Oklahoma Department of Human Services Manages Child Welfare Program With Technology From IBM and Information Builders
Published on: July 25, 2007
"We picked zLinux to run our reporting servers because it is fast and flexible. We wanted to leverage the power of the IBM mainframe for our important reporting activities. We are pleased with the platform." – Sarjoo Shah, Director of Data Services Division, Oklahoma Department of Human Services
Overview: The Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) uses WebFOCUS business intelligence (BI) technology from Information Builders on a zLinux platform to help caseworkers provide better family services. The BI software enables the agency to track the precise needs of each child, from initial investigations by caseworkers through foster care, adoption, financial assistance, and post-adoptive financial assistance services.
Business Need: State agencies such as the OKDHS must be able to verify compliance with federal regulations and program requirements. This involves delivering timely information to field workers to verify their ability to meet federal outcome measures. The data must be dynamic, so caseworkers can look at it in different ways and filter and sort it however they choose.
Solution: To keep track of thousands of cases and thoroughly address these federal reporting requirements, OKDHS is using Information Builders WebFOCUS business intelligence and reporting software. In 2003, OKDHS moved its child welfare reporting operations to a virtual Linux machine running on a IBM System Z 9 mainframe, along with the Oracle database where reporting data is stored. The department adopted the mainframe server as the most cost effective option for hosting its popular BI application. According to Shah, the zSeries has proven itself ideal for the job. The Linux operating system has been optimized for this platform, enabling the department to reduce costs while enabling high application availability and performance. Storing both the data and the BI application on the same server simplifies maintenance, improves performance, and lowers costs.
Benefits: Reports from WebFOCUS help caseworkers maintain a running history on each child, including information on compliance issues, contacts, court reports, and treatment plans – so paperwork doesn't hold up the urgent needs of these children.
These reports not only help caseworkers provide better family services, but also help agency directors meet federal Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) mandates. There are about 100 measures that are considered when determining compliance with CFSR program requirements. Reports from WebFOCUS dramatically simplify the process.
Case Study
The complexity of today's IT environments is motivating organizations to reduce the number of operating system (OS) instances, integrate data sources, consolidate servers, and minimize vendor relationships. Fewer servers, network switches, and storage devices means fewer environments to maintain, smaller inventories of parts, and fewer software patches and upgrades to worry about.
Such was the motivation for the OKDHS, where IT pros deployed an IBM System Z mainframe for its business intelligence initiatives.
Extending the Legacy
Up until the mid 1990s, the system used by Child Welfare staff was written in COBOL and the data was stored in a mainframe IMS database. Back then, the department had skeletal information indicating whether cases were opened or closed and a few sketchy notes, but nothing that allowed them to track cases or provide case management services, like they can do now. If they wanted to sort or filter the data in a different way, they had to ask a programmer to manually produce a special report.
In 1995, OKDHS created and deployed the KIDS application, the first federally approved system of its kind in the nation. Child Welfare staff use KIDS to keep track of thousands of child welfare cases and thoroughly address federal reporting requirements. It includes information on Child Protective Service (CPS) Investigations, Permanency Planning Cases, Adoption Cases, Court Information, Client Demographic Information, Resource Information (Foster Homes, Day Care, Adoption Homes, Group Homes, etc.) and Worker Assignment Information. First Steps with the System Z 9
In 2003, IT pros at OKDHS moved the KIDS database and legacy reports to a virtual Linux machine running on an IBM Z9 mainframe, then used WebFOCUS to run the existing reports on the new platform.
At that time, OKDHS hired Information Builders Consulting to develop the Outcome Measures Reports. The purpose was to provide caseworkers with accurate information about children within the system while also supplying compliance information for federally mandated regulations. They began with three key reports: Time to Reunification Exit, Time to Adoption Exit and Children Not Re-entering Out-of-Home Care.
OKDHS staff defined the requirements and built the data sources for these reports. To create the reporting database, OKDHS extracted CPS and Permanency Planning data from the KIDS database and stored it in FOCUS data marts. Once the data was in place, Information Builders Consulting created the report prototypes. OKDHS staff took the prototypes, refined and then deployed them. Learning from Experience
Information Builders went on to create seven additional reports, which reveal how the department is performing with respect to six key Federal Outcome Measures and other CSFR measures. To simplify access to all this information, OKDHS decided to use the WebFOCUS Business Intelligence Dashboard. The dashboard gives users a central location to find and run the reports, allows them to review multiple reports at a single glance, and enables the real-time deployment of new reports.
Currently, there are more than 2,000 KIDS users, from directors and supervisors to contractors, caseworkers and administrative support staff. Starting at the state level, these users can drill down from area to county to supervisor to worker, jumping directly to detailed reports about particular cases. They can also examine trends over a 12-month period. This enables supervisors and directors to determine where they've done well and where they've done poorly at any level or within any area, from the summary levels down to the client detail. Measuring Success
OKDHS has experienced measurable improvements in its services as a result of the KIDS system. One of the primary motivators was the need to deliver timely information to the field staff. Before they started using WebFOCUS, field staff did not know how they performed on meeting federal guidelines until one-to-two years after a given reporting period. Now, with all the relevant data residing on the WebFOCUS Reporting Server, it is instantaneously available to authorized WebFOCUS users.
Reports generated by WebFOCUS not only help caseworkers provide better family services, but also help agency directors meet federal Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) mandates. There are about 100 measures that are considered when determining compliance with CFSR program requirements. Having current data that is readily available helps caseworkers keep track of the children and make better decisions.
Architectural Distinctions
WebFOCUS uses a server-based architecture to simplify software maintenance, streamline report distribution and minimize network activity. It takes advantage of the unique strengths of zLinux by using a single code base for all platforms. IT pros can consolidate infrastructure servers on available IBM System z and zSeries LPARs to provision multiple virtual servers. They can dynamically share and manage a common set of resources across multiple applications, reducing the need for multiple sets of expertise, support contracts, and management tools.
Virtualization technology allows the department to create and manage discrete virtual processors, storage, and I/O devices in a single zSeries server. These resources can be dynamically shared or reconfigured whenever and wherever needed, making it easier to handle new workloads.
Currently, the WebFOCUS reporting server resides in a z/VM Linux partition, along with the Oracle database for Child Welfare. The z/OS partition houses IMS and DB2 databases, along with several legacy applications. The child welfare system downloads information about new cases each night from these legacy databases to update the Oracle production database. Then, the entire production database is cloned every Tuesday night to provide a fast, dedicated database for operational reporting.
"The z9 is a flexible platform – it runs these two very different partitions side by side," says Shah.
Linux's self-configuring and self-healing attributes minimize risk for these critical applications, supplying continuous availability and smooth, measured performance, despite occasional spikes in usage.
New Development for the Mainframe
The Department is currently using WebFOCUS to develop two other critical BI applications: one to manage Medicaid performance and productivity, the other to detect fraud within the state's food stamp program. While the child welfare application accesses Oracle data and runs within the zLinux partition, these new BI applications will access DB2 and IMS databases and run within the z/OS partition.
"We picked zLinux to run our reporting servers because it is fast and flexible," says Shah. "We wanted to leverage the power of the IBM mainframe for our important reporting and database management activities. We are pleased with the platform."
WebFOCUS can natively access other zSeries data types, including VSAM and ADABAS, should the need arise in the future. Furthermore, developers can integrate data residing on the zSeries with other applications and databases such as SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, Siebel, CICS, and Model 204.
Conclusion
By leveraging Linux on the IBM System z , the Oklahoma Department of Human Services is extending high-end business intelligence capabilities across the enterprise, enabling the agency to share applications, data, and reporting resources among a wide and diverse constituency.
"We're spending less time massaging data and more time on what matters: making sure benefits are being delivered the way they are supposed to be delivered," says Shah.
