History of Computer Management for Human Services (with additional information about other entities)
The Computer Management for Human Services - CMHS User Group is made up of counties using similar software packages. Originally the group was formed for maintenance of the
WIP – Welfare Information and Payment System,
Food Stamp System and the
County Financial System
Presently the software systems represented are
Integrated Financial System (IFS),
Agency Collection System (ACS) and the
Social Welfare System (SWS)
IFS is a public domain product that is owned by the users. The Integrated Financial System is used by county Human Services and Auditor/Treasurer staff. The Auditor/Treasurer users have three organizations like CMHS. After the County Financial System was converted into the Integrated Financial System, human service and auditor/treasurer visionaries saw the need for a joint effort in maintaining the new IFS and created the Joint IFS Committee (JIC). JIC is made up of 5 CMHS representatives, 1 MSCC representative, 1 MCIS representative and 5 MCCC members totaling 12 members.
Below is a listing of groups, businesses, organizations and joint powers entities that are involved in IFS/JIC.

CPUI is a for profit business chaired by Chad Swanson that have their own software products. Users have formed the MSCC user group which is similar to CMHS
MCIS is chaired by Lyle Eidelbes. It is a joint powers entity. Member counties are Aitkin, Carlton, Cass, Chippewa, Crow Wing Cook, Dodge, Itaska, Koochiching, Lac qui Parle, Lake, Sherburne and St Louis. Associate members are Beltrami, Hubbard, Kittson, Lake of the Woods, Mower, Polk, and Steele.
MCCC is a joint powers organization. Lisa Meredith is the Executive Director. MCCC oversees nursing, tax, payroll etc software systems and have contracts with software vendors to provide support and programming for their various systems. They do not provide IFS support. They negotiate the services agreement for the Aud/Treas side of IFS with TriMin. All of the TriMin services agreements for IFS have the same rates.
TriMin is a for profit corporation which has services agreements with the individual CMHS user counties. The services agreement has code support and user phone support. The code support is the changes made to the software and the phone support for CMHS users-
JIC - stands for Joint IFS Committee and was established when CFS originally developed by Carlton County-Barry Ekstrom, was converted to IFS. Each user group has representatives – MCIS, MCCC, CPUI and CMHS. JIC voting members make the decisions on change requests to IFS from all user groups – change requests are all voted on and prioritized by JIC. The JIC representatives from the CMHS usergroup are listed on each CMHS agenda. TriMin attends the JIC meeting but has no vote or power to influence the direction of IFS. JIC is not a legal entity.
So after all that information you may ask “Who you gonna call?”
CPUI/MSCC Auditor/Treas users would call CPUI
MCIS Auditor/Treas users would call MCIS.
MCCC Aud/Treas users would call TriMin.
CMHS users would call TriMin.

Created on 6/11/2010 10:55:00 AM