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SPARQ v4.4.2 is now available,
and you are able to access your official Final QPRs for PY2009. Non-DCS
submissions for PY2010 Q1 are also enabled.
SPARQ now includes the following changes:
• the following fields have been made available for data entry:
o 51. Severe disability? and 51a. Date of last update
o 52. Frail? and 52a. Date of last update
o 53. Old enough for but not receiving SS Title II? and 53a. Date of last update
o 54. Severely limited employment prospects in area of persistent unemployment? and 54a. Date of last update
o 55. Limited English Proficiency (LEP)? and 55a. Date of last update
o 56. Low literacy skills? and 56a. Date of last update
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PY2009
SPARQ v4.4 is now available for your use. This release contains the following:
The “Waiver of Durational Limit”
management report has been added as the first of a series of tools to
help grantees manage their durational limits. This new report provides
the following information:
* The Results Summary displays the number of records that fall in to each of the
following categories:
* Participants with Duration Date Errors
* Participants Approaching Durational Limit (the total of the four quarter
groupings)
* Participants 4 Quarters From Durational Limit
* Participants 3 Quarters From Durational Limit
* Participants 2 Quarters From Durational Limit
* Participants 1 Quarter From Durational Limit
* The Results Details displays
each participant who is within a year of reaching their durational limit
or has Duration Date Errors. The Date Expected to Reach Durational
Limit is displayed, along with certain demographic information,
priorities of service, and waiver factors.
Please note the following features of the “Waiver of Durational Limit” report:
* Outstanding rejects in any
grantee that a participant has been enrolled with may affect the
accuracy of the durational limit. For example, if a person was enrolled
in grantee A, and is now active with grantee B, problems with date
information in grantee A’s data will affect the participant’s durational
limit that is shown in Grantee B.
In addition to the “Waiver of Durational Limit” report, this release also contains the following updates:
* The “Pending Follow-Ups Beyond Due
Date” management report has been removed, as the information in that
report is available in the “Pending, Displayed by Month” report.
* Text has been added to the top of
the Management Report page explaining that management report results
won’t necessarily match QPR results.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SPARQ 4.3 is now available for your use. This new version of the system contains the following:
The most recent version of the table to
determine whether a participant is assigned in an area of persistent
unemployment ("Values by County, Years 2007-2009") has been added to the
SPARQ Home Participant Search page and the
"Waiver of Durational Limit" section of the enrollment screens in the WDCS.
Changes to the QPR (in this file):
Added:
-Average Hours per Week in Placement (B.10e)
-Average Project Duration (B.13)
Removed:
-Non-SCSEP-Eligible Placements (B.11a)
Renumbered, reordered, and in one case renamed:
-% Participants Assigned 18-22 Hours per Week (B.12, formerly B.13)
-Average Starting Wage in Placement (B.10c, formerly B.8a1)
-Number of Hours of Training (B.11, formerly B.12)
-Percent of Placements with Benefits (B.10d, formerly B.8a2)
-Non-Qualifying Placements is now called Placements without Entered
Employment (B.10f, formerly B.11b)
Technical changes or corrections:
-Carried Over from the Previous Program Year (B.1)
-OJE Placements (B.10b)
-Average Starting Wage in Placement (B.10c, formerly B.8a1)
-Percent of Placements with Benefits (B.10d, formerly B.8a2)
-Placements without Entered Employment (B.10f, formerly B.11b)
-Number of Hours of Training (B.11, formerly B.12)
-% Participants Assigned 18-22 Hours per Week (B.12, formerly B.13)
-Vacancies (B.5a)
-Number of Persons on Waiting List (B.6)
-Co-Enrollments (B.7)
-Transferred Into Project (B.9a)
-Total number of hours worked (C.2, C.4, C.6)
-Individuals with limited English proficiency (D.26)
-Individuals who failed to find employment after using WIA Title I (D.30)
-Individuals age 75 and over at date of report (D.31)
-Individuals who are homeless or at risk of homelessness (D.32)
-Individuals receiving public assistance (D.35)
-Waiver factors (D.36 through D.39)
-Community Service (E.1)
-Common Measures Entered Employment (E.2)
-Common Measures Employment Retention (E.3)
-Common Measures Average Earnings (E.4)
-Service Level (E.5)
-Service to Most in Need (E.6)
-Retention at 1 year (F.1)
An updated version of the SCSEP Data Validation Handbook is now available on the Data Validation page.
Add Content...Program Year 2009
Program Year 2009, Quarter 3 -- 1/1/2010 to 3/31/2010
Date: Details:
2/4/2010 Release 4.2.1 has been implemented in SPARQ. Please see the
table below for a list of enhancements included in this release.
SPARQ 4.2.1 is now available for your use. This new version of the system contains the following:
The following edits have been revised so that they apply only to placements that started on or after July 1, 2009:
* U18.2-1 Since "Is employment expected to be full- or part-time?" is
NOT "Part-time", "If part-time, number of hours per week expected" must
be blank.
* U18.2-2 Since "Is employment expected to be full- or part-time?" is
"Part-time", "If part-time, number of hours per week expected" must be
valued.
Date:
1/19/2010 Release 4.2 has been implemented, the Data Validation sample has been drawn, and SPARQ is now available for your use.
SPARQ 4.2 is now available for your use. This new version of the system contains the following:
The following changes to data validation were included:
* For this year only, the process to select the eligibility sample has
been revised to include only those records with an initial assignment
date between 12/1/2008 and 6/30/2009.
* The process to select both the eligibility and performance samples has been revised to
o avoid sampling retired sub-grantees;
o exclude records of applicants who withdrew their applications;
o exclude enrollment records without assignments; and
o include Recovery Act records without increasing size of sample.
* The last updated date has been displayed for the waiver elements in the performance sample.
* An indicator to identify the grant has been added to the DV Worksheets and in the summary-level info for selected records.
* The Summary and Analytical Report will not be available until a future release.
In this release we also included changes to the edits to ensure valid data:
* Addition of 15 new edits.
* Revision of 11 existing edits.
These edits changes are detailed in this file.
Program Year 2009, Quarter 2 -- 10/1/2009 to 12/31/2009 Back to top
Date: Details:
11/12/2009 We are pleased to announce that SPARQ is now available, and
you are able to access your official Q1 QPRs for PY2009. Non-DCS
submissions for the Q2 PY09 QPR are also enabled.
10/16/2009 SPARQ 4.1.2 is now available, and you are able to access your official Final year-end QPRs for PY2008.
Non-WDCS submissions have also been enabled.
Please see the table below for a list of enhancements included in the SPARQ 4.1.2 release.
SPARQ 4.1.2 is now available for your use. This new version of the system contains the following:
The following fields have been made available for data entry:
· 51. Severe disability? and 51a. Date of last update
· 52. Frail? and 52a. Date of last update
· 53. Old enough for but not receiving SS Title II? and 53a. Date of last update
· 54. Severely limited employment prospects in area of persistent unemployment? and 54a. Date of last update
· 55. Limited English Proficiency (LEP)? and 55a. Date of last update
· 56. Low literacy skills? and 56a. Date of last update.
To eliminate the burden of these messages appearing on DQRs and the resulting performance issues, the following edits have been
removed:
· A6 "FEIN" is blank, and
· U5 "FEIN" is blank.
Program Year 2009, Quarter 1 -- 7/1/2009 to 9/30/2009 Back to top
Date: Details:
8/17/2009 We are pleased to announce that SPARQ is now available, and
you are able to access your official Q4 QPRs for PY2008. Non-DCS
submissions for the Final PY08 QPR are also enabled.
7/16/2009 The three SPARQ Specifications documents have been updated to reflect
the changes made to SPARQ in the 4.0 release, as well as the changes made on 5/20/2009.
Program Year 2008
Program Year 2008, Quarter 4 -- 4/1/2009 to 6/30/2009 Back to top
Date: Details:
5/20/2009 SPARQ has been updated with the following:
• The Nationwide QPRs for Regular SCSEP and Recover Act grants are now available.
• Since the table to determine whether a participant is assigned in an area of persistent unemployment changes during the SCSEP
program year, two versions of that table ("Values by County, Years 2006-2008" and "Values by County, Years 2005-2007") are now
provided on the SPARQ Home Participant Search page and the "Waiver of Durational Limit" section of the enrollment screens in the
WDCS.
5/4/2009 In addition to the changes made in 4.0 (listed below), we have
separately implemented an additional improvement to the Transfer/Change
Utility in SPARQ. Specifically, users with roles of Grantee
Administrator will now be able to select any of the grantees for which
they have a role as the "To/From Grantee". This will simplify the
process of transferring participants from the Regular grant to the
Recovery Act grant.
4/30/2009 SPARQ 4.0 is now available, and you are able to access your official Q3 QPRs for PY2008.
Non-WDCS submissions have also been enabled.
Please see the table below for a list of enhancements included in the SPARQ 4.0 release.
SPARQ 4.0 is now available for your use. This new version of the system contains the following:
New fields have been added in the WDCS and non-DCS:
· to allow entry of multiple breaks in service;
· to collect comments regarding approved breaks;
· to collect the dates on which the waiver of durational limit factors are updated;
· to collect reasons for exclusion at follow-ups; and
· to collect comments regarding customer satisfaction surveys and follow-ups.
Fields to verify that data receiving certain warnings are correct have
been added to the non-DCS loader program (these fields will be added to
the WDCS and activated in a future release).
The values for P25, Veteran, have been changed to "a. Veteran," "b. Eligible spouse of veteran," and "c. Noncovered person."
New values have been added to P26, Disability, for "Yes, with documentation" and "Yes, self-reported."
Field P43a, Deceased? has been removed, as it has been replaced by E9a, Exclusions discovered after exit.
Fields P55, LEP at waiver, and P56, Low Literacy Skills at waiver, have been made editable.
This release also includes the following changes not previously announced:
· Users with accounts with roles for more than one grantee, will now be
able to filter the Participant Search on the SPARQ Home page.
· A banner appears at the top of every page in the WDCS, displaying which grant the user is logged in under.
· A weekly process has been set up so that organizations created within
recovery grants will change ownership to their regular grant
counterparts.
Program Year 2008, Quarter 3 -- 1/1/2009 to 3/31/2009 Back to top
Date: Details:
3/20/2009 SPARQ 3.7 is now available for your use.
See the table below for a list of updates that were included in this release.
SPARQ 3.7 is now available for your use. This new version of the system contains the following:
New grantee codes have been created for each grantee’s Recovery Act grant.
User accounts have been modified to have the same rights in the Recovery Act grant as in the regular SCSEP grant.
WDCS Users:
When each user accesses the WDCS, they will come to a screen called "My
Roles" before they come to the main page of the WDCS. On this page, they
will need to select whether they want to access the data of the regular
SCSEP grant, or the data of the Recovery Act grant. (Details about the
"My Roles" screen are available in our online help at
http://scsep.mathematica-mpr.com/help/Access_the_WDCS.htm.)
Once a user is in the WDCS, the grantee name will appear in bold
typeface in the upper right hand corner of all screens, to help keep the
user aware of which grant’s data they are currently accessing.
When a new enrollment record is created, a pop-up message will appear
verifying which grant the enrollment is being entered under, to help
avoid errors.
If an organization is saved under the regular SCSEP grant, it will be
available for use in both the regular and Recovery Act grants. If an
organization is saved under the Recovery Act grant, it will only be
available for use by the Recovery Act grant until an automatic process
is run to make organizations created under the Recovery Act grant
available to the regular grant. Therefore, if a user wants a new
organization available to both the regular and Recovery Act grants
immediately they can create all organizations under the regular grant.
(For example, see Managing Two Grants in the WDCS and Managing Two Grants in the WDCS for Sub-grantees.)
Non-DCS Users:
For records of enrollments that are funded by your regular SCSEP funds,
you should enter your regular grantee code. For records of enrollments
that are funded by Recovery funds, you should enter a code derived by
appending an 'R' to your regular grantee code (see the Grantee Codes
sheet in the Annotated Spreadsheets for SPARQ 3.7 for details).
Date: Details:
2/27/2009 TO ALL NON-WDCS GRANTEES:
New versions of the Non-WDCS Spreadsheets for SPARQ 4.0 are now available on the Non-WDCS Materials page.
2/4/2009 SPARQ 3.6 is now available, and you are able to access your official Q2 QPRs for PY2008.
Non-WDCS submissions have also been enabled.
Please see the table below for a list of enhancements included in the SPARQ 3.6 release.
SPARQ 3.6 is now available for your use. This new version of the system contains the following:
· The auto-generated email sent to users of newly created accounts now
includes links to and basic information about resources available
on the DOL, COG, and MPR websites.
· Field P6.a, Participant street address, has been increased from 50 to 75 characters to accommodate c/o addresses.
· A new utility has been added in the SPARQ Home Page Participant Search
to allow non-WDCS users to obtain Participant IDs (PIDs) for
new participants.
Program Year 2008, Quarter 2 -- 10/1/2008 to 12/31/2008 Back to top
Date: Details:
12/16/2008 TO ALL NON-WDCS GRANTEES:
New versions of the Non-WDCS Spreadsheets are now available on the
Non-WDCS Materials page. These updated versions set forth the
requirements for .csv submissions as of SPARQ 4.0.
12/1/2008 SPARQ 3.5 is now available for your use.
Eligibility and performance samples for PY2007 SCSEP Data Validation
have been drawn for each Grantee, and you may begin performing
validation immediately. An updated version of the SCSEP Data Validation
Handbook is now available on the Data Validation page.
11/12/2008 SPARQ is now available, and you are able to access your official Q1 QPRs for PY2008.
Non-DCS submissions for Q2 are also enabled.
SPARQ Release 3.5 will include an update of the Data Validation
functionality and changes to the edits as detailed in this list. SPARQ
will be shut down at noon on Wednesday, November 26, and re-opened the
following Monday, December 1, so that you may begin performing data
validation.
11/10/2008 We have posted the SCSEP Data Validation Source Documentation
Requirements. This includes a list of the data elements that require
data validation, along with the source document requirements for each
element. All grantees and sub-grantees are responsible for the new data
validation source documentation requirements as of November 1, 2008.
These requirements were distributed by DOL on October 20, 2008.
10/30/2008 The QPR Specifications and Import File and Edits
Specifications have been updated to reflect changes implemented through
SPARQ 3.4.
A picture of SPARQ's logo has been added to the top of this webpage as a link to SPARQ itself.
A reminder about closing Q1 PY2008 has been added below.
10/16/2008 You can now access your official Final QPRs for PY2007.
SPARQ 3.4 is now available for your use.
See the table below for a list of updates that were included in this release.
MPR is very pleased to announce the debut of our new SPARQ Online Help
System. Replacing our current SPARQ 3.0 User’s Guide, this expanded Help
system assists SPARQ users to find answers to their questions and
search for data in an interactive way. This new Help system is designed
to be even more user-friendly and gives users a resource that will be
their first step in getting any information about SPARQ and its
operations. For the convenience of those who prefer to use a hard copy
document, the Help can be printed by clicking on the "Print this Help"
page.
Please feel free to let us know your thoughts about the Online Help
System, including any suggestions for improvements. You can email MPR at
scsep@mathematica-mpr.com.
SPARQ 3.4 is now available for your use. This new version of the system contains the following:
Improvements to QPRs and DQRs
· The QPR will be revised to account for slot changes during a program year.
· SPARQ will only display the DQR button for most recent quarter for
which a given QPR was generated. This will avoid confusion regarding
which period the DQR covers.
· Users will have the ability to export DQRs.
· The Grantee level DQR will display Sub-grantee.
· Grantees will have the ability to access a new rejects-only report.
Improvements to SPARQ Home Page
· In the Participant Search, users will be able to search by Participant ID (PID).
· In the Organization Search, users will have the ability to narrow a search by state.
· Instead of e-mail, the SPARQ User Accounts page will show domain,
permissions, and Relationship to SCSEP. Since Relationship to
SCSEP can only be filled in when an account is certified, this will allow grantees to know which accounts have been certified.
Improvements to the WDCS
· It will be impossible to create ownerless organization records (i.e.,
in order to create an organization record, users will be required to
select Grantee, Sub, & Database when entering the WDCS.
· On all WDCS pages, the user role will be displayed, so users with more
than one role will be able to tell which role they are logged in
under.
· When the Save button is clicked, it will be grayed out and disabled
during the save operation, in order to prevent the creation of multiple
records.
· In the Participant Search, users will be able to search by Participant ID (PID).
· In the Organization Search, you will be able to choose Search Types of
Begins with, Contains, Exact, or Fuzzy, as on the SPARQ Home
page Organization Search.
· In the Organization Contact Search, organization name will display in
the search results, and you will be able to sort the results list.
· The CSA Hours page will display only active assignments for a selected program year.
· After adding a new participant, when the user record returns to the WDCS Main page, that participant record will be displayed.
· All sort functions will be case insensitive.
Program Year 2008, Quarter 1 -- 7/1/2008 to 9/30/2008 Back to top
Date: Details:
7/28/2008 SPARQ is now available for your use.
You can now access your official Quarter 4 QPRs for PY2007.
7/14/2008 We are pleased to announce that MPR is now able to resume our work on the SCSEP project.
Be advised that this website is now available for your use, and we will
respond to all TA requests made over the past eight weeks as
expeditiously as possible.
As a reminder, SPARQ will be closed down on July 25 so that 4th Quarter
QPRs can be generated. If you need assistance in meeting this deadline
or have questions regarding any other SCSEP related matter, please feel
free to contact us directly.
Program Year 2007
Program Year 2007, Quarter 4 -- 4/1/2008 to 6/30/2008 Back to top
Date: Details:
5/5/2008 SPARQ 3.3 is now available for your use.
See the table below for a list of updates that were included in this release.
SPARQ 3.3 is now available for your use. This new version of the system contains the following:
· Changes necessary for the implementation of the SPARQ Security Policy.
· Grantees cannot use their GRS logins to access SPARQ. Those users that previously used their GRS login need to establish
a new User ID and password and use the SPARQ url (https://www.sparq2.doleta.gov) to log in.
· Grantee administrators cannot create grantee or sub-grantee administrator accounts themselves. Administrator accounts can only
be created by MPR.
· QPRs and DQRs are accessible in the "QPR Review" screens under "Monitoring".
· The first five digits of SSN are masked wherever they appear.
· Participant ID (PID) is now being used as the primary identifier in SPARQ instead of SSN.
· Only MPR can change a participant's name and SSN.
· National grantees have read-only access to old grant data in the DCS.
· Non-WebDCS users have read-only access to their data in the DCS.
Date: Details:
5/2/2008 The SPARQ Security Policy document is now available for download via a new link on the left side of the home page.
4/23/2008 SPARQ is now available for your use.
You can now access your official Quarter 3 QPRs for PY2007.
Also, the QPR Specifications have been updated.
4/10/2008 The specifications for the management reports in SPARQ are now
available. They have been added to the webpage accessible at left,
renamed "SPARQ Specifications."
4/9/2008 SPARQ 3.2.3 is now available for your use. See the table below
for a list of updates that were included in this release.
SPARQ 3.2.3 is now available for your use. This new version of the system contains the following:
1 - QPR enhancements:
· The QPR now reflects exclusions discovered after exit
· The QPR now displays "N/A" instead of "0" whenever a fraction has a 0 denominator
2 - Two new Management Reports:
· Unsubsidized Employers
· Placements by Employer
3 - Management Report enhancements:
· "Active" filters on the following reports:
Active Participants, Host Agencies, Assignments By Host Agency, Unsubsidized Employers, and Placements By Employer
· Date filters on the following reports:
Pending Applicants, Ineligible Applicants, Eligible Applicants Not Assigned Or On Waiting List, Waiting List,
Active Participants, Exited Participants,
Participants Who Have Started Employment But Not Yet Achieved Entered Employment,
Participants Who Have Achieved Entered Employment But Not Yet Achieved Retention,
and Follow-Ups Beyond Due Date
· Alpha/Numeric Search links on the following reports:
Pending Applicants, Ineligible Applicants, Eligible Applicants Not Assigned Or On Waiting List, Waiting List,
Active Participants, Exited Participants,
Participants Who Have Started Employment But Not Yet Achieved Entered Employment,
Participants Who Have Achieved Entered Employment But Not Yet Achieved Retention,
All Pending Follow-Ups, Pending Follow-Ups Displayed By Month, Host Agencies, and Unsubsidized Employers
4 - Other Management Report additions:
· Counters for "Days in Program Since 7/1/2007" and "Days in
Grantee/Sub-Grantee Since 7/1/2007" were added to the Active and Exited
Reports
· “Start Current Employ” on the Not Yet Achieved Entered Employment report has been reactivated
· “Days Overdue” on the Follow-ups Beyond Due Date report has been reactivated
· Revisions were made to various reports to reflect the new data field, "Exclusions discovered after exit"
· Participant IDs (PIDs) have been added to all reports that show Participant information.
Program Year 2007, Quarter 3 -- 1/1/2008 to 3/31/2008 Back to top
Date: Details:
2/27/2008 The Import File and Edits Specifications and Edits Changes for
SPARQ 3.2 have been updated to reflect edits changes implemented
through SPARQ 3.2.
2/20/2008 The next set of Qs and As concerning the SCSEP Data Validation
project is now available. Also, two new reports are now available in
SPARQ:
· Data Validation Summary and Analytical Report
· Achieved Entered Employment but Not Yet Achieved Retention Management Report
2/8/2008 SPARQ 3.2 is now available for your use at https://www.sparq2.doleta.gov.
See the table below for a list of updates that were included in this release.
Your Final Q2 QPRs and preliminary Q3 QPRs are both available. The Final
Q2 QPRs are based on the edits as they existed at the end of Q2 while
the preliminary Q3 QPRs and the DQRs reflect the new changes to the
edits. Barring any unforeseen emergencies, no further changes will be
made to the edits before the Q3 freeze. As previously announced, SPARQ
will be shutdown for Q3 processing on April 16.
SPARQ 3.2 is now available for your use at https://www.sparq2.doleta.gov.
This new version of the system contains the following:
1 - Changes to the data edits described here
2 - The Host Agencies Management Report
3 - The Assignments by Host Agencies Management Report
4 - The ability to export data from any management report to a CSV file
Date: Details:
2/6/2008 The Data Validation Handbook has been updated to include
revisions as a result of the next set of Qs and As concerning the SCSEP
Data Validation project.
1/29/2008 The Data Validation Handbook has been updated to include
revisions as a result of the next set of Qs and As concerning the SCSEP
Data Validation project.
1/17/2008 The Data Validation Handbook has been updated to include
revisions as a result of the next set of Qs and As concerning the SCSEP
Data Validation project.
1/11/2008 The changes that will be made in SPARQ 3.2, all of which
involve revisions to the edits, have been posted to the Import File/Edit
Specs & QPR Specifications page. This release will be implemented
while SPARQ is shut down for the quarter end processing at the end of
this month.
1/10/2008 The Data Validation Handbook has been updated to include
revisions as a result of the next set of Qs and As concerning the SCSEP
Data Validation project.
Since information regarding the Transfer/Change Utility is now provided
in Chapter XVI of the "SPARQ v 3.0 User's Guide," and all Transition
adjustments have been made, the "Transfer/Change Utility Instructions"
and "Transition Adjustment Process Overview" documents have been removed
from the Transfer Instructions page. A "Transfer/Change Process
Overview" document has been added to that page.
Program Year 2007, Quarter 2 -- 10/1/2007 to 12/31/2007 Back to top
Date: Details:
12/20/2007 The Data Validation Handbook has been updated to include
revisions as a result of the next set of Qs and As concerning the SCSEP
Data Validation project.
12/18/2007 SPARQ 3.1 is now available for your use. See the table below
for a list of updates that were included in this release.
TO ALL GRANTEES: A new Performance sample was drawn, and is now available for you to begin working on.
SPARQ 3.1 is now available for your use. This new version of the system contains the following:
1 - The following fields have been activated in the WDCS*. 2 - The
following fields can now be edited at the "enrollment level."
CSA 7a. Date of host agency agreement
CSA 7b. Date of host agency monitoring visit
CSA 8a. Host agency job codes
CSA 8b. Host agency continued availability
CSA 25. Training provider continued availability
UE. 9b. Employer continued availability
* These fields are unique at the sub-grantee level. P5. Home phone number
P6a. Email address
P6b. Emergency contact name, phone and relationship
P10. Date of birth
P18. Gender
P19. Ethnicity
P20. Race
P25. Veteran (or qualified spouse of veteran)?
3 - Fields 9a and 9b have been added to the Exit Form to record
exclusions discovered after exit. They will now be used to indicate
participants who have died after exit. P43a, "Is participant deceased?"
will be grayed out in the WDCS. It will be used to populate new fields
in a future release and will be completely deleted at that time.
4 - Organizations are now owned by the sub-grantee with the earliest active CSA or UE record.
5 - In the WDCS Assignment and Placement screens, when a user adds a
host agency or employer and enters a combination of name and state or
FEIN and state that already exists in SPARQ, if there is more than one
record with those criteria, all records will be offered to choose from.
Date: Details:
12/12/2007 The Data Validation Handbook has been updated to include
revisions as a result of the first set of Qs and As concerning the SCSEP
Data Validation project.
The SCSEP Data Validation Documentation webpage has been updated to
include two links that go directly to the Validation Instructions tables
in the DV Handbook, as well as a link to "Data Validation Qs and As."
12/4/2007 The Data Validation functionality has been added to SPARQ.
Eligibility and performance samples have been drawn for each Grantee,
and you may begin performing validation immediately.
Please refer to the The Data Validation Handbook on the SCSEP Data
Validation Documentation webpage for a full overview of the DV process.
11/29/2007 TO ALL NON-WDCS GRANTEES: The Non-WDCS Spreadsheets for SPARQ
3.1 have been updated to include two new fields in the Exit file: 9a,
Exclusion discovered after exit, and 9b, Date exclusion occurred. Those
fields will be available to submit via the CSV loader program when SPARQ
is re-opened.
11/28/2007 The Data Validation Handbook has been added to the SCSEP Data
Validation Documentation webpage. This Handbook provides a full
overview of data validation. It also provides substantive instructions
for obtaining source documentation and completing each worksheet, as
well as details for every data element to be validated.
11/12/2007 TO ALL NON-WDCS GRANTEES: Non-WDCS submissions have been enabled for Quarter 2 for PY2007.
11/7/2007 The SPARQ v 3.0 User's Guide, correlating with the
enhancements in SPARQ v 3.0, has been modified and updated with all the
new functions that are available to users. There are also revised
instructions for all basic functions and a new appendix of terminology
common in SPARQ.
11/6/2007 SPARQ is now available for your use.
You can now access your official Quarter 1 QPRs for PY2007.
11/2/2007 A webpage for SCSEP Data Validation documentation has been added.
10/10/2007 SPARQ has been updated with the following changes:
· Item B.13, "% Participants Assigned 18-22 Hours per Week," is now
available on your Q1 PY2007 QPRs. This percentage is calculated by
dividing the count of participants working an average of 18-22 hours per
week by the count of participants who were active in the report period
who had total hours greater than training hours.
· The PY2006 QPRs have been corrected to exclude any incorrect and
inaccurate Entered Employment results for the National grantees in their
new grants. As a result, the Entered Employment results in the
Nationwide Rollup have changed.
Program Year 2007, Quarter 1 -- 7/1/2007 to 9/30/2007 Back to top
Date: Details:
9/25/2007 SPARQ has been updated with the following changes:
· The Started Employment but Not Yet Achieved Entered Employment Management Report is now available.
· An update has been made to the WDCS, in the Placement record's
"Follow-Up Information" screen, to show the word "EXPIRED" in place of
the Follow-up Scheduled Date for any follow-up that is too old to count
on any current or future Final QPR.
· Edit U27-1 (A participant cannot exercise the right of return if
employed for 30 or more days) has been changed to appear only for
Placement records that start on or after 7/1/2007.
9/14/2007 SPARQ has been updated with the following changes:
· The three Follow-up Management Reports are now available.
· The Import File/Edit Specs and Annotated Spreadsheets have been updated.
· TO ALL Non-WDCS GRANTEES: Non-WDCS submissions have been enabled for Quarter 1 for PY2007.
8/30/2007 SPARQ has been updated with the following changes:
· Edit P14 (Since this participant is eligible, "Total includable family
income for last six months" must not be blank) has been modified so it
does not trigger for people who exited before 7/1/2007.
· Edit U27-3 (A person can only exercise the right of return if exit was
due to unsubsidized employment) has been completely removed.
· The Active and Exited Management Reports are now available.
8/21/2007 New in SPARQ 3 has been updated.
8/14/2007 SPARQ is now available for your use.
In addition to providing you with access to your official Final and
Quarter 4 QPRs for PY2006, SPARQ 3.0 includes the changes required by
the new legislation. The new fields have been added, and the Import File
and Edits Specifications and QPR Specifications for SPARQ 3.0 have been
deployed.
7/11/2007 The Import File and Edits Specifications and QPR
Specifications for SPARQ 3.0 are now available. Also, the deadline for
entering data into SPARQ for Q4 and Final PY2006 has been noted below.
Program Year 2006
Program Year 2006, Quarter 4 -- 4/1/2007 to 6/30/2007 Back to top
Date: Details:
6/26/2007 The Transition Adjustment Process Overview document has been
updated to include the instructions you should use starting with PY2006
Q4.
6/15/2007 TO ALL Non-WDCS GRANTEES: The new spreadsheets including the
new data elements required by the 2006 reauthorization of SCSEP are now
available. See the updated "Non-WDCS Materials" page here to access
them.
Note: These new spreadsheets should not be used for your Quarter 4/Final
submissions. They will first be used for your submissions for Quarter
1, Program Year 2007.
6/11/2007 TO ALL Non-WDCS GRANTEES: Non-WDCS submissions have been enabled for Quarter 4.
4/27/2007 SPARQ is now available for your use.
In addition to providing you with access to your official QPRs for PY2006 Quarter 3, SPARQ 2.4.1 includes the following:
* Changes to the screen edits for Organizations:
The unique identifier for an organization record in SPARQ is now the
combination of (FEIN + Organization State). If no FEIN is entered, the
unique identifier is (Organization Name + Organization State). This
change will eliminate some (but not all) of the duplicate organization
errors that you were experiencing previously.
* Changes to the CSA Hours edit for National grantees:
The CSA Hours edit has been modified to eliminate the Q1 errors that
National grantees were experiencing on participants transferred as part
of the SGA Transition. (Note: This change has no impact on the State
grantees.)
Also, the QPR Specifications have been updated.
4/12/2007 The SPARQ 2.0 Import File and Edit Specifications have been
updated to reflect the edit changes mentioned in items 3 and 4 below.
Program Year 2006, Quarter 3 -- 1/1/2007 to 3/31/2007 Back to top
Date: Details:
3/22/2007 SPARQ is now available for your use.
With this version of the system:
1 - QPRs and DQRs are again available to you and the EDQP function
is re-enabled.
2 - The submission function can now be used by Non-WDCS users to
submit data for Q3.
3 - The Q2 QPRs include an additional measure in Section E, Community
Service. To ensure accurate data for this new measure, edits in SPARQ
now require you to enter Total Hours Paid for active participants.
4 - For Q3, the Organization and FEIN duplicate reject errors have been
relaxed to Warning 1s.
3/1/2007 A new document including guidelines on facilitating the correction of duplicate organization errors is now available.
2/22/2007 SPARQ 2.3.7 is now available for your use.
There are several important things to note about this release. Because
of the QPR issues we discovered earlier in the week, grantee access to
QPRs, DQRs and EDQPs have been temporarily disabled. For the same
reason, the submission function for Non-DCS users is currently
unavailable. Rather than keep the entire system offline until the issues
could be fully resolved, DOL has decided to make SPARQ available to you
again with these limitations so that you can resume your day-to-day
program administration using the system.
2/6/2007 A data change has been made so that any Host Agency or Employer
that is linked to at least one participant who was ever active under
the new grant is now owned by the new grant. Also, the QPR
Specifications for SPARQ 2 have been updated.
2/5/2007 SPARQ 2.3.6 is now available for your use.
TO ALL GRANTEES: This new version of the system contains eight new
management reports. See the list below for all reports users can now
access from the SPARQ home page.
TO NATIONAL GRANTEES: New functionality has been added to allow access
to both the old grant and the new grant from the SPARQ home page. This
will allow you to generate and view DQRs and QPRs on both the old and
new grants, and to initiate transfers from both the old and new grants.
When you first log in, you will automatically be in the new grant. Under
"System Tools" you will find a link called "Switch to Old Grant View."
When you switch to the old grant, you will see a link under "System
Tools" called "Switch to New Grant View."
List of available management reports as of version 2.3.6 of SPARQ
APPLICANTS PARTICIPANTS FOLLOW-UPS
Pending (new) Active Pending (new)
Ineligible (new) Exited Pending, Displayed by Month (new)
Eligible, Not Assigned or on Waiting List (new) Started Employment but Not Yet Achieved 30 Days (new) Beyond Due Date (new)
Waiting List (new)
Date: Details:
1/22/2007 SPARQ 2.3.4 is now available for your use. This new version of the system contains the following:
· Loader program checks and edits to ensure that data for transferred
participants are correct, and that participants of National Grantees are
submitted under the correct grant. The SPARQ 2.0 Import File and Edit
Specifications have been updated to include these edits.
· The Active and Exited Management Reports have been revised.
· The participant search details on the SPARQ home page now include
"Date of exit or other closing of record" for participants who are no
longer active with the given grantee.
Also, a new link has been added for Transfer Instructions at the left.
Program Year 2006, Quarter 2 -- 10/1/2006 to 12/31/2006 Back to top
Date: Details:
12/22/2006 The Non-WDCS loader program is now available for Q2 submissions.
12/18/2006 The Import File/Edit Specs have been updated. Also, for
National Grantees, instructions for selecting between the new vs the old
grant are now available.
12/15/2006 The Non-WDCS Instructions for Transferred-Changed Participants and the Transfer Process Policy have been updated.
12/14/2006 SPARQ is now available for use. Web DCS users can access and
enter data for Q2, and the Final PY2005 and Q1 PY2006 QPRs are now
accessible in the Final QPRs page.
11/17/2006 The SPARQ 2.0 Import File and Edit Specifications and the QPR Specifications for SPARQ 2 have been updated.
11/16/2006 A decision has been made to postpone the Q1 QPR and Grantee
Split processing that was scheduled for this weekend. SPARQ will now be
taken off-line on WEDNESDAY, November 29th at 3pm. DCS users will be
able to enter Q1 data up until 3pm on the 29th. Non-DCS users will be
able to submit their files through 9pm on Tuesday, 11/28.
This change of schedule was prompted by several considerations including
requests from some Non-DCS grantees for additional time to complete
their submissions, the need to ensure that all planned QPR and edit
changes are accurately made, and the fact that there were some issues
related to last night’s Non-DCS submission processing. This new
timetable also takes into consideration the impact of the upcoming
holidays.
11/3/2006 SPARQ 2.3.2 is now available for your use.
SPARQ 2.3.2 is now available for your use. This new version of the system contains the following:
1 - The delete function at the Participant level has been removed. This
delete function can have deleterious effects on other grantees now that
SPARQ can record participant transfers. For that reason, the ability to
delete participants is now limited to those with SPARQ Administrator
rights. In the future, if you need to delete a participant record,
please contact MPR.
(Note: All other delete functions remain available to SPARQ users who have been given delete permission.)
2 - For participants transferred on 10/1, the exit dates for the donor grantee records have been adjusted to 9/30/2006.
3 - For records transferred on 10/1 that had incorrect assignments
created, those records have now been corrected. It is important to note,
however, that any incorrect assignment records edited during the month
of October were NOT changed.
4 - The 10/1 transfers that were incorrectly done and reported to
DOL/MPR were reversed. All other reported transition adjustments will
now be processed by MPR and should be completed by Tuesday, 11/7.
5 - The US Forest Service transfers have been processed with an effective date of 11/1/2006.
6 - For Non-DCS users, the new version of the csv loader program that
includes the new transfer/change of sub fields is now available. You may
begin your Q1 submissions at your convenience.
Thank you for your patience while we accomplished this necessary processing in SPARQ.
Date: Details:
10/19/2006 The Non-WDCS Materials have been updated to include the new
transfer data fields, as well as instructions on populating them.
10/10/2006 The new Transfer/Change utility is now available in SPARQ.
Grantee Administrators are able to access the utility and initiate transfers and changes of sub-grantee for their participants.
Documentation to be used with the utility consists of the following:
· Instructions for using the utility
· Instructions for resolving erroneous transfers during transition
· Instructions detailing the transfer process policy
· A training tutorial on transferring participants
· A training tutorial on changing sub-grantees
(Instructions for the tutorial playback controls can be found here.)
10/3/2006 Release 2.3 of SPARQ is now available.
SPARQ v2.3 Release Details
Please note the following when working with this new version of WDCS:
Sub-grantees and Sub-grantee Administrators now have the ability to generate and access their own Sub-grantee QPRs and DQRs,
as well as access their Grantee's QPRs.
All PY2005 Final Quarterly Progress Reports have been frozen and can no longer be re-generated.
All PY2005 Final QPRs are accessible for viewing via the new Final QPRs link found under REPORTING on the SPARQ Home Page.
Recipient grantees and their sub-grantees can log in and view/edit the
participant records that have been transferred to their projects.
The Organization Search function on the SPARQ Home Page now allows the user to search using either FEIN or Organization Name.
Program Year 2006, Quarter 1 -- 7/1/2006 to 9/30/2006 Back to top
8/22/2006 Release 2.2 of SPARQ is now available.
Please note the following when working with this new version of WDCS:
The QPR is now ready to use. Please see information starting on Page 62 of the SPARQ 2 User's Guide.
The DQR is now ready to use. Please see information starting on Page 220 of the SPARQ 2 User's Guide.
The QPRs and DQRs have been made available to Grantee Administrators and Grantees in this release.
They will become available to Sub-grantee Administrators and Sub-grantees in a future release.
Links to the Active and Exited management reports have been activated for your use.
The full CSV Loader Program is now available for non-WDCS users.
Date: Details:
8/11/2006 The required maintenance work on FEINs has been completed. All
duplicate FEINs and FEINs with invalid characters have been removed.
You should refresh your EDQPs, and look into any remaining duplicate
organization errors. Please note, these errors still show as rejects,
but they will be changed to warnings within the next few days, so even
if you cannot resolve all duplicate organization issues by August 18, it
will not affect your Q4 QPR.
8/9/2006 The SPARQ 2.0 Import File and Edit Specifications have been
updated. Changes include correcting the spelling of five county names
and changing the messages of three edits to reflect how the QPR handles
these default warnings.
Also, the Annotated Spreadsheets in the Non-WDCS Materials page have
been updated to include a new tab providing the valid values for field
39a ("County of authorized position") on the Participant sheet.
8/4/2006 Release 2.1 of SPARQ is now available.
Please note the following when working with this new version of WDCS:
- The EDQP is now ready to use.
a) When you click the "Refresh EDQP" icon on the WDCS main screen, if
any errors exist, a View EDQP icon will appear next to the enrollment
record(s). If the View EDQP icon does NOT appear, then the enrollment
has no errors.
b) There are two errors that are being falsely triggered in the EDQP and will be addressed next week:
"Date of safety consultation" is blank. - This appears for everyone who has an active assignment.
"Assignment date is before the date of eligibility determination"
triggers for some cases that it shouldn't. In the next release, this
reject error will
appear as a warning even in cases where it is legitimate, so that it will not impact your QPR.
- Required maintenance work on FEINs will be done within the next few
days. Until then, reject messages for duplicate organizations should be
ignored.
- Links to the management reports have been de-activated to prevent people from using incorrect information.
- In any of the WDCS Search functions, you can now obtain a complete
listing of records by entering the underscore character _ into the
search parameter field. For example, if you enter _ in the Participant
Last Name field when doing a Participant Search on the WDCS Main Screen,
an alphabetical listing of all your participants will be displayed. (We
recommend that you do not use the underscore in the SPARQ Home Page
Participant and Organization Searches because it will display all
records in the ENTIRE database.)
- FOR NON-WDCS USERS: The first stage of the CSV Loader Program is now
available. You can begin to submit files for validation and receive
feedback. Note that no data will actually load to the database in this
release.
Date: Details:
8/4/2006 The SPARQ 2.0 Import File and Edit Specifications have been
updated. Changes include requiring values in the "County of authorized
position" field for National Grantees and changing errors regarding
duplicate organizations from rejects to warnings. Note: these particular
changes will be implemented in the next release of SPARQ.
7/20/2006 The Non-WDCS Materials have been updated to include fields 43
("Total paid to training provider other than reimbursement") and 44
("Training comments") on the CSA sheet.
The SPARQ 2 Edits Flowcharts have been posted in the "SPARQ 2 TRAINING
MATERIALS" at right. (In Adobe Reader, if the files are turned on their
sides when they open, go to View-->Rotate View-->Clockwise).
Fireworks 7/12/2006 -- The SPARQ 2 Web Data Collection System is now available. Fireworks
As with the training system, grantees will have to create user accounts
for the appropriate people on their staff who should have access to
SPARQ v2.0. To do so, click on the SPARQ User Account link on the left
side of the SPARQ Home Page and follow the detailed instructions in
Chapter 3, Section B of the SPARQ v2.0 System User’s Guide. Please
remember that User IDs cannot contain special characters such as #, +,
or >, only numbers and the letters of the alphabet. As before, the
system will automatically e-mail each user the information that is
necessary to log in to the production system.
For Grantees:
1) Log in to SPARQ as in the past, using the Grantee Reporting System
URL: http://www.etareports.doleta.gov/.
2) Enter the GRS password and click ENTER.
Note: GRS passwords have not changed; they are the same 8-character
strings that were assigned for the previous version of SPARQ.
3) When brought to the Older Workers Grantee Reporting page, click
on the SCSEP button to access the SPARQ Home Page.
For Sub-grantees:
1) Log directly in to SPARQ v2.0 as in the training environment, using the
URL: https://www.sparq2.doleta.gov/index.cfm.
2) Enter User ID and the default password "sparq123"
3) On initial login, the user will be required to change the default
password to one of his own choosing. All subsequent logins will require
use of the new password.
For WDCS users:
This website will alert you to any issues or concerns that inevitably
arise with any new system, especially one as complex as SPARQ.
Critical: The Management Reports and Enrollment Data Quality Problems
(EDQP) functions should not be used at this time. These functions will
be available shortly, and will be announced on this website.
For Non-WDCS users:
The Non-WDCS Materials have been updated to include two new fields and
corrected values for Item 17 on the CSA form. The new loader program
should be ready within a couple of weeks. In the meantime, you can log
in to the system to access a limited set of functions. Information about
these functions is available in chapters 3 and 5 of the SPARQ 2.0
System User’s Guide.
*Please note that all SPARQ 1 and DCS links have been removed. All
information posted now and in future will be about SPARQ 2, the Web DCS,
and the new non-WDCS CSV loader program.
Date: Details:
7/11/2006 The SPARQ 2.0 Import File and Edit Specifications have been
updated. Changes include two new fields, P39a ("County of authorized
position") and A35a ("Participant's workers' compensation code while in
training").
The Non-WDCS Materials have been updated to include two new fields
("County of authorized position" on the Participant sheet, and
"Participant's workers' compensation code while in training" on the CSA
sheet ). We have also corrected the choices for Field 17 on the CSA
sheet.
Program Year 2005
Program Year 2005, Quarter 4 -- 4/1/2006 to 6/30/2006 Back to top
Date: Details:
6/29/2006 The SPARQ 2.0 Import File and Edit Specifications have been
updated. Changes include an additional note to non-WDCS users about
handling data in the import files that contain commas, and a few edits
and valid value updates.
Also, the Non-WDCS Annotated Spreadsheets include updates to a few valid values.
6/20/2006 The SPARQ 2.0 Import File and Edit Specifications have been
updated. Changes include revisions to instructions for Non-WDCS users,
and additional edits to be released in SPARQ v2.1.
A new link has been added for Non-WDCS Materials. These materials
include annotated spreadsheets that describe how to populate each column
in the four CSV submission files, and a empty set of four spreadsheets
that can be used to create the four CSVs.
A column has been added to the table on the SPARQ 2 Training Tutorials page that shows the runtime of each tutorial.
6/16/2006 The QPR Specifications for SPARQ 2 have been updated. Changes
to the document include accounting for approved breaks in Section C and
adding specifications for the Common Measures Average Earnings
performance measure.
6/7/2006 The SPARQ 2 Training Tutorials webpage was added so that users can select any tutorial to view from a menu.
Since the new User Training environment for SPARQ 2 has been made available, here are some guidelines on creating User IDs:
· User IDs with "SUBGRANTEE ADMINISTRATOR" roles can be created for
sub-grantees where two or more people need access to the data but one
person should have the ability to add and maintain User IDs (See p. 34
of the User's Guide for more information on User Role Types)
· User IDs in SPARQ 2 must be unique across the entire DOL database (and not just among your grantee’s data)
· User IDs can only include alpha and numeric characters; special characters such as * or # are not allowed
· It is recommended that User IDs not be the first names of people for whom you're setting up the account
· User IDs can be associated with either the person, grantee, or
sub-grantee, but they should be descriptive enough to make them unique
5/31/2006 The new SCSEP Web Data Collection System User's Guide for
SPARQ 2 is now available. This complete and detailed document will walk
you through all parts of the new WebDCS.
Also, the SPARQ 2 Training Tutorials are available for
downloading/viewing. They demonstrate how to perform all SPARQ 2 data
entry functions. There is also a short description of how to use the
playback controls in the tutorials.
5/26/2006 A link to The Charter Oak Group's SCSEP webpage has been added
to the "Need Additional Assistance?" section below. Also, a link to
their new SCSEP Data Collection Handbook (Rev. 4) has been added to the
"SPARQ 2 DOCUMENTATION" section at left.
5/25/2006 Watch and listen to Judith Gilbert and Phil Hostetter from DOL tell you "What's New in SPARQ 2?"
This slide show with sound provides an introduction to SPARQ 2 and is
intended to help DCS users understand what will change when the WebDCS
system goes live. This show includes details about features for both
WebDCS and non-WebDCS users, information regarding the training
materials that will be released, and a timetable for the SPARQ 2 launch.
*Note: The slide show is best viewed on systems using a resolution of
1024x768 and have a sound card. If you are using an 800x600 resolution,
you can open the Slide Notes by clicking on the Expand icon.
5/22/2006 The SPARQ 2.0 Import File and Edit Specifications have been
updated. Changes include a new column called "Db Name to be used for
non-DCS Header Row," plus changes to several valid values, edits, and
messages.
4/20/2006 The SPARQ 2.0 Import File and Edit Specifications have been
updated. Changes include additional information on Valid Values and
updates regarding the column requirements in the non-DCS file submission
files.
Program Year 2005, Quarter 3 -- 1/1/2006 to 3/31/2006 Back to top
Date: Details:
3/17/2006 The SPARQ 2.0 Import File and Edit Specifications have been updated.
2/15/2006 The troubleshooting guide has been updated to include steps to
resolve timeout errors in the DCS and backup functions (issue 15).
2/14/2006 The website is being updated to include SPARQ 2.0 documentation.
· SPARQ 2 and Web DCS information will be accessible by the links to the left.
· SPARQ 1 and DCS information is accessible on the right side.
· KEY INFORMATION LINKS have been moved into the DCS and SPARQ 1 sections.
· DCS Software is available via the "DCS Software" link to the right.
SPARQ 1.8 has been implemented, which includes updates to the Data
Quality Report Edits and the QPR Specifications. See the updates for the
Edits here and the updates for the QPR specs here.
The analysis of baseline performance for the PY 2006 goal setting
process will begin immediately after the Quarter 2 submission to SPARQ.
To ensure that you have sufficient time to perfect your data, DOWP has
extended the deadline for final Q2 submissions to March 1, 2006. No data
submitted after March 1 will be considered.
1/18/2006 You are now able to submit your data for Quarter 2 of Program Year 2005.
All Q2 submissions are due by January 30, 2006 with QPR approval due on February 14th.
Also, SPARQ 1.7 has been implemented, which includes updates to the Data
Quality Report Edits and the QPR Specifications. See the updates for
the Edits here and the updates for the QPR specs here.
Program Year 2005, Quarter 2 -- 10/1/2005 to 12/31/2005 Back to top
Date: Details:
11/18/2005 You are now able to submit your data for Quarter 1 of Program Year 2005.
All Q1 submissions are due by December 2nd with QPR approval due on
December 16th. Please note that the normal PY2005 Quarter 2 deadlines
will apply: All Q2 submissions are due by January 30, 2006 and QPR
approvals by February 14th.
Also, SPARQ 1.6 has been implemented, which includes updates to the Data Quality Report Edits. See those updates here.
Program Year 2005, Quarter 1 -- 7/1/2005 to 9/30/2005 Back to top
Date: Details:
9/23/2005 Specifications for the DQR have been updated to include additional edits regarding Section 502(e) co-enrollments.
8/9/2005 Two presentations that were shown at the SCSEP Conference from July 2005 are now available for download.
* Understanding SCSEP Edits and QPR Calculations includes details about
and examples of SPARQ Data Quality Reports, Quarterly Progress Reports,
and SCSEP Timing.
* WHAT'S NEW IN SPARQ 2? includes information about SPARQ 2.0, data changes for Program Year 2005, and Entity Change Management.
7/28/2005 SPARQ v1.4 is now available.It contains two new QPR edits,
refinements to some of the existing QPR calculations/edits, as well as
additional Common Measures (E9, E10, F3 and F4). Also, on the Submit a
File screen in SPARQ, the dropdown for Quarter now shows one combined
selection for Q4 and Final, rather than 2 separate choices. (For more
details, see the updated QPR/DQR documentation.)
New versions of your QPRs and DQRs based on SPARQ v1.4 have been
generated. Please access them in SPARQ and review them for possible new
error messages, and do NOT approve your Q4 QPRs until you have done so.
Specifications for the DQR and Section E of the QPR have been updated to reflect the calculations used in
SPARQ 1.4
7/27/2005 ENTITY CHANGES: MRP has documented what action is required by
grantees and sub-grantees when SCSEP participants need to be moved from
one grantee to another or between sub-grantees under the same grantee
(click here). Please notify MPR If you are experiencing either of these
situations. Depending on your specific circumstances, there may be more
than one option available to you for accomplishing the changes in the
SCSEP systems that will need to occur. Please send e-mail to
SCSEP@mathematica-mpr.com or call Rose Pritchard at (609) 945-3314 and
we will help you to determine the approach that is best for you.
7/21/2005 Specifications for the DQR and Section E of the QPR have been updated.
7/12/2005 The summary of the SCSEP PY2005 data changes is now available.
7/8/2005 REMINDER: According to SCSEP policy, grantees have 30 days
after the end of the quarter and no more than 90 days after the end of
the program year to submit their SCSEP data to SPARQ. Following each
quarterly submission due date, grantees will have a two-week period in
which to do their approvals. Because an additional 60 days are already
allowed for final submission of program year data, no additional time
beyond September 30th will be granted to approve the final QPR.
This means that Q4 data should be submitted by July 30th and approved by
August 14th. The deadline for the final PY2004 submission/approval is
September 30th.
Program Year 2004
Program Year 2004, Quarter 4 -- 4/1/2005 to 6/30/2005 Back to top
Date: Details:
6/24/2005 Section E7-10 of the QPR Specifications have been updated.
6/23/2005 Specifications for the Data Quality Report errors have been updated.
MPR now has a new, more secure website for the transfer of SCSEP files
containing sensitive data. Please contact us at
SCSEP@mathematica-mpr.com to obtain your User ID and password.
6/21/2005 Analysis of SCSEP Timing is now available. This document
explains all of the rules for understanding how timing impacts QPR
performance (Sections E and F) and provides timing examples for each
measure.
6/16/2005 The Non-DCS data spreadsheets have been updated to contain uniform data formatting.
6/8/2005 Specifications for the Quarterly Progress Reports are now
available. These documents list all of the calculations used in the QPR,
including community service hours, demographic counts, and performance
measures.
(Click here for a non-frames version of the page.)
Also, the Documentation page has been updated.
5/25/2005 Specifications for the Data Quality Report errors are now
available. This document lists the criteria that are used to identify
problems in your data.
5/11/2005 The error tables in the Data Quality Report Help section have been updated to include all messages in SPARQ 1.3.
5/10/2005 The Documentation section has been moved and reorganized. Please see the above link in bold text for future use.
4/26/2005 The SCSEP DCS User's Guide has been updated. The new version
includes changes to Chapters II, III, and IV regarding DCS v2.1.
4/11/2005 DOWNLOAD THE NEW VERSION OF DCS 2.1 NOW - To get started,
click here for DCS v2.1 Software/Instructions. It is recommended that
you upgrade to v2.1 as soon as possible because there were serious
shortcomings with the follow-up reports in DCS v2.0 that could impact
your program performance.
Note: If you installed the version of v2.1 that was available last week, please click here for further instructions.
Program Year 2004, Quarter 3 -- 1/1/2005 to 3/31/2005 Back to top
Date: Details:
3/9/2005 ENHANCEMENT TO DATA QUALITY REPORTS: Now when you access your
Data Quality Reports in SPARQ, you will see that a new column,
Participant ID, has been added. This report enhancement was made in
order to simplify the process of error correction for you. These IDs can
be found in the top-right table of the Main Screen. See section D here
for more details.
2/28/2005 Non-DCS Users: Annotated spreadsheets listing proper data
values and other information are now available. These sheets are only
guides and should not be filled out or edited.
2/24/2005 QPR APPROVAL FUNCTIONALITY IN SPARQ: A new feature is
available in SPARQ -- Grantees can now approve their QPRs on-line. Click
here for more information on the Approval process.
2/10/2005 Helpful information on how to use the Data Quality Reports is
now available. This page has a section for each type of edit, including a
description and list of each possible edit. (There is also a version of
this page with no frames here.)
1/31/2005 2nd QUARTER SUBMISSIONS are due by February 14th. The
submission process for the 2nd quarter and all subsequent quarters is
summarized in the
2Q XML Submission document. Please review this document and begin the 2nd quarter submission as soon as possible.
1/28/2005 Minor workaround for non-DCS users (click here for details)
1/26/2005 Non-DCS Users: download the new patch to enable you to view
the records in the database. You can then locate the records with errors
as identified in the SCSEP Data Quality Reports.
Instructions for Using the Data Quality Reports are now available.
Please read these instructions for downloading Data Quality Reports.
They explain how to understand the data quality reports and use the grid
views in the SCSEP DCS to locate the records that need to be fixed
before your next submission.
1/6/2005 NEW VERSION OF NON-DCS XML FILE CREATION SOFTWARE IS NOW
AVAILABLE. We have improved overall performance of the software and
added a few enhancements to more easily identify problems that may exist
with your data. If you have previously downloaded the software, you
need only install Service Pack #1.
If you are downloading the software for the first time, please use the Full Install Version instead.
Program Year 2004, Quarter 2 -- 10/1/2004 to 12/31/2004 Back to top
Date: Details:
12/28/2004 Non-DCS XML File Creation Software Now Available. Click on
the Non-DCS User's Software and Instructions link to the right and read
the Installation Instructions Submission Guide carefully before
attempting installation. Please submit your 1st quarter data as soon as
possible.
11/23/2004 Non-DCS Users: The final PRODUCTION version of the four Excel
spreadsheets that are needed for the creation of the XML file are
available at this time:
Excel Spreadsheets for Non-DCS Users. Please make sure to use this
version of the spreadsheets when you create your final XML for
submission to SPARQ, the national SCSEP database.
11/15/2004 XML File Creation Software (FCS) v1.0 is now available. DCS
Users should install this software to begin the process of submitting
their data to SPARQ, the national SCSEP database at the DOL. An
Installation Guide and a DCS XML File Submission Process guide are
available to assist you.
**Please begin the process as soon as your data is ready, and read the
instructions closely as there are several steps involved.**
Submission Deadline for 1st Quarter: Wednesday, November 24th
11/3/2004 The troubleshooting guide has been updated to include an error
encountered during v1.0 installation ("Error -1607: Unable to Install
InstallShield Scripting Runtime").
11/2/2004 The instruction guides for the v2.0 upgrades have been updated.
10/26/2004 New demos have been added to demonstrate how to use the Data Analysis Grid Views in version 2.0 of the DCS.
10/25/2004 The troubleshooting guide has been updated to include an
error encountered in the v2.0 upgrade process ("Cannot insert the value
NULL into column 'LastName_I1c'").
10/22/2004 The notice about v2.0 of the DCS FULL INSTALL has been changed.
SCSEP v2.0 FULL INSTALL SOFTWARE - Because the current priority is the
software to upload the data bases, the version of DCS 2.0 for users who
have not previously used the system will not be available for use prior
to the submission date. Therefore, new grantees/subgrantees who want to
use DCS for the first time must first install Version 1.0, then install
the 2.0 upgrade.
10/21/2004 The SCSEP DCS User's Guide has been updated and includes the new Chapter 3.
10/19/2004 The DCS v2.0 UPGRADE has been restored. Specialized versions for Windows 98 users have been added.
Chapter 3 of the DCS User's Guide concerning management reports is now available.
10/15/2004 DCS Version 2.0 Now Available - If you are already using DCS
v1.0 or v1.01, please upgrade your software and take advantage of the
new features in DCS v2.0 (see links to the right). For a summary of new
features, you can take a look at the DCS v2.0 Release Notes. In
addition, on Thursday, October 21st, a new version of the User's Guide
will be available on this site.
10/13/2004 The DCS Software Demos have been updated, and now includes a demo about deleting participant records.
10/7/2004 The website has a new layout to promote organization and easier readability.
Program Year 2004, Quarter 1 -- 7/1/2004 to 9/30/2004 Back to top
Date: Details:
9/28/2004 The client-server worksheets have been updated to include their respective instructions.
9/23/2004 The DCS User's Guide has been updated to include Section III: Deleting Information and Records (see page 171).
9/20/2004 The Troubleshooting Guide has been updated with new issues regarding users backing up their databases.
9/14/2004 Each Installer Documentation file has been updated with additional help for Windows 98 users.
9/10/2004 Now available: Selecting the DCS Software Version that's Right for You
9/08/2004 The Configuration Worksheet for the MSDE Client Server version of the DCS software is now available.
The SQL version of the worksheet has been updated as well.
9/03/2004 Annotated SCSEP Data Collection Forms are now available to make DCS data entry easier for you.
The DCS Troubleshooting Guide has been updated to include new issues regarding installation errors you may encounter.
8/25/2004 The Scenarios have been updated with new screen shots.
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