2008.  Timelines were reviewed and the MCC team previewed prototypes of the new SHAKA system in a Ruby on Rails environment.  Database design, data requirements, and table relationships were discussed.  The Foster Care Portal was also discussed.  The need for a Medical eligibility application,and AFCARS reports were outlined and MCC will begin working on the AFCARS tool right away.  Christine may design the Medical Eligibility Tool and provide an HTML model to the MCC team.

January 2008 Report

DHS is requesting that the SHAKA application be capable of providing a Police Dispatcher interface that may be helpful in a situation similar to the recent case where a neighbor threw a toddler off a bridge onto a freeway in Honolulu.  Had the police known of the history of the family of the child they might have taken a different action earlier in the day when they were called to the home because the child was in the street unsupervised.  

The SHAKA application on the Java Enterprise Application Server now has feedback forms on all pages and the site has the general workflow that will be required for the new system.  The new system will more than likely be built using Ruby on Rails.  

First Java Deployment - Skeleton Framework Uploaded

This morning (Sunday – 12-30-07) we loaded the first skeleton framework of the new SHAKA Case Management System to the development Sun Enterprise Java Application Server. You can view it on the web - SHAKA. It may not look like much right now, but a ton of work was involved to implement the change in technology and get us to this point. All the pages on the site are placeholders and as we move forward the data entry fields will be added based on DHS requirements. Progress will be rapid. Feedback forms will be put on every page to allow for context sensitive commentary and requirement generation. Happy New Year to all!

John Dunnicliffe

Java Enterprise Update and Other News

The MCC team has been focused on the java environment for the new system during the last two months. Specifically, we tested various components and options that can be used to support an enterprise application (SHAKA) with the goal of deciding on exactly which frameworks will best support this complex application. At this point, we believe that JSF (Java Server Faces) with JPA or Oracle Toplinks or Hibernate for database persistence, and Spring for object management on a Sun Java Enterprise Application Server will be the foundation for the new system. The DBMS (database) will either be IBM DB2, MS SQL, or Apache JavaDB. We will make a final decision on the database within the next 6 months. We are utilizing Eclipse and NetBeans as the IDE’s (Integrated Development Environment) for development.

We hope to deploy the first few pages of the development prototype in the new java environment during the second week of January, 2008. The prototype will be accessible to DHS as we build the draft model of the SHAKA system. From this point on, we will only be writing web applications in Java for the DHS project. We did a lot of research on .Net vs Java in the enterprise application arena and we have committed to Java as we feel it is more mature, offers better long term flexibility and scalability with less dependency on a single vendor (Microsoft) and will offer us more options as we integrate legacy applications into the new management system.

Personnel Changes:

Michael Nichols and Bryan Hieda have decided to stay with RDP and we will miss them. Fortunately, they will continue to be available to consult with the MCC DHS team as needed and we appreciate their expertise. We are currently in the process of recruiting new Java Enterprise developers.

Other Updates:

Project meetings were held on Oahu on October 17, 2007. We met with individuals involved with finance, information technology, and reviewed a sample application utilized by a service provider.

MCC is currently recruiting for the Internship program coordinator. Computers have been ordered for the project staff. The applications servers have been moved to the Ka Lama building here on the MCC campus. We had a meeting with Scott Seto at the Maui DHS CWS Special Services Unit to discuss the existing CPSS system. We developed a PowerPoint Presentation and PDF handout for Theresa Costello to present at a workshop. John D attended a CPS Maui workshop held for local DHS staff and service providers.The early December storms were weathered with only a brief system downtime due to an island-wide MECO power failure.

John Dunnicliffe

Live Web Meeting Beta Testing

We have initiated a live web meeting link on the home page of the dhshawaii.net website.  Feel free to try it out.  The link will state whether John Dunnicliffe is available or not available.  If he’s available, you can click the link and request a meeting.  John will initiate the meeting software and you will be asked to enter the meeting.  Just follow the directions and within about a minute the meeting should begin.

The ASAP software will display video of John and a chat window.  John can also send audio, but we’re not sure if many users will have speakers connected to their computers.  Typically, the audio portion of the meeting would be done via a telephone.

The software also allows for screen sharing.  John can demonstrate this for you.  PowerPoint presentations, document collaboration, training on application use etc., can all be done in this fashion.

We thought we’d make this type of software available now so that we can utilize it and determine what works and what doesn’t.

John Dunnicliffe

Meetings Scheduled for October 17th

The MCC software development team will be on Oahu on October 17, 2007 for a series of meetings on the new project.  The day is booked solid and is just the first of a series of regular visits to help DHS and the MCC team focus on requirements for the new online management information system.  At this point the scheduled meetings include:

• Marquis Miyauchi:  Discuss Task Order 6 accounting and billing process and other project charge items (as well as CPSS Accounting Subsystem).
• Lee Dean / John Walters:  Go over the high-level module blueprint to identify any missing modules, discuss system name and ongoing activities.
• Dragan Kljajic (EPIC Ohana):  Dragan will demo their system which has many features of our planned system.
• Marian Izumi (and FMO):  Overview what was covered at the Kickoff; discuss all features and functions that FMO would like to cover
• Gail Breakey and Vick Schneider:  Discuss data tracking

Web Site Improvements – In Brief

The “Feedback Form” name and email fields are now automatically populated if you are signed in as a registered user.  New feedback and new name suggestions are now automatically sent via email to the MCC development team.  This gives us a heads-up that new feedback has been posted and allows us to respond in a timely manner.

Email replies to feedback can now be sent directly from the site by registered users.

We now have 35 registered users on dhshawaii.net

More updates later this week.

Kickoff Meeting - Document Library

Kickoff Meeting

The CPS New Online Information System Kickoff Meeting was held at Honolulu Country Club on September 12, 2007.  The meeting went from 10:00am to 3:00pm.  There were approximately 160 attendees.  Key outcomes from the working sessions include a list of features that might be incorporated into the new system and a list of suggestions for a name for the new system.  Check the links on the dhshawaii.net home page to view both lists. 

Document Library
The “Document Library” has been updated by Christine Costello to include many important documents related to the development of the new online system.  The link to library is located on the dhshawaii.net home page.

The feedback feature has been utilized and we now have approximately 18 users registered in the system. 

Tech Update:  We have setup the Tomcat server for the development environment for the J2EE backend.  This server will host the application while it is in the development stage. 

Self-Registration Module is Live

We've got the user management and self-registration modules functioning on the web site now. Self-Registration will allow our users to participate in the feedback section of the web site and allow for categorizing comments by component. New check boxes will be added to the feedback forms that the users can check when submitting commentary. Categories will include major components such as Intake and Case Management, Eligibility, Court System Interface, Quality Assurance, etc.. Visitors will not be allowed to provide feedback unless they are registered users. This will not be the case for the public portal that will be developed.

Links are being added to include a "My Account" button. Users will be able to edit their own personal information. The Project Team page will be updated before the Kickoff Meeting to include contact information for the Maui Community College development team. The "Calendar" section will have information related to our projected timeline for developing the various components of the new system. We are currently working on the calendar timeline for presentation at the Kickoff Meeting.

We have a meeting scheduled for today (Tuesday, August 21, 2007) with a potential System Analyst. The analyst will be an important addition to the development team. The job entails managing the software development side of the project, mapping all the components and their dependencies and ensuring that the end product efficiently addresses all the requirements of the new information system.

Time was spent preparing requisitions and travel documents for the Kickoff Meeting. Procurement is time consuming. We do not have a dedicated administrative assistant for the project yet. We will probably fill that position in September.

We had a conference call with John Walters and Lee Dean on August 16, 2007. The new reports we developed were discussed. A new call will be scheduled after John and Lee research data collection requirements associated with cases that are returned to intake via the court system, FSS, or VCM.

John Dunnicliffe will be on vacation from August 23, 2007 through September 4, 2007

User Management Draft Complete

I finished first draft of the User Management system for dhshawaii.net over the weekend. I've tested on the website and everything works. It's not ready for prime time yet and is not visible to administrators. We will clean-up the user interface this week and the functions will be available by Friday, August 17, 2007. User management is a critical component of this website. It will allow groups to work together on various aspects of the project as we develop the applications.

Michael Nichols Report

1) Finished the statistics page that now reports disposition assignment distribution by units as well as overall assignments. Can filter are by date, and then drill down to review the cases returned by the filter.

2) Created a page to report all returned assessments (RA), this is in beta as of this posting. Using an algorithm that automatically finds RA, but I not sure if there is a difference between say an RA assigned ‘family court ordered CWS’ or an RA assigned ‘returned CWS’. The algorithm does not make this distinction. Asking for confirmation from DHS (Lee Dean, John Walters) on intake work-flow process so that I can validate the algorithm. If there is a distinction, then I’m requesting a list of all ‘family court ordered CWS returns’ if that is possible. I will then update the database to bring the database current.

3) Created page to randomly choose five assessments from each of the geographic area sections:

a) "Oahu - Diamond Head"

b) "Oahu - Leeward"

c) "Oahu - Central"

d) "Oahu - Special Services"

e) "East Hawaii CWS Section"

f) "West Hawaii CWS Section"

g) "Maui CWS Section"

h) "Kauai CWS Section"

i) "Statewide CWS Section"

This page returns a list of assessments for review for auditing purposes.

Project Status Reports Online Now

We initialized the basic functionality of the Project Status Report Section over the weekend.  You can now view them online.  Further refinement will occur as we move forward.  

Upcoming Website features:

• Chat Application - Live online chat window.
• Project Team Page - Contact list for MCC and DHS personnel.
• Calendar Section - Upcoming events, milestones,  and other uses.
• User & Role Administration - Manage access to sensitive system sections.
• Admin To Do List Section - Punch List -  Each user can have their own list plus it can be used for section and group projects.
• Admin Upload Docs Section - Library - Documents and training material.
• Email Setup - on Server - Will generate reminders, ticklers, notifications, etc..

What's In A Name? Website Forms are Functional

The "What's In A Name" section and the "Feedback" sections on the website are fully functional now.  John Dunnicliffe is now working on the online "Project Status Report" section. There will be a public view and an administrator view, depending on the nature of the report contents. We are also working on media presentation and training components for filming meetings and presenting training videos via the website.

On Tuesday, July 31, 2007 a conference call was held focusing on reports for Intake and referral analysis.  Michael Nichols, Bryan Hieda, John Dunnicliffe, John Walters, Lee Dean, and Teresa Doyle were the attendees.

We are now planning the Kickoff meeting for September 12, 2007.  At this point, Honolulu Country Club looks like it will be the venue for the meeting.  More will be done to finalize the location next week.

Teresa Doyle requested a report on Friday morning to provide random generated samples for all sections for review.   We were not able to complete the report in one day, but we tried.  It should be done first part of next week.

Task Order 6 Signed and Agreement Executed

On July 25, 2007, Lillian Koller signed the Task Order 6 agreement, thus completing the signature process and executing the agreement.

Time was spent configuring the SQL Database, developing and testing the Feedback section of the website and beginning the What's in a Name section.  Administrative work involved generating paperwork to transfer John Dunnicliffe 100% to this project.

Michael Nichols and Bryan Hieda continued to develop and refine reports for the Intake section.

Website Development & Report Creation for Intake

This week the MCC SDC staff focused on setting up the new web server for dhshawaii.net. This process is time consuming as many web services need to be configured.  It's an ongoing job during website development.  The web server, FTP server, SQL database server, and domain pointers all require configuration.

Michael Nichols spent time developing new reports requested by Cynthia Goss, John Walters, and Lee Dean.  This will be ongoing as they decide what type of useful information can be gleaned from data collected during the Intake Assessment process.

John Dunnicliffe created the "Blueprint" section of the dhshawaii.net website.  All major components of the new system will be listed on the site.  Work has also begun on the Feedback section so users can comment and provide suggestions for how the new system should function.  Work has also begun on developing an administration setion of the website.

After much discussion, it was decided to postpone the kickoff meeting that had been scheduled for July 26th to a later date.

Advance Account Established

On July 13, 2007 the MCC Fiscal Officer established an advance account for this project.  The advance account allows MCC Software Development Center personnel to begin working on the new Task Order 6 project for DHS while the official agreement is being routed for signatures.  It will allow us to get a head start on the project.  The official Task Order agreement has not been signed by all parties yet.