DCYF unveils workforce‑data definitions and limits; MERIT, STARS IDs and separate FFN category to guide reporting
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Summary
DCYF staff presented proposed workforce definitions to standardize analysis across MERIT, ELMS and other systems, described technical limitations, and introduced separate definitions for 'big‑picture' workforce counts and qualification‑focused datasets as well as an FFN category for family, friend, neighbor providers.
Carmen (Karma) Hugo, workforce systems integration administrator at DCYF, and Julie Dean, workforce data and systems manager, presented proposed definitions designed to standardize workforce reporting. They explained why a consistent definition is needed and how data from multiple systems (MERIT, ELMS, WA Compass, FamLink) will be combined through targeted queries run by the Office of Innovation, Alignment, and Accountability (OIAA).
Key points: The presentation defined an "active" professional as someone with one or more open employment records in MERIT (self‑entered, confirmed or verified) at an open facility at any point during the calendar year; active jobs are counted separately from unique professionals. Julie noted MERIT assigns a unique STARS ID as the identifier for professionals and that some programs (for example, Head Start and certain certified/payment‑only programs) do not consistently appear in MERIT, creating known limitations.
FFN and separate definitions: DCYF will treat family, friend and neighbor (FFN) providers as a distinct category for analysis, using specific open role records in MERIT to identify them. The agency also presented two views for reporting: a "big picture" workforce definition for overall size/composition and a "qualification‑focused" definition for counting roles against specific staff qualification requirements.
Caveats and next steps: Presenters emphasized technical constraints — no single system contains all needed data and many outputs require bespoke queries; they plan to apply the definitions to questions about turnover and years of service and to return to ELAC with initial data for review. Padlet feedback collected during breakouts will remain open through Feb. 18.
Ending: DCYF asked members to review the detailed roles/programs document that lists the 100+ job roles included in the definitions and said the definitions will be refined as system capabilities evolve.