NEW METHOD OFTEN FRUSTRATES PROTECTIVE SERVICES EMPLOYEES.

Byline: Jesse Hiestand Daily News Staff Writer

Bigger isn't always better when it comes to computer systems, Ventura County officials are finding.

As users of what is believed to be the single largest Windows program, the Child Protective Services agency has experienced some rough going.

``It's slow and frustrating,'' said Sandy Duncan, a CPS program manager.

``At this point, I think a certain level of frustration is justified because it's a whole new way of working and learning a new computer. Plus, the staff likes working with people, and right now they're having to spend a lot of time with the computer.''

Two months ago, Ventura became the third county in the state to go on line with the state Child Welfare Services Case Management System.

This system, funded by state and federal money, is supposed to make it easier for counties to share information about neglected and abused children, by tracking court proceedings and foster care placements. The remaining counties are expected to be on-line this year.

Designed by IBM, the system has some 700 windows to navigate in order to combine database and word-processing functions.

During extensive training sessions, Duncan said instructors referred to the system as the single-largest program based on Microsoft's Windows operating system.

``It has a lot of potential,'' she said. ``But because it's a new system, there are problems. It's slowed down our work because people are just learning to use it and we are finding glitches.''

Staff at the county's Child Protective Services, which is part of the Public Social Services Agency, expect this situation to improve as they get used to the new system and IBM works out the kinks.

The same cannot be said for another county agency, the District Attorney's Child Support Agency, which is pulling the plug on its statewide computer system after struggling for months with its serious flaws.

Both systems are similar in that they link desktop computers to a larger central processor.

Child Protective Services uses about 100 PCs, which are tied to an IBM central processor.

The agency's 86 social workers and 15 supervisors each have their own terminal, but different levels of access are assigned to protect the sensitive information about the children.

One early problem was that some cases were getting transferred to the wrong users, Duncan said. No information was lost or compromised, Duncan said, but this added to other complaints.

Another problem is that the staff has to learn a whole new way of doing business, she said.

Whereas workers once wrote out most of their documents by hand and used index cards to track files, everything must now be entered into the computer so it can be accessed statewide. This includes case referrals, notes, interview transcripts, the outcome of court proceedings and reports.

Social workers had to undergo extensive training in Windows and Microsoft's word-processing program. Like the system itself, the training is paid for with state and federal funds.

Oddly, as CPS and the Child Support Agency struggle with their new state computer system, the county's Public Social Services Agency is relatively content with its aging mainframe, now a quarter-century old.

The Welfare Information Case Automation Records system handles data for various welfare programs such as food stamps, Medi-Cal and general relief.

``Its primary function is to write welfare checks, Medi-Cal eligibility cards and food stamps,'' according to Helen Reburn, a PSSA deputy director. ``We're basically stuck with it. But for as old as it is, it's very reliable.''

Still, the state is looking to replace it with more modern equipment that can automate the welfare systems of about 40 counties and then tie them to a central processor - a clearinghouse of information for the state.

``The state has plans for a statewide automated welfare system, but we're not supposed to get it until the year 2001,'' Reburn said. ``Our goal would be to get close to a paperless system . . . but there's still a lot of development the state needs to do.''