Implementation Status

NYEIS Data System Pilot Test

This summer, the department and local Early Intervention Programs in Albany, Clinton, and Suffolk counties will receive training and begin pilot testing NYEIS so that EIP staff will become familiar with its functionality. Albany County Department of Health is scheduled to be the first in the state to receive training on how to use and test the new system with program-related children's data that will be entered into the system. Initial trainings will be provided by MicroKnowledge, Inc., over the course of two consecutive days. Department staff will then remain on-site with county staff to help provide additional technical assistance. In addition, the system will be tested by the department to identify problems so that they can be corrected before launch.

A user manual, training materials, webinars, and frequently asked questions will be available to help users resolve problems. As part of pilot testing and continuing into the systems launch, a NYEIS Help Desk will be available for the remaining counties outside of New York City. After training, county staff involved in the pilot test will practice some basic NYEIS functions prior to performing some of the more detailed and complex actions. The development of online, self-paced tutorials for use by EIP municipal staff and their service providers is planned.

Out with KIDS, in with NYEIS

The KIDS application was engineered in the early 1990s and uses outdated technology--DOS (Disc Operating System) and FoxPro. It has been deployed in all 58 counties/municipalities as a decentralized application. With KIDS, EIP data is forwarded to the department quarterly and upon request for EIP statistical analysis.

Since the inception of KIDS, the requirements of the EIP have changed, as have the processes and procedures necessary to administer the program effectively. In addition, several counties/municipalities have augmented the existing KIDS application by developing associated applications and spreadsheets. Over the last 15 years, the population of active participants has grown from a few thousand to more than 66,000 in 2008, resulting in a strain on KIDS and on the infrastructure supporting the application.

NYEIS Enhancements

NYEIS will offer many enhancements and improvements over the current KIDS application. NYEIS will electronically manage early intervention administrative tasks and exchange of information. The system will be used by department staff, the 58 municipal Early Intervention Programs, and approximately 2,000 approved early intervention provider agencies with contracts with municipalities to provide services to the eligible children who reside in these municipalities.

NYEIS will support the full range of management and administrative activities of the Early Intervention Program. These activities include:

  • initial intake,
  • evaluation,
  • eligibility determination,
  • Individualized Family Service Plan development,
  • treatment provision, and
  • all financial aspects including insurance billing, payments, and Medicaid reimbursement.

NYEIS will be stored in servers located at the NYS Office for Technology. The system is planned to be up and running in 2009.