Below is a list of the top items we released in Q3 and Q4 of 2023:
We Redesigned the AWARDS Login Page
The login screen was updated to look more clean and modern. While the user experience for logging in did not change, the design updates were part of the work being done to prepare for enhanced authentication capabilities when logging in.
We Introduced Global Navigation
As part of the AWARDS Redesign project, we improved the way you navigate through AWARDS by introducing a fixed sidebar navigation menu that stays put wherever you are in AWARDS. This allows you to move to all the different places within AWARDS without having to jump back to the home page. We will continue to improve user navigation within AWARDS with future enhancements.
We Moved FootholdConnect to the AWARDS Home Screen as a New Announcement Center
We transformed the previous Home screen into an Announcement Center, replacing FootholdConnect. It is a central place for Foothold announcements, events resources and for your agency announcements and useful links. The AWARDS Home page will continue to evolve with the upcoming stages of our AWARDS Redesign project. We created this page in the Resource Center to showcase these changes. Also, check out the “Tip of the Quarter” below to read some tips and ideas for taking advantage of this tool!
We Developed Processes to Ensure System Stability
We release bug fixes nearly every day via our hotfix pipeline. To increase our system stability and reduce recurring bugs, we’ve added more than 50 automated tests to our hotfix pipeline. These new tests will help prevent bugs from escaping when new features are released.
We Introduced Medicaid # on Contact Date on the Service Contacts ReportBuilder
The Service Contacts ReportBuilder and all the contributing Services ReportBuilders– Progress Notes ReportBuilder, Contacts Log ReportBuilder, Supportive Services Checklist ReportBuilder, Group Notes (Group Attendees) ReportBuilder, and Reception Desk ReportBuilder– now have a new field “Medicaid # on Service Contact Date.” This field displays the client’s Medicaid number effective on the contact date, on each row.
We Made Numerous Updates to the Staff Information Data Fields
We added more flexibility for data collection for Staff Workers. We added fields for “Preferred Name” and “Pronouns” and extended the “Gender Identity” and “Marital Status” fields to allow for the same options collected for clients.
Additionally, as part of our ongoing work to introduce new multi-factor authentication methods, streamline our password reset functionality, and enhance the security of your database, we deployed some minor but important changes for Email Address fields for all employee and consumer logins. The “Primary Email” field was set as a required field, and validation checks were added to ensure all “Primary Email” addresses are unique across all employee and consumer logins within a database. Meaning, that no user can have the same “Primary Email” address. You can read more about this here.
We Updated the Housing Report to Allow for Better Analysis
We added a new column for the Client ID (using whatever label your agency uses for client or participant) when the report is run for Location = Other Location or All. In the Excel report, each row has the client name and client ID (and all other data) so the information can be sorted. The report can also be configured so that a column displays with Current Programs. Read more about the Housing Report here.
We Released Several DataStudio Updates, Including:
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We made I/DD-focused updates to the Daily Checklist, Reception Desk, Nightly Absences, and Billing.
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We updated the Program Stay and Referral Tables, enabling you to track how consumers are moving between programs and settings of care. We also added Outreach data so you can track how consumers are being referred into programs.
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We released updates to our primary tables, including FACT_PROGRAM_STAYS and DIM_CONSUMERS so they contain even more fields throughout the AWARDS database.