The Kentucky Department of Education has awarded a contract to Colyar Consulting Group to provide a new claims and application/agreement system for school and community nutrition programs. The system will be phased in over time, with full implementation finished in two years. File photo by Amy Wallot; April 2010
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) has awarded a contract to Colyar Consulting Group of Phoenix, Ariz., to provide a new claims and application/agreement system for school and community nutrition programs.
More than 20 states now use Colyar’s system to manage their federal child nutrition programs. Colyar will provide a core system that will then be customized for Kentucky’s use. Key features of the system include:
- user-friendly interface
- real-time reports
- conformity to all U.S. Department of Agriculture policies and regulations
- quick summary information on sponsors
- uploading of documents
“We have worked hard to ensure that the new system is user-friendly, can provide and access requested data quickly and accurately, and that it maintains a transaction history and financial audit trail,” said Denise Hagan, director of KDE’s Division of School and Community Nutrition (SCN). “The functions of the new system will provide new and expanded capabilities for both sponsors and state agency staff, and we are confident that this new technology will assist us in administering the federal child nutrition programs more efficiently and effectively.”
The planned claims and application/agreement system is a fully integrated, Web-based product that will provide a user-friendly interface, offer advanced reporting capabilities and offer a clear navigation path for claim submission and management of applications/agreements. This system also will streamline federal financial reporting and application/agreement processing by SCN staff.
Sponsors will benefit from the use of ticklers and alerts on items needing their attention, claims summary reports and simplified viewing of error messages. The system is compliant with all current USDA policies and regulations governing federal child nutrition programs.
The system will be phased in over time, with full implementation completed in two years. User involvement will be a key component throughout the project. Colyar will engage SCN staff and sponsors from the steering committee to develop an understanding of current processes through a series of on-site meetings. In addition, Colyar will share best practices gained from other states and its own expert knowledge. Based on the results of these meetings and the input gathered, Colyar will design a system that best fits Kentucky’s needs.
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