The Aging Network
Responses to Questions which States have Submitted Regarding the Revised State Program Report
Introduction
This document is a compilation of responses to questions submitted by States regarding the revised State Program Report (SPR) component of the National Aging Program Information System (NAPIS). This document will be posted on the AoA web site and circulated by email. It should be considered a “living document” and additional questions and responses may be added as received. Comments about this document should be directed to Saadia Greenberg, Administration on Aging, by email at: saadia.greenberg@aoa.hhs.gov or by telephone at 202-357-3554. The revised SPR (OMB Approval Number 0985-0008) is effective for the reporting period beginning October 1, 2005.
Section I.
- QUESTION. In the revised SPR, there is no longer any collection on new client data. Is this observation is correct?
ANSWER. Yes. There is no longer a new client data requirement.
- QUESTION. Does the number of clients to be reported in Section I.A. of the SPR include the caregivers served in Title III-E, The National Family Caregiver Support Program?
ANSWER. Section I.A. does not include III-E since we have separate tables (Section I.E. and I.F.) for the total number of caregivers of elderly individuals and grandparent caregivers.
- QUESTION. Section I.B.: Should the Total Number of Registered Clients = Cluster 2 Clients + Sum of Total Clients in Sections I.C., I.D., I.E., and I.F.?
ANSWER. No:
(1) Caregivers for the Elderly and Elderly Grandparents and others caring for grandchildren are not included in Section I.B.
(2) Registered Clients may receive multiple services.
(3) Although ideally the number of Cluster 1 clients with reported ADLs and IADLs should be 100% of the number of Cluster 1 clients, in practice this is not always the case.
- QUESTION. Section I. C. and D.: For each service category, should the Total Clients columns be identical on each screen?
ANSWER. No. There would be different numbers of clients for each service. There will be a separate screen for each service as well as for Total Cluster 1 Clients. Ideally the Total Cluster 1 Clients will be the same for both Section I.C. and I.D. but this may not always be true due to local idiosyncrasies.
- QUESTION. Should each screen's Total Cluster 1 Clients figures also be equal?
ANSWER. Note that there is no Total Cluster 1 Clients field in Sections I.C. and I.D. -- The lines in the heading on page 5 (hardcopy of SPR) indicate that there should be a separate table for each of these items. Please note that Total Cluster 1 Clients is one of these tables and not something to be indicated on the other tables or the sum of the other six tables (due to multiple service use by clients).
- QUESTION. Section I. C. Detailed ADL/IADL Characteristics: What is the definitional specification for "ADLs Missing" and "IADLs Missing"? Does this mean "one or more ADLs/IADLs missing" or "any ADLs/IADLs missing" or "all ADLs/IADLs missing" or some other interpretation?
ANSWER. All ADLs or IADLs missing – Missing for any and all data items means that there is no valid value for that element for a client.
- QUESTION. Given the following scenario, what are the reporting requirements:
·
Large event (2000+ participants; seniors, volunteers, dignitaries): If 100 seniors attend the event and do not provide the minimum data elements (i.e., name, date of birth), are their meals still considered NSIP-eligible; if no client data is available for NAPIS/SPR reporting purposes?
ANSWER: Yes. As a general rule, the principles are the same regardless of the number of people involved although of course we stress the need to gather all the data as much as possible.
·
For 50 volunteers who help to serve the meals, many of them may be under age 60 and choose not to provide us with neither their names nor dates of birth. Their meals would be considered NSIP-eligible; however, no client data would be available for NAPIS. Correct?
ANSWER: Yes - as long as the normal requirement is met that the volunteers help out during mealtimes (whenever that may be).
·
A minimum list of minimum NAPIS data elements (for cluster 2 services) for a client summary sheet at a large event is: name, age, gender, race, ethnicity, rural status, live alone status, and poverty status. A summary sheet for the attendees could be developed for attendees to complete and data would be entered into the client tracking system for NAPIS reporting. There are "missing" fields built into the SPR to account for pieces of data that the participants choose not to provide to us.
ANSWER: This list is correct. This seems like a reasonable approach.
Section II.
- QUESTION. High Nutrition Risk: Is there a reliable, effective way of collecting the nutrition risk data that would not take an undue amount of staff time, e.g. congregate meal site, away from other responsibilities? Also, is AoA directing that the screening be done annually or is some other regular timeframe acceptable?
ANSWER. Section 339 of the Older Americans Act requires that a state ensure that a nutrition project provide for nutrition screening. It is a state responsibility to develop policies, procedures, or guidance on how to implement the requirements of the Older Americans Act. As a result, implementation methods may vary state to state depending on the unique needs of the state and how the state determines to implement the nutrition program.
- QUESTION. Service Units for Home Delivered Meals and Congregate Meals: Instructions for the reporting of Service Units for line 4 Home Delivered Meals and line 8 Congregate Meals stipulate that meals served through means-tested programs (such as Medicaid Waiver and state funded programs) are to be included in the meal totals reported on lines 4 and 8. If these meals are reported under Service Units does this mean that these means-tested programs are to be considered and included in the reporting categories (i.e., # of providers, # of AAA direct, unduplicated persons served, high nutrition risk, Title III expenditure, Total Service Expenditure, program income) across the line for Home Delivered Meals and Congregate Meals?
ANSWER. Yes. Note this is true for all services, not just nutrition but, as noted below, inclusion of these means tested services is optional.
- QUESTION. If states are to report data on OAA and means-tested programs across all the reporting categories in Section II. A. (Home Delivered Meals and Congregate Meals), are states also expected to collect the client data in Sections I. B, C and D for those participants of these means-tested programs? Clarification is needed since under the previous SPR version, the Total Unduplicated Persons Served reported in Section II.A was interrelated and linked to the client totals reported in the various parts of Section I.
ANSWER. No. If the data is collected by the SUA, we would prefer to have it reported. If it is not, AoA is not requiring it.
- QUESTION. Total Service Expenditure and Means Tested Program Expenditures: Total Service Expenditure is defined as “OAA expenditures plus all other funds administered by the SUAs and/or AAAs…for services meeting the definition of OAA services – both services which are means tested and those which are not. SUAs are encouraged to report expenditures in these service categories whether or not AoA funds were utilized for that purpose…” Are detailed client information and all other reporting categories in Section II. A. (i.e., # of providers, unduplicated persons served, service units, etc.) required for those clients receiving state funded personal care?
ANSWER. No. If the data is collected by the SUA, we would prefer to have it reported. If it is not, AoA is not requiring it.
- QUESTION. Does the state have the option to report or not report service expenditures for means tested programs?
ANSWER. Yes.
- QUESTION. If the SUA is not administering the funds for means tested meals like Medicaid waiver programs, should the SUA ask for a report, from AAAs, for means tested meals? The means tested meal provider is reported directly to the funding source.
ANSWER. The SPR does not require that states report on services not administered through the SUA (even if administered by AAAs) since this might be difficult for the SUA to collect. At the same time, we understand that states may be understating the full scope of their resource commitment to aging services so AoA does permit these services to be included if the state wishes.
- QUESTION. In Section II.A, there is a service that is reported as a cluster 3 service called "Other". There are other non-registered services that are reported in Section II.E. as well. Are these two sections mutually exclusive or are they tied to one another? Is Section II.E., - Other Service Profile a detail of the summary data in II.A?
ANSWER. The two sections are tied, but II.E. is optional. The Section II.E total should not be more that what is reported in Section II.A., but it may be less or zero.
- QUESTION. Sections II. B & C “# of Providers (unduplicated)”: The specification of # of Providers (unduplicated) is difficult to precisely calculate on a statewide basis in the absence of a unique provider identification system (e.g. State or Federal tax identification number). In addition, it is unclear as to whether subsidiary or affiliated "providers" to an entity under contract to an SUA or AAA would be counted as unique providers when a SUA or AAA contract may exist with a parent company or affiliated branch division. How do states best address this?
ANSWER. Estimate the number of unduplicated providers using the most reasonable estimation procedures available. [AoA and NAUSA will address this issue in the forthcoming management study of program reporting in the aging network.]
- QUESTION. Section II.B. and C.: In Total Service Expenditures, is it all right to include Title III-B funds?
ANSWER. No. III-B funding is reported in Section II.A (Since, AoA will add the Total Service Expenditures together for advocacy national reporting purposes, inclusion of III-B. funds in Sections II.C. and II.D. would double count these funds.)
- QUESTION. If Title III-D funds are used for medication management, screening and education, where is this information on reporting the units of service and numbers of person served to be entered?
ANSWER. In Section II-A. of the SPR report form, Title III-D funds expended for medication management, screening, and education could be reported on line 15, Other Services. (The SRT software will permit entries in the Title III-D Expenditures column despite its being grayed out on the printed form.) This information should also be reported in Section II.E. “Other Services” where service units and persons served may be reported.
Section III
- QUESTION. Section III.A. and III.B., SUA and AAA Staffing Profiles: This section shows only Total FTEs and Minority FTEs does this include all staff FTEs with just a break out of minority?
ANSWER. The SPR definitions for these tables do not differentiate employees by funding
source. All employees (or all minority employees) should be included regardless of funding
source.
- QUESTION. SUA Staffing Profile: In the past, the staffing profile has had a column for number of FTEs and another column for FTEs paid with OAA funds. The FY05 form only has “Total FTEs.” Should this be total for the agency or total paid out of OAA funds?
ANSWER. SUAs are to report the total FTEs regardless of funding source.
- QUESTION. Section III.C. Provider Profile: This Section asks for the total number of providers, minority providers, rural providers. Does this only include Cluster 1, 2, and 3 providers or all OAA service providers?
ANSWER. The total number of providers for Section III.C should equal the total number of providers in Section II.A (excluding AAAs providing direct services). As we work toward enhancing our data analysis, in the future (not before 2007) an update to the SPR will likely bring the number of caregiver providers into this total. However, at this time caregiver providers are not included.
Section IV
- QUESTION. Section IV Developmental Accomplishments: In Sections IV.A and IV.B (top 3 accomplishments) are we correct in assuming that there may only be one development type code associated with each accomplishment?
ANSWER. Yes. The SPR allows only one code and states must choose the code with the most relevance if more than one may apply. Sometimes the state will indicate the other accomplishment types within the body of the text.
Title IIIE–National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP)
- QUESTION. Care Management under the NFCSP: If a State adopts the Support Coordinator model (Support Coordinators are described as teachers, networkers, counselors/validators/advocates, and family guides recommended in the AoA NFCSP Resource Guide) should this function be counted under case management or under information and assistance? The Support Coordinators function in much more of a partnership mode with caregivers in comparison to traditional case management which is designed for working with a more dependent population.
ANSWER. As long as III-E funds are involved for this effort, this work can be counted under care management. There is no guidance from AoA which precludes case managers from performing these functions. Also, I&A is a more short term function. Note that in either case these services fall under the Access Assistance category in Section II.B and II.C. The subcategories of Title III-E services were consolidated in the final revision of the SPR.
- QUESTION. Leveraged resources under the NFCSP: The NFCSP receives considerable leveraged resources both at the state and the local level. On the SPR, Section II. B & C, should these leveraged resources be counted as Total Service Expenditures or Program Income received?
ANSWER. These leveraged resources should be counted under Total Expenditures in the year in which they were used. They may also be counted under Program Income since Program Income under the State Program Reports is broader than the Grants Management of Program Income. The SPR definition includes contributions.
- QUESTION. NFCSP Funding of Support Groups: If an agency provides administrative grants to existing support groups in the community in the amount of $300/yr., (covering miscellaneous expenses such as mileage for a speaker, postage, educational materials, etc.), how is this to be reported since the agency has no information about the members of the group, how the money will be used (all for postage, mileage, or in several areas).
ANSWER. These funds fall under the Group 1 Counseling/Support Groups/Care Training category for Title III-E reporting.
- QUESTION. Units of Service under Title III-E Respite Care: If (under the Grandparent Caregiver part of the NFCSP) a child goes to summer camp for one week, for Section II.C reporting do you count this as 24x7 hrs, or as 1 unit?
ANSWER. The unit of service used should be appropriate to the type of service provided. Hours would be appropriate for in-home respite or respite provided by an adult day care or health center or a senior center. Days are more appropriate as a unit of analysis for institutional respite or summer camp respite. When direct payments are made to the caregiver, use the service units for the service purchased if known. If the service units are not known, report each payment as one unit of service. The same principle would to other categories of Title III-E services in Section II.B and II.C.
- QUESTION. Would the following be considered as Access Assistance services or activities for SPR/NAPIS?
·
Care Coordination (case management for caregivers)
·
Caregiver Support Coordination (case management for caregivers)
·
Legal Assistance (Benefits Counseling for caregivers)
·
Participant Assessment (assessments for caregivers and care recipients)
·
Information, Referral & Assistance (caregivers specifically identified)
ANSWER. Legal assistance is supplemental. All others could be counted as access assistance.
- QUESTION. Regarding Family Caregivers services on the SPR, a unit of service for Access Assistance is 1 contact. Is there a way for states to show on the SPR the amount of time or service hours that go into a single contact of “Access Assistance”?
ANSWER. No.
- QUESTION. With regard to Title III-E data, there are situations where there might be services delivered to a group of caregivers (education or support services. In that group, there could be grandparents and/or caregivers to elderly. But without getting data on each individual caregiver, it would not be possible to know which are which. There is no place to dump data on caregivers where the relationship (grandparent v caregiver to elderly) is unknown. How is such data to be reported?
ANSWER. In cases of mixed programming (caregivers of children with caregivers of the elderly) the states should try to allocate the data as best they can. If this is not possible, they can report under Section II.B, utilization and expenditures for caregivers serving the elderly.
- QUESTION. Utilization and Expenditure Profile For Grandparents and Other Elderly Caregivers Serving Children: Is it intended that reports separate unduplicated number of caregivers for counseling, respite care, and supplemental services on lines 1, 2, and 3; or just a combined total of those subsets on the line above those categories labeled Unduplicated number of caregivers?
ANSWER. It is intended that reports separate unduplicated number of caregivers for counseling, respite care, and supplemental services since one caregiver may receive several of these categories of benefits.
- QUESTION. Utilization and Expenditure Profile for Grandparents and Other Elderly Caregivers Serving Children: Totals (unduplicated) of Title III-E Expenditures, Total Service Expenditures, and Program Income are to be reported. Isn't it a given, that those figures would have to be unduplicated?
ANSWER. Yes.
- QUESTION. Units of Service under Title III-E Supplemental Services: The SPR does not provide a unit of service of Supplemental Services. Is the count to be one request for a service as one unit of service?
ANSWER. In general, States should use the same unit of services definitions for Title III-E Supplemental Services that they would use if the service were a Title III-B or III-C service.
- QUESTION. Legal Services funded under Title III-E: If legal services receive Title III-E Caregiver Support funds, is this considered a Group Two -- Access Assistance service -- in Sections IIB and IIC of the new form and reported as such?
ANSWER. Legal services is not an access service for III-E (as opposed to III-B) since III-E has a very specific definition for access services which excludes Legal services. “Access Assistance (1 contact) -- A service that assists caregivers in obtaining access to the services and resources that are available within their communities.” To the maximum extent practicable, it ensures that the individuals receive the services needed by establishing adequate follow-up procedures. [Note: Information and assistance to caregivers is an access service, i.e., a service that:
·
provides individuals with information on services available within the communities;
·
links individuals to the services and opportunities that are available within the communities;
·
to the maximum extent practicable, establishes adequate follow-up procedures. Internet web site "hits" are to be counted only if information is requested and supplied.]
Legal services should be reported as a supplemental service.
- QUESTION. For Title III-E services, because unduplicated counts of persons served are requested for Caregiver Counseling, Caregiver Respite, and Caregiver Supplemental Services in Section II.B., this would force clients receiving any of these 3 services to also complete the Client Enrollment Form. This would give us the number of registered clients for the NFCSP program. Is this correct?
ANSWER. The requirement is for an unduplicated count. Although AoA does not specifically require client registration, some type of record keeping is needed. This does not mean that III-E caregivers need to complete the same intake form as other Title III clients.
The III.E sections of the SPR require only basic demographic data about these caregivers: age, gender, race/ethnicity, rural status (usually determined by the provider or AAA based on address information), and relationship to the care recipient. Therefore, a much simplified format is possible.
- QUESTION. Does the NFCSP report require information on a caregiver’s poverty status or ADL/IADL limitations?
ANSWER. No. The SPR requires the following information for Title III-E caregivers: age, gender, race/ethnicity, rural status, and relationship to the care recipient.
- QUESTION. There have been some interpretation concerns about what information to collect under the III-E for access assistance. Please clarify the following examples:
- A caregiver calls to find out what services are available in their community, you speak with them for 15 minutes and provide them with information on caregiver services and explain how to access the services. Is this call considered a contact for access assistance?
- Can it be tracked only if a follow up call is done? (Many caregivers call just for information and may say their name but are not willing to give their phone number for a follow up call.)
ANSWER. This type of call falls under Access Assistance. So would a follow-up call but even without it, answering this call is Access Assistance.
- QUESTION. If Legal Services are considered supplemental services under Title III-E, but the Legal Service agencies provide counseling and caregiver training, would legal services still be considered a supplemental service in all cases or can it be placed under the Counseling definition?
ANSWER. Counseling on legal issues would be considered legal assistance which is a Supplemental Service.
- QUESTION. Under Title III-E, are transportation services (Transportation, Assisted Transportation) considered a Respite or Supplemental Service?
ANSWER. Transportation of the care recipient to an adult day center or similar program would be part of the respite expense. Otherwise (e.g., transportation to medical appointments), it would be a supplemental service.
- QUESTION. Under Title III-E what category does case management fall? The counseling category or the respite category?
ANSWER. Case management in this case would be a type of counseling.
- QUESTION. Under Title III-E, are home delivered and congregate meals are considered supplemental services?
ANSWER. Yes.
- QUESTION. What is the difference between Title III-E Expenditures (Federal $) and Total Service Expenditures (All Sources)?
ANSWER. For Sections II-B and II-C, the distinction between Total Title III-E Expenditures and Total Service Expenditures relates to the source of funding. Total Title III-E Expenditures consists of all Title III-E (National Family Caregiver Support Program - NFCSP) funds expended. Total Service Expenditures are funds from all sources (OAA III-E and non-OAA funds) expended by agencies administering the NFCSP for services to caregivers which would have been eligible for funding under the NFCSP (III-E).
- Question: Often supplemental services are provided on a one-time basis. In addition some supplemental services are direct payment so caregivers can purchase necessary items at a store of their choice. For example, some respite service is provided through direct payments so caregivers can hire their neighbor. Does AoA have a preference for how these service providers are entered to our totals?
ANSWER: The State Program Report (SPR) requires states to submit a number of data
elements for the National Family Caregiver Support Program (Reporting Requirements for Title III and VII dated 11/9/04 at http://www.aoa.gov/prof/agingnet/NAPIS/napis.asp). As seen in this document, State Units on Aging (SUA) are to enter an unduplicated count of providers.
AoA has not specified requirements for the systems through which SUAs report the number of providers. For example, in programs where clients use vouchers or a direct payment system and the ultimate number of providers is known, e.g., clients choose from a given list, then an unduplicated count should be more straightforward and entered. In situations where the client has greater discretion, e.g., direct payment systems allowing for a greater range of services such as respite care from family/friends/etc, then the definition from the SPR may be applicable (see below).
Definition: Provider – An organization or person which provides a service to clients under a formal contractual arrangement with an AAA or SUA. Under Title III-E, in cases where direct payment is made to a caregiver and the ultimate provider is unknown, the number of providers may be omitted.
- QUESTION. Does AoA envision that case management provided with Title III-E funding could include managing a younger caregiver’s service needs (that would ultimately assist them in continuing to provide support to an older impaired individual)?
ANSWER. Case management under Title III-E should be directed at those caregiver’s needs which involve the caregiving for the older person.
- QUESTION. Similarly, does the change noted above reflect the idea that case management for caregivers may need to be more flexible or have a different character than that we have traditionally provided within the Aging Network for older, impaired individuals?
ANSWER. As noted above, no substantive change was intended except to recognize that case management activities might include other tasks so long as these tasks are related to the caring for the older person.
- QUESTION. Please respond to the following example: when respite is provided to an older adult, two primary caregivers may benefit from the service. The AAA will pay for the number of hours of respite for the older adult once. Since caregivers are the clients of III-E services, one AAA enters the name of two caregivers for the older adult into the data system. Each of the two caregivers will be given the same number of respite hours in the data system. Is the following methodology correct: the older adult receives four hours of day care, the service provider will be paid for the four hours? The names of the two caregivers will be entered, giving each caregiver four hours of respite. Thus, four hours of respite were paid and eight hours of respite are reported being used.
ANSWER. The primary caregiver should be the person for whom the respite should be recorded. It is not accurate to have four hours of service result in eight service units. The provider should report whatever is appropriate and useful on other caregivers but that does not change the number of service units provided.
- QUESTION. Is an annual update required regardless of the funding source? For instance, if a home-delivered meal is provided with Title III-E funds rather than Title III-C funds, does an annual update of nutritional risk, ADL/IADL and consumer status still need to be performed? Likewise, if respite is provided with III-E rather than III-B, is an update required for ADL/IADL and does the consumer have to have his/her status reviewed annually?
ANSWER. Yes, annual updates are to be conducted (see http://www.aoanswer.gov/prof/agingnet/NAPIS/SPR/SPR_guidance/FAQs.asp; #9 NSIP Meals under NFCSP). Reporting requirements for the NFCSP require less detail than Title III-B registered services (see http://www.aoanswer.gov/prof/agingnet/NAPIS/napis.asp). While the submission of data under the SPR is required on an annual basis, AoA has not established time frame criteria for updates under the NFCSP. States vary in their need for programmatic data and information, and therefore conduct updates on an annual to semi-annual basis. We encourage the time frame that best meets state and local program management needs.
In September 2005, a consensus conference focusing on caregiver assessment was held in San Francisco, CA. Issues identified and solutions recommended will be made available to the Aging Network to assist state agencies and local organizations in determining the need and extent of such assessments and updates. The findings of this conference will also be placed on AoA's website, under the Caregiver Resource Room.
- QUESTION. Under Section D. Services to Caregivers the first service is Counseling, which states: “(1 session) Counseling to caregivers to assist them in making decisions and solving problems relating to their caregiver roles. This includes counseling to individuals, support, groups, and caregiver training (of individual caregivers and families).” The word “Session” implies both registered and non-registered, but then asks for an unduplicated count. The question is: Is this a session service, which means that it provides an estimated unduplicated count and not a true unduplicated count?
ANSWER. The unit of service is a session. Sessions may involve one or more than one persons. If more than one person/caregiver is involved in a session, then the basic information (III-E is a more limited data set) is gathered on all participants and the unduplicated count is recorded.
SPR Data Software (State Reporting Tool)
- QUESTION. Will there be a new data program to implement the changes to the '05 report? Will there be new SPRDIA or SVERIFY programs for 2005?
ANSWER. The SPRDIA and SVERIFY programs will be retired after the input of the 2004 data. For 2005, there will be a new, free, software program for use by states in transmitting data to AoA. It is called the State Reporting Tool (SRT) and its will be the only method for validating and transmitting the SPR data starting with the 2005 SPR data. The SRT is being developed by Synergy under a competitively awarded subcontract with NASUA funded by AoA. As is the case now, states make their own arrangements for their internal systems.
- QUESTION. Synergy Software Technologies is creating the State Reporting Tool for States to report to AoA. Will the standard created for this interface be released so that software can incorporate the same protocols to make it easy for states to report to AoA? Will all states be required to use the SRT to interface with AoA for purposes of reporting?
ANSWER. The State Reporting Tool (SRT) software application which Synergy is developing will be provided free of charge to State Agencies on Aging along with training and technical assistance in its use. The SRT is a freestanding product which may be used by all states regardless of which software they use internally for compiling State Program Report data. The SRT should not be confused with the proprietary, commercial products of any vendor.
The SRT XML specifications and AoA’s validity tests (edit checks) along with other information about the revised State Program Report may be found on the AoA web site at:http://www.aoa.gov/prof/agingnet/NAPIS/napis.asp The current SPRDIA and Sverify software will no longer be applicable for FY '05 data. The new software will be the only means of running these checks. All NAPIS data will be sent through this software before being transmitted to AoA.
Note that XML will be the preferred format for data input to the SRT. However, States also will have an option to upload their SPR data in dbase format or to directly input it manually into the SRT. State will also be able to either install the SRT software onto their system or to use a web based version.
- QUESTION. What reporting tools (i.e., SPRDIA or NAPIS SRT) should states use for FY 2005's report?
ANSWER. The SRT will be the only transmission mechanism for the FY 2005 SPR. This flexible software system is currently under development under an AoA award to NASUA with a subcontract to Synergy, Inc. The SRT software will provide a number of options including web-based submission. SPRDIA and Sverify cannot be used for this revised report and data.
- QUESTION. Is AoA still planning to create a side-by-side list of data elements so the SUAs may view how the SPRDIA data translates to the new NAPIS SRT data?
ANSWER. AoA is working on a side-by-side document and plans to release it in the Fall of 2005.
- QUESTION. Will there be a new data program to implement the changes to the '05 report? Will there be new SPRDIA or SVERIFY programs for 2005?
ANSWER. The SPRDIA and SVERIFY programs will be retired after the input of the 2004 data. For 2005, there will be a new, free, software program for use by states in transmitting data to AoA. It is called the State Reporting Tool (SRT) and its will be the only method for validating and transmitting the SPR data starting with the 2005 SPR data. The SRT is being developed by Synergy under a competitively awarded subcontract with NASUA funded by AoA. You will be hearing more about it this spring and summer. As is the case now, states make their own arrangements for their internal systems.
- QUESTION. Has the SRT software been finalized? If so, when will the SUAs receive a copy of it and the finalized schema and specifications? It is my understanding the SUAs are responsible for using this software to prepare our next NAPIS file, which is due January 31, 2006.
ANSWER: The SRT software is being pilot tested. The plan is to release it in the Fall of 2005 together with training and technical assistance. Please note that the SPR data may be uploaded into the SRT system in three ways. The preferred method is in xml format. There is also an option to upload the SPR data in dbf format. The specifications for such xml and dbf files are posted on the AoA web site at: http://www.aoAnswer.gov/prof/agingnet/NAPIS/napis.asp Finally, there is an option to input the data directly into the SRT in a manner similar to SPRDIA but with greatly improved functionality and user friendliness.
Information and Assistance
- QUESTION. Information and Assistance (I&A) services: The SPR defines I&A as a service that:
·
provides individuals with information on services available within the communities;
·
links individuals to the services and opportunities that are available within the communities;
·
to the maximum extent practicable, establishes adequate follow-up procedures. Internet web site “hits” are to be counted only if information is requested and supplied.
Must all three services be provided to all service recipients in order for a contact to be counted as a unit of I & A service?
ANSWER. The three items in the definition below are requirements for what the agency providing I& |