OunceNet Tips

30 Day Rule for OunceNet TrainingDid you know that any new staff members using OunceNet should receive the New User Training by an OunceNet team member within 30 days of their hire date? In order to ensure accurate data entry, the Ounce of Prevention Fund asks that all staff members using OunceNet receive this on-site training. To schedule the training, simply call the OunceNet help line at (800) 789-4815. (If you have OunceNet users who were hired over 30 days ago but still haven't received the New User Training, it's not too late for them; just call the help line to set it up.)

Participant Consent FormRemember, all participants must sign a consent form before you enter their information into OunceNet, even if you have provided home visits or other services to them.  OunceNet information is shared with the Illinois Department of Human Services, so participant information should not be entered into the system until you have a signed consent to do so.  You may keep information on participants who have not signed a consent form yet in other places, just not in OunceNet.

DHS OutcomesRemember to keep current on your DHS outcomes.  To check to see if your DHS outcomes are up to date for the quarter, simply run the DHS Child Outcomes report in the Reports section of OunceNet.  The report lists the DHS child outcomes and whether or not each is up to date for each child.

GlanceHave you been using the Glance option?  The Glance option is a quick and easy way to see much of the information of a particular participant- including services, outcomes and address- at a glance on one screen.  From the Participant screen, highlight the name of the participant, then simply click Glance instead of Select.

Child Care ScreenIf a participant has the child at home with her and has no child care, be sure to click NA (for Not Applicable) on the Child Care screen, NOT the option “Home Based”, and enter 0 for the Number of Hours.  The option of Home Based refers to child care by others based in that child care provider's home.

ReferralsIf the agency you want to refer to does not appear on your dropdown list on the Referral screen, chances are it is already in your database, just not appearing under the category you chose.  To fix this, click Agency from the Main screen, then click Referral Library.  Select All and click Search to see all of the agencies listed in your Referral Library.  Then click Details next to the agency you wish to see.  In the Categories section, all of the categories under which the agency is currently listed will be highlighted.  Check to see if the categories highlighted cover all possible categories for that agency.  To add more categories for the agency, simply hold down the Control key and click on the additional categories, then click Save.

Maximize ButtonIf any part of your screen is not visible, try clicking the Maximize button in the upper right hand corner of your window.  The Maximize button is between the Close button to the right (which looks like an X) and the Minimize button to the left (which looks like a dash). The Maximize button has a picture of a box on it.  Once the screen is maximized, the Maximize button changes into the Restore Down button, which has a picture of two small overlapping boxes on it.  When your screen is maximized, all parts of it should be visible when you use the scroll bar.

Group RosterTo remove participants from a Group Roster, you may click Group Assigned on the individual participant's Participant Information screen.  Click Edit, enter the date to Remove From Roster On, and click Update.

The second way is quicker only if there are multiple participants to remove from the roster.  Click Agency on the Main screen, click Groups, click Details next to the group you seek, and click Group Members. Click Edit next to the name you wish to remove, enter the Date To Remove From Roster, and click Update.  Repeat the process with all names you wish to remove.  If the participant was never in the group, you may click Delete rather than Edit to delete her record entirely.

Home VisitsWhen visits with a participant don't take place at her home, when is it a Home Visit and when is it an Individual Contact?  If the visit lasted at least an hour and included time for parent-child activities, then you may be able to record your visit as a Home Visit rather than an Individual Contact.  Consult with your supervisor to be sure. At least 80% of Home Visits still must occur in the home.

Older Children of ParticipantRemember, you are responsible for the Denvers and immunizations of any child of your participant who is under five years old, even if they are not the child who brought the participant into the program.  The only exceptions are children no longer living with the participant; be sure to document these children using the Child Intake screen and the “Remove Child From Statistics Because” field.

DCFS ReportsRemember to enter all DCFS Reports in OunceNet (from the Participant Outcomes screen) no matter who made the report, whether the victim of the suspected abuse was the participant or the child, and whether or not the report was Indicated.  If you know that a report was made to DCFS but do not know the outcome, simply select the option Unknown as the outcome of the report.

Service LedgerRemember, once you click at the date on the calendar, all services you enter default to that same date.

Search for ParticipantsHaving trouble finding a participant in the system? Select "All" for Enrollment and deselect all Core Components.  (Deselect by holding down "Ctrl" and clicking.)

Service Intensity LevelsLevel X is for all Creative Outreach participants, which means those who have not yet achieved Active status by receiving 3 home visits.  Level 1P is for prenatal services, which occur twice a month.  Level 1 is weekly home visiting, Level 2 is bimonthly home visiting, Level 3 is monthly home visiting, and Level 4 is quarterly home visiting.  In contrast, Doula participants should always be assigned to the Level "Doula Home Visiting Model." You may be tempted to use Level 1P for Doula, but being in Doula overrides other level assignments.

DCFS InformationBe sure to enter all DCFS reports (both participants and children) using the DCFS Reports link on the Participant Outcome Indicators screen.  If a child has been removed from a participant, remember to record this on the Child Intake screen in the "Remove Child From Statistics Because" field, and indicate whether the child is a ward of the state by clicking the Child DCFS link.

Add Group MemberFrom Agency > Groups > Group Profile, select Group Members, then Add New Record.

FSC AssessmentsIf you are completing an FSC Assessment but the client is not enrolling in your program, click "Complete Intake" in the upper right corner of Step 2 to end the intake.  You may also click "Make A Referral" link, which also ends the intake but allows you to record a referral to another program.  After you select Complete Intake or Make A Referral in Step 2, you will be able to find the participant in the Completed Intakes section of the Participant screen.

Mother/Baby and Who Is There For YouYou no longer need to mail in the Mother/Baby or Who Is There For You scales!  Simply enter the questionnaires in the Participant Outcomes section of OunceNet.  (Who Is There For You=Social Support. Mother/Baby = Parental Efficacy.)

Doula Hospital ServicesRemember, Doula Hospital Services are for any prenatal trips to a medical facility by a Doula for a Doula participant, whether a birth occurs or not. If there is a birth during the visit, be sure to fill out the Doula Attended Birth field on the child's Doula screen (accessed through the Child Intake screen).

Group Attendance Grid ReportWhen running this report, select one group name to run rather than "All".

Improving your internet connectionDelete the cookies and temporary files on your computer on biweekly basis by going into Tools > Internet Options and clicking on "Delete Cookies" and "Delete Files" buttons.

Level Analysis ReportRun the "Level Analysis Report" on a regular basis to ensure that the service intensity levels are assigned correctly to all the active participants.

Enrollment Statuses"Active" enrollment status in OunceNet means that the participant has received three consecutive home visits and signed a consent form. "Creative Outreach" enrollment status in OunceNet means that the participant received an initial contact and signed a consent form but is not actively enrolled yet.

Service Components- Short TermShort term participants are not expected to be involved in long term home visiting.

Service Ledger- Definition of StaffingRegular meeting held with direct and supervisory staff to discuss services/ issues related to a particular participant's status/ progress.

Service Ledger- Definition of SupervisionThe relationship and interaction between an employee and their direct supervisor that includes reflection, collaboration, and regularity.

Service Ledger- Definition of Individual ContactsIndividual contacts are those direct interactions with participants via phone or in-person, which are designed to encourage or maintain engagement with participants in the program.  Individual contacts should be entered in OunceNet if they last 15 minutes or longer.

New Home Visit ScreenIf you need to enter a home visit that took place before March 1, 2006, and you don't remember the amount of time spent in each service area during that visit, just try to estimate how much time you spent in each area. Only home visits that took place on March 1st or after will actually be analyzed for the minutes spent in each service area.

Reading QuestionIf you need to enter a Mother Baby questionnaire that took place before March 1, 2006, and therefore don't have an answer to enter for the new reading question, select “Not At All” as your answer for that question. Only questionnaires administered on March 1st or after will be analyzed for this reading data.

Home Visit DurationOn the updated Home Visit screen, you no longer enter the total duration of your home visit; it is calculated for you after you enter the time spent in each area. The total duration of the visit is only calculated when you click Submit. If you would like to see the total duration of your visit, click Details next to the Home Visit you have just entered. You will then see the total number of minutes for your visit in the Duration field.

Attempted Home VisitsTo record the time spent on each service area for attempted home visits on the new Home Visit screen, simply click “None” for the amount of time spent in each area. The total duration of the attempted home visit will then be calculated as zero.

Child Outcome Indicators- Well Child VisitsRecord "Well Child Visits" separately from the immunization records. The best way to get this information from your participants is to find out the date of their last visit to the doctor for a non-sick appointment.  To record an immunization that is being delayed due to the providers' schedule being different from the one in OunceNet, please follow the steps below:

• Click on Edit next to the name of the immunization that the hospital has not given.
• Leave the date blank
• Select Delay
• Select Non CDC Compliant Provider as the Reason
• Click Update.

The immunization will then appear as Delayed rather than Needed, and your reports will show that your documentation is Up To Date.  Later, when the child receives the immunization, click Edit next to that immunization, fill in the date the child received it, leave the Delay and Reason fields the same, and click Update.