State updates software for county community services

Posted

BY PCC STAFF

WEST DES MOINES — The Iowa State Association of Counties (ISAC) is pleased to announce the release of the Community Services Network (CSN) 3.0. This system is used by county community services professionals and providers to manage budgets, payments, client information, and outcomes data.

CSN is a robust, web-based management information system that is currently used by 98 counties in Iowa. Polk County will begin using the system this year. CSN launched in January 2010 for the primary purposes of tracking and managing mental health data by county community services departments. CSN now handles all aspects of client care coordination including case notes, funding authorizations, financial services such as claim payments, integration with county auditor’s accounting systems and budgeting. There are 883 active users within 369 governmental entities who use CSN to manage 221,187 clients. There are 12,018 providers housed in the system. Since 2015, a total of 368,085 claims have been paid totaling over $282.5 million.

Within the past two years the system has expanded to offer functionality to additional county departments including General Assistance, Substance Abuse, and Veteran Affairs. The latest release has improved the experience of the end user, enhanced and improved security, added many new features, as well as integrated community services providers into CSN.

“All changes to CSN have been made with the purpose of enhancing and improving the care for consumers in a holistic, secure manner. CSN is regularly audited and has been certified as fully HIPAA compliant. The system also incorporates the additional Iowa Code security regulations, and users are required to follow strict security guidelines to keep consumer information safe and secure,” said Shane Walter, Iowa County Community Services Association President and Sioux County Community Services Director.

A lot of accurate data has come from the system because a substantial number of entities using the system and regions and counties are standardizing business processes. The integrity and amount of data allows the legislature to make informed decisions regarding the services provided across the state. The mental health disability services system recently shifted from a county to a region-based system. CSN helped to allow counties to undertake this transition more easily.

Bill Peterson, ISAC Executive Director stated, “CSN 3.0 will continue to help government employees do their job efficiently and accurately while saving costs for the tax paying citizens of Iowa.”

CSN is governed by the Iowa Counties Technology Services (ICTS) Board of Directors as well as the ICTS Advisory Committee and Operations Subcommittee. These bodies are made up of both users and other governmental officials and employees.

We are excited with the success of the system and are looking to expand upon the direction taken with the latest version release. If interested in learning more about how your agency or entity can use CSN, please contact ISAC’s IT Manager, Jeanine Scott, 515.244.7181

community services, disabilities, lee county, mental health, Pen City Current, software upgrade, State of Iowa

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here