Already using ChildPlus 5.0? Click here to see what we've fixed since your last update.

 

What's New in ChildPlus 5.0

ChildPlus Desktop and ChildPlus Mobile Now Available

 

Introducing ChildPlus Mobile
ChildPlus is now available as ChildPlus Desktop (the same ChildPlus that you've always used) and ChildPlus Mobile. ChildPlus Mobile lets you access Family Services and related reports on the go. ChildPlus Mobile for Family Services is completely free with your ChildPlus subscription and can be used on any device with a Safari or Chrome browser.
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DRDP Built into ChildPlus Mobile
The DRDP is now available directly in ChildPlus Mobile. With the DRDP built into ChildPlus Mobile, teachers can capture observations and rate children on DRDP measures using any device.
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Important Security Changes
The security of your data is our first priority. As a result, we've made some important changes to ensure the ongoing security of both ChildPlus Desktop and ChildPlus Mobile. These changes include a strong password policy and 2-Step Verification.
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Internal Monitoring
You asked, we delivered! Thanks to the suggestions from so many of our users, we created a way for you to include a Record ID when creating Internal Monitoring checklists.
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School Years
ChildPlus Mobile uses school years to group program terms. To make the transition smoother, during your update to ChildPlus Desktop, we checked to see if your agency was already using school years. If you were not, we automatically created school years for you and associated them with your program term(s).
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Eligibility Verification Form
We updated the Head Start Eligibility Verification Form in ChildPlus Desktop to match the Office of Head Start's recent updates.
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Reports
We have been busy! Fifteen of our existing ChildPlus Desktop reports are now interactive and easier to use. Click here for a complete list.
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Fixes
Make sure to read through our list of fixes to learn more about everything that we have fixed since your last ChildPlus update.
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ChildPlus is now Mobile! You can use ChildPlus Mobile to access Family Services and related reports on the go. Even better, ChildPlus Mobile for Family Services is completely FREE with your ChildPlus subscription. While Family Services will be the first service area available, many more will soon follow. Vote here to tell us which service areas you want to see next.

ChildPlus Mobile for Family Services is simple and easy to use. You can use ChildPlus Mobile on any device using a Google Chrome or Safari web browser. With ChildPlus Mobile, you can take advantage of enhanced features such as automatic time stamps for all note fields and search capabilities for drop-down fields.

Activating ChildPlus Mobile

Your agency will be able to control which users, if any, within your organization can access ChildPlus Mobile. Before anyone at your agency can start using it, your ChildPlus administrator or the person in charge of security will need to activate ChildPlus Mobile.

Web Browser Security Setting

This new security setting allows users at your agency to access ChildPlus Mobile using a web browser. To turn on ChildPlus Mobile for your agency: 

1. Click Setup >> Security >> Security Settings.
2. Select Allow users to access ChildPlus using a web browser.
3. Copy the URL and share it with any staff members that you want to have access to ChildPlus Mobile.
   
   
   

User Security Group Privileges

To help make your transition to ChildPlus Mobile seamless, any User Security Groups that previously had access to Family Services in ChildPlus Desktop will automatically have access to Family Services in ChildPlus Mobile. If you want to modify User Security Group privileges for ChildPlus Mobile: 

1. Click on Setup >> Security >> User Security Groups.
2. Select a group.
3. Click the plus sign for ChildPlus Mobile.
4. Right-click on each item and select the appropriate security level.

The DRDP is now available directly in ChildPlus Mobile. Teachers can capture observations and rate children on DRDP measures in ChildPlus Mobile using any device. Click here for more information on the DRDP in ChildPlus Mobile.

Ready to start using the DRDP in ChildPlus Mobile? Watch our free DRDP videos here.

The security of your data is our first priority. As a result, we've made some important changes to ensure the ongoing security of our ChildPlus products. These changes include a strong password policy and 2-Step Verification.

Strong Password Policy

ChildPlus Desktop and ChildPlus Mobile require strong passwords that are at least 8 characters long and contain at least 3 of the following character types:

• lower case letters
• upper case letters
• numbers
• symbols (~ ! @ # $ % ^ * ( ) _ - + = { } [ ] \ | : ; “ ‘ < > , . ? /)

Note: As a result of these changes, we've updated the Password Policy Enforcement tab on the Setup >> Security >> Security Settings screen.

2-Step Verification

2-Step Verification will be required in both ChildPlus Desktop and ChildPlus Mobile. If you have not already done so, your agency needs to prepare for 2-Step Verification immediately. Now that your agency has been updated, you have 60 days before ChildPlus Desktop will require 2-Step Verification on every computer or device at your agency. If you want to use ChildPlus Mobile, you will need 2-Step Verification immediately.

In order for 2-Step Verification to work, every ChildPlus user needs a valid email address (either work or home) or mobile phone number associated with their user profile. If anyone at your agency logs in using the <admin> account, you will also need to associate an email address and/or mobile phone number with that account as well. Report 1049 - User Verification was designed to help ChildPlus administrators prepare for 2-Step Verification. This report helps you quickly identify which staff members are missing an email address or mobile phone number.

In previous versions of ChildPlus, email addresses and phone numbers were only available in the Personnel module. To make it easier to manage all of your agency's security needs in one place, these fields are now available directly on the User Security screen as well. ChildPlus Desktop will automatically apply any changes that you make on this screen to the user's Personnel record.

User Security Group Management

To help make it easier for you to manage security access privileges for your user groups across multiple ChildPlus products, we've enhanced the security tree so that privileges are now grouped by product.

Temporary Lock Out

Both ChildPlus Mobile and ChildPlus Desktop will now temporarily lock the account of any user who has seven consecutive failed log in attempts due to invalid credentials. ChildPlus will temporarily lock users out for a period of five minutes.

You asked, we delivered! Thanks to the suggestions from so many of our users, we now have a way for you to include a Record ID with your Internal Monitoring checklists. You can use this new feature to track information like ChildPlus ID, Child ID, Equipment ID or any identifier that you need to track. To help with your reporting needs, we also updated Report 8001 - Monitoring Activity to include the new Record ID field.

School years are used to group data in certain ChildPlus Desktop modules. In ChildPlus Mobile, school years are used to group program terms. If your agency wasn't already using school years, we automatically created school years and associated them with your existing program term(s) during your update to ChildPlus Desktop. Moving forward, you will always need to associate new program terms with a school year in ChildPlus Desktop.

To access school years in ChildPlus Desktop: 

Go to Setup >> Agency Configuration >> School Year.

To verify your program term associations:

Go to Setup >> Agency Configuration >> Program Info and choose a program term.

We updated the Head Start Eligibility Verification Form in ChildPlus Desktop to match the Office of Head Start's recent updates. You can sign the updated Head Start Eligibility Verification Form electronically in ChildPlus Desktop. To print this form in ChildPlus Desktop, click the Print Application button located in the Application module or run Report 2135 - Print Applications.

We converted the following ChildPlus Desktop reports so they are now interactive and easier to read:

This list includes all of the customer-reported issues that have been fixed in ChildPlus Desktop:

If you have any questions about this ChildPlus update, please contact ChildPlus Technical Support at support@childplus.com or 800.888.6674.