How to validate applications
Once you have received your applications — either by receiving them through your online meal application site or by scanning them — they will need to be validated before they can be sent to your Point of Sale (POS) to have their eligibility determined. You may want to familiarize yourself with the Validation module interface and its features by first taking a tour of the Validation module.
Open the Validation module
To open the Validation module, click on the 'Validation' button located in the top right menu bar OR on the 'Validation' pane on the home screen.
If there are any applications waiting to be validated, the Strata Apps Validation module will launch. If there are no applications waiting to be validated, the validation button and pane will be grayed out and clicking them will do nothing.
Validate a scanned application
The purpose of Validation for scanned applications is to confirm that the information read by the system was accurate. Everyone has different styles of handwriting and sometimes that handwriting can be difficult for a computer to interpret. Using Validation, you will go over the application, piece by piece, and either confirm or correct information to accurately reflect what an applicant wrote.
Scanned applications are divided into a series of tasks for Validation; the tasks that will need to be completed will depend on your district's application design. Use the 'Enter' (or 'Return') key to proceed from one task to the next. To go back to a previous task, use 'Shift'+'B'.
All data entry fields are automatically in all-caps so there is not need to use the 'Shift' key for capitalizing letters.
Below are the various tasks that may need to be completed and how to complete them.
Benefit number and special circumstance task
Depending on your district's application design, the first tasks are usually the benefit number and special circumstance tasks. Ensure that if a benefit number (for programs such as TANF, FDPIR, etc.) is provided then it must be a valid one. Other tasks may include benefit type selection, special circumstance (homeless, migrant, etc.) selection, or even a signature for this specific section of the application.
Once you have completed this task, hit 'Enter' to move on to the next task.
Student task
This task deals with affirming students on the application. The application image will highlight a row in the application's student section. This highlight color will either be blue or red. Blue means that during AutoProcess, the system was able to read the handwriting well enough to match that student to a student listed in your student lookup. Red means that the system was not able to interpret the application data well enough to find a match during AutoProcess.
Even if the highlight color is blue, you should still check both the application image frame and the data entry frame to make sure the information is correct.
In the data entry frame, there is a large area next to the 'Add', 'Remove', 'New', 'Delete', and 'To HHM' buttons. This area contains the list of students that you have confirmed to be on this application. The buttons are used to move selected items in or out of this list. Everyone in the student section of the application must be added to the student list OR added to the household member list OR deleted from the application in order to complete this task and move on to the next one.
Matching students to your student lookup
If the highlight color is blue and the information in the data entry frame is correct, then simply click the 'Add' button. If the highlight color is red, you should try to find a match for that student manually by using the following methods:
- Clear out the birthdate field.
- Make sure the last name is spelled correctly.
- Start deleting parts of the first name.
As you try each method, a drop-down list of student data will start to appear underneath the data entry fields. Reducing the information in the data entry fields will show more choices in the drop-down list. If you find a match for the student on the application in the drop-down list, double-click that student to close the drop-down list and automatically fill the data entry fields with that student's information. Click the 'Add' button to add the student to the application's student list.
If you are unable to find a match for a student in your district, you can still add them to the student list for this application. Re-enter the information from the application image into the data entry fields and click 'Add'. This will cause Strata Apps to flag the student as a 'Missing ID' student and application data for that student will not export to the POS until a match is found. However, this will allow you to continue the Validation process.
Deleting someone from the student section
If you for some reason need to delete an entry from the student section, clicking the 'Delete' button will cross out that row on the application image and Strata Apps will ignore the data it detected during AutoProcess for that row.
Moving someone to the household member list
Use the 'To HHM' button to move the highlighted person to the household member section.
Household member task
This task is very similar to the Student task - you must correct or confirm the data and add each person in the application's household member section to the household member list. Make sure the information in the data entry frame correctly reflects the highlighted area in the application image frame. Everyone in the household member section of the application must be added to the household member list OR added to the student list OR deleted from the application in order to complete this task and move on to the next one.
Household member total task
This task simply asks you to confirm the number of total household members, including the students.
SSN task
This task asks you to confirm or correct the two fields in the SSN section of the application: the last four digits of the signer's SSN and the 'I do not have a SSN' checkbox.
Contact information task
In this task, you must correct or confirm the information for the part of the application that contains the household's contact information. Depending on your district's application design, this would include the household's address, the parent or guardian's phone numbers, and the parent or guardian's e-mail address. If there is already contact information in the system that is associated with one of the students on the application, Strata Apps will provide suggestions for the fields in this task. Click a suggestion to automatically fill out the fields in this task with that information.
Guardian signature task
This task asks you to confirm or correct the essential information required to legally process an application. Make sure that the 'Signer First Name' and 'Signer Last Name' fields correctly reflect what is written on the application. You must also make sure that Signed and Dated checkboxes are checked accordingly.
Optional fields task
The last task will ask you to confirm or correct the fields on the application that are optional for the to fill out for the applicant. Fields in this section may include 'Race', 'Ethnicity', or questions regarding additional programs and sharing information.
Validate an online application
For online applications, you will use the Validation module to confirm that students listed on an application are actually students in your district. To do this, simply match up the students on the application to students in your student lookup, similar to how you would with a scanned application, and then click the 'Confirm' button next to each student. When finished, click the 'Complete' button to move on to the next available application.
Validation completion
For scanned applications, you will be shown a confirmation window once you have completed all of the application's tasks. This window will show a summary of the application's data that you confirmed or corrected. You must then choose one of the following options:
- Start Over
- Send to Hold
- Complete
For online applications, the 'Complete' and 'Send to Hold' buttons are simply located towards the bottom of the screen. 'Send to Hold' can be clicked at any time while 'Completed' becomes clickable once all students on the applications have been confirmed.
Start Over
Clicking this button will delete all Validation progress on the current application and bring you back to the first task.
Send to Hold
Clicking 'Send to Hold' will place the application in your 'Hold' queue. Then the application can be accessed from the 'Application Management' screen in the Admin module.
Complete
Clicking 'Complete' will send the application to 'Ready for Export'. This means the data can no longer be modified and the application will be sent to your POS the next time your Strata Apps-to-POS integration process runs. If there is a critical issue with the application, such as a missing parent or guardian signature, then 'Complete' will not be clickable.
Once an application has successfully completed Validation, its data is prepared to be sent to the POS for eligibility determination. Your next steps will depend on which POS your district uses.
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