Successful CIL Suite Entries and Data Management @LIFTT- #WednesdayWisdom

Editors Note: This is the first of many posts in a series we are calling “Wednesday Wisdom” Where we take you our consumers, supporters, and readers inside of LIFTT to give a detailed picture of some portion of our programs and operations. This week outgoing LIFTT Data & Quality Control Manager Steve Woodard gives his perspective on how LIFTT uses the CIL Suite data system to manage our caseload and prepare the necessary reports required of us by our funders. 

Data and Quality Control Manager Steve Woodard. Steve is a White male with gray hair and a gray mustache

LIFTT Data and Quality Contol Manager Steve Woodard

How to be successful in your CIL Suite Data Entry

by Steve Woodard, Data Manager/Quality Control December 20, 2022

CIL MANAGEMENT SUITE (CIL Suite) is the database system used by LIFTT to store general funding information bout the public and private grants that pay for our operational expenses, including resource development and fundraising, Independent Living (IL) and the Personal Care Assistant (PCA) Programs. Many other Centers for Independent Living (CILs) in the United States (US) use CIL Suite. The records stored in CIL Suite demonstrate that LIFTT complies with the independent living philosophy and that our board of directors, employees, and the individuals receiving services from LIFTT have significant disabilities. We use CIL Suite to keep track of the number of services we provide, consumers we serve, written independent living (IL) plans, and all concrete cases in a fiscal year from October 1 to September 30. Thanks to CIL Suite, we can follow the progress made by consumers in achieving their IL goals. As LIFTT’s Data Manager/Quality Control, it is my job to validate all the information entered and stored in CIL Suite.

CIL Suite manages the work performed by IL specialists and PCA Facilitators, their productivity, and compliance with policies and procedures. CIL Suite makes it easier for us to write case notes and collect specific information about disabilities and services we provide county by county. It also has a document center which allows us to store documents digitally.

LIFTT uses the information in our CIL Suite to compose the quarterly reports we submit to the State of Montana. It also allows us to prepare and submit an Annual Performance Report (PPR) to the Administration for Community Living (ACL). CIL Suite also enables us to search for information by name, phone number, city, county, and type of disability. Therefore, IL Specialists and PCA Facilitators must write complete and accurate data entries because they are critical for the reports LIFTT must submit to grant funders. The data entry demonstrates that LIFTT is doing a great job in helping the disabled people living in its service area (Southeastern Montana).

After working as an IL Specialist for ten years, I became LIFTT’s Data Manager & Quality Control in late 2019. Therefore, I have been doing this job for approximately three years. My experience qualifies me to say that one must look at their case notes critically and make sure anyone who reads them will be able to understand them clearly. What IL Specialists and PCA Facilitators are doing to provide services to their consumers will only be known through their data entry. There is no other way to record and manage a case. When doing data entry, IL Specialists and PCA Facilitators should think of their colleagues, supervisors, and even state or federal auditors who will have to read and understand what they wrote. I repeatedly tell my colleagues to keep in mind that managers and directors use the data they enter to prepare board, state, and federal reports. I ask them to write the truth in a way that anyone can understand; remember that the information will be reviewed, and their data will determine whether LIFTT is doing its job.

That is why I urge my co-workers to focus, think clearly about their actions, and write as if they were talking to someone. IL Specialists and PCA Facilitators must set a schedule and self-audit their writing. By doing that, they will catch their own mistakes, make corrections, and improve the quality of their work. It is essential to ask for help when unsure about how to write an entry. It is easier to write a correct opening statement, case note, closing statement, and success story than to correct them. We have an excellent IL Training Manual that we can use for guidance. I keep telling my colleagues to consult the manual; if they don’t find answers to their questions, they should ask a supervisor for help. It is also essential to communicate with the supervisor before correcting the data entries to determine whether the corrective action is accurate. In doing so, they might discover that their idea is the right thing to do!

CIL Suite has fantastic tutorials at https://cilsuite.com under the “Support” function. These tutorials will prove to be very useful to any user. If you are an IL Specialist or PCA Facilitator working for an Independent Living Center (ILC), take the time to review these resources from time to time. CIL Suite also provides weekly training, and they usually happen on Thursdays. If you register your name, you will receive weekly notifications about upcoming training. Attending CIL Suite training will help you better understand the data entry and the system.

In conclusion, allow me to point out that CIL Suite has an “Audit” function that enables you to identify your cases that might need attention. The audit list identifies areas that will impact the PPR/704 or annual performance report due to the federal government at the end of each fiscal year. Be sure to search those areas. I would suggest you do this weekly.

Lastly, listen actively and carefully, and ask questions during the IL Team Meetings. Try to come to the meetings with questions in mind and ask them. This is an excellent time to learn and improve our ability to do data entry! Please let me know if you have any questions. I am available at (406) 294-5188 and stevew@liftt.org 

About Living Independently for Today & Tomorrow (LIFTT): LIFTT is a Montana 501(c)3 corporation organized as a Center for Independent Living (CIL). With team members based in Billings, and Glendive, LIFTT provides people with disabilities with programs and services that help empower them to break down the physical, bureaucratic, and cultural barriers that prevent them from being fully independent participants in their lives and communities throughout 18 counties in southeastern and southcentral Montana: Big Horn, Carbon, Carter, Custer, Dawson, Fallon, Garfield, Golden Valley, McCone, Musselshell, Powder River, Prairie, Richland, Stillwater, Wibaux, and Yellowstone. For more information, please visit liftt.org or download our mobile app on Apple or Google Play.