CHRIS Project Description

The Children’s Registry and Information System (CHRIS) project is responsible for the development and maintenance of the official State of Florida database for tracking preschool children with disabilities served under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

CHRIS Database
Users
Event Tracking/Timelines
Service Coordination
Reports
Technical Support
Training

Users The CHRIS database program is utilized statewide at the Florida Diagnostic and Learning Resources System (FDLRS) centers. The data provided by the CHRIS database meet the needs of a wide range of users including:
	Child Find Specialists
	Families and Service Coordinators
	School District Administrators
	Early Intervention Program Directors
	Healthy Start Coordinators
	Exceptional Student Education Directors
	Head Start and Early Head Start Directors
	Pre-School Interagency Coalitions
	Readiness Program Planning Partners

Event Tracking/Timelines The CHRIS database contains the following information for preschool children throughout the State of Florida who have been referred by FDLRS:
	Transition from Part C
	Screening
	Evaluation
	Service Plan

These data provide the State of Florida, Department of Education with a means of documenting Child Find efforts to locate, evaluate, and provide necessary services to at-risk preschool-aged children

Service Coordination Service coordination information (e.g., appointments, referrals, family contacts, follow-up actions needed) may be entered into the database and is available for service providers who work with individual children to ensure the efficient use of time and resources.

Reports The CHRIS program includes two reporting options:
	Standard Reports The Standard Reports program includes a variety of commonly used reports. This program includes a Report Wizard that guides users in developing the specific report of interest.
	Reporter In addition, the Reporter program allows users to create custom reports and queries on individual and multiple events using all fields in the CHRIS software program.

Technical Support The staff at the FDLRS centers are assisted in utilizing and expanding the use of CHRIS in a number of ways:
	CHRIS Help Desk (800.231.KRIS) The CHRIS Help Desk is staffed by CHRIS personnel who provide technical assistance and support to CHRIS users.
	On-Site Technical Support The CHRIS staff provide on-site technical support at the FDLRS sites when necessary to resolve advanced user issues.
	User Help Options A variety of help options are available to CHRIS users. The CHRIS Software Help facility is accessible from all screens within the CHRIS software program and contains all field definitions as well as field mapping information regarding conversion from CHRIS 2000 to CHRIS Plus. Instructional videos with step-by-step demonstrations of common tasks and a questions and answer database are available from the CHRIS website at www.chris.miami.edu.

Training A variety of training sessions are available to CHRIS users. Hands-on training sessions are conducted throughout the state as needed. On-line training sessions are also available in which a member of the CHRIS technical support staff dials into the user’s computer to provide live on-line training on any topic. Manuals and other training materials are distributed at training sessions and are available from the CHRIS web site.