Administration for Children and Families
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
ACF IT Support Services 2006–2008
Synectics provides ACF's Office of Information Services (OIS) with contract
support in all existing and anticipated systems and technologies. Work performed
under this contract includes: deployment and component development resulting in
an ACF Services Oriented Architecture (SOA) framework; analysis of the program
requirements and execution of technical solutions under the deployed SOA. We
provide federal Enterprise Architecture (EA) and related IT government support
services, including EA framework development, As-is and To-be
business process modeling and high-level and detailed logical database modeling,
as well as transition plan development, performance measurement and management,
service component architecture design and management, IT strategic alignment
support, and IT investment portfolio management support.
We also provide a full range of support for new Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) requirements for Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC),
Earned Value Management, and HHS/OMB reporting in these areas. We provide
security reviews. We support various child- and family- related ACF programs and
the systems that maintain them. We support expanded Applications Help Desk and
additional IT support services, as required.
Synectics work for ACF began in 1988 with technical support and the
development of a local area network and the applications that ran on it,
developing Management and Executive Information Systems (MIS and EIS) and making
enhancements to them, and providing Help Desk, computer graphics, publications, and training support. It has continued since then with the development and support of the Grants Administration Tracking and Evaluation
System (GATES) begun in 1995 and described in the next project.
Administration for Children and Families (ACF)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
ACF Operations and Management Support 2005–2013
Synectics provides public Web and intranet operations and maintenance support, most particularly
for the consolidated Grants Administration Tracking and Evaluation System (GATES) and On-Line Data
Collection (OLDC) system. GATES, developed by Synectics, is an Agency-wide common system that
manages grant awards of more than $59 billion annually and processes 17,000 grant applications.
It is now known as the Grants Center of Excellence (CoE), to reflect GSA's selection of ACF
as a federal government-wide grants management service provider. OLDC is a Web-based solution
that allows grantees and applicants to submit information over the Internet, simplifying data
entry and improving the effectiveness and performance of this and other financial programs.
Other activities include security reviews, Web development support, Help Desk
expansion and maintenance, documentation, and training.
Synectics has provided continuous support for ACF since 1988 under a series of
consecutive contracts. In 1995, Synectics began supporting the business planning
and development of the GATES system, which replaced more than 40 legacy systems
with a central system with beginning-to-end processing support. This was
followed by development of the OLDC and other applications to support ACF
program and administrative management systems.
Administration for Children and Families (ACF)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Office of Head Start Enterprise System (HSES) 2007–2012
Synectics has developed and is currently refining and enhancing an enterprise-wide management information system (HSES) that supports the business processes and grantee life cycles of the Office of Head Start. This application allows Head Start users to access key OHS data and Web-enabled information system(s) through a single Web interface, and using a single login/password. It includes service- and management-level reporting systems that provide real-time program and staff reporting from micro- to macro-levels of service. A major component of this system is the risk management module.
Office of Applied Studies (OAS)
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Integrated Data for Substance Abuse Treatment Services 2002–2009
Synectics collects, manages, and analyzes data for the three components of the Drug and Alcohol Services Information System (DASIS), detailed below. We process data, maintain and upgrade equipment, and update and upgrade programming languages and programming. DASIS is the primary source of national information on the services available for substance abuse treatment and the characteristics of persons admitted to treatment. DASIS is maintained with the cooperation and support of the State substance abuse agencies. These agencies receive funds to support their participation and to improve the quality of DASIS data. Synectics manages State Data Agreements for the payment of those funds, and has vigorously supported States in their efforts to improve data quality.
The Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) is a national database containing sociodemographic and substance abuse information about admissions to (and discharges from) substance abuse treatment, primarily from providers receiving public funds. Synectics works with State substance abuse agencies to collect and process data. States extract the data from their administrative data systems and transmit them to Synectics for processing on a regular basis. Some 2 million admissions records are received and processed annually. Admission and discharge records can be linked to provide additional information on treatment episodes. TEDS has recently become a key vehicle for collecting data for SAMHSA’s National Outcome Measures (NOMs). Admission and discharge items were added to TEDS and the linked records will be analyzed by SAMHSA as a quality assurance measure.
The Inventory of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (I-SATS) is a database of all known organized substance abuse treatment providers. Synectics maintains I-SATS with the assistance of the State substance abuse agencies. The State agencies review and update the I-SATS listings of providers they license, certify, or otherwise recognize. Synectics developed the online I-SATS Quick Referral System and other tools to facilitate States’ performance of these tasks. Synectics also identifies, through an annual review of several data sources, legitimate treatment facilities that are outside the scope of the State agencies (primarily hospital-based or private-for-profit providers). I-SATS is used as the list frame for the annual National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS) and as a sampling frame for other special surveys of treatment providers and their clients.
The annual National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS) is planned, designed, and conducted under Synectics oversight by our major subcontractor, Mathematica Policy Research. N-SSATS is a census survey of the approximately 14,000 substance abuse treatment providers listed on the I-SATS. Information is collected on the location, organization, structure, services, and utilization of substance abuse treatment providers. The survey response rate has been above 95 percent for several years. Survey data are the basis for a widely-used resource for referrals to treatment. Synectics developed and maintains the popular (Substance Abuse Treatment Facility Locator, an online searchable directory of substance abuse treatment programs. The Locator is recompiled annually on completion of that year’s N-SSATS, and systems and procedures have been developed to enable monthly additions, deletions, and corrections. The Locator can be searched by geographic location and by provider characteristics.
Synectics staff members write and prepare figures and tables for three annual TEDS reports and an annual N-SSATS report that are printed conventionally but are also published online. Synectics uses N-SSATS to compile the conventionally-published National Directory of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Treatment Programs, distributed to, among others, the providers completing N-SSATS. Synectics staff also research and develop short analytic reports on topics such as trends in substance use for dissemination by mail and through SAMHSA’s website.
Synectics also publishes some data only online. From TEDS data, we publish summaries of key demographic variables by State and primary substance of abuse, updated quarterly; From N-SSATS data, we prepare individual profiles of each State’s substance abuse treatment system, updated annually.
We provided similar DASIS support under a contract from 1997 to 2002, and for three years before that, we supported a DASIS operations contract.
In addition, we worked on a task under the current DASIS contract for three years until the task was issued under a separate contract (see CSAP SEOWs, below). Under this task, which supported SAMHSA's data strategy for substance abuse prevention, Synectics monitored and implemented the State Epidemiological Outcomes Workgroups (SEOWs) for the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP). Synectics oversaw the subcontracts awarded States and jurisdictions, provided training and technical assistance, arranged training seminars, and supplied logistics for sessions. We also developed a private Web portal for information sharing among SAMHSA and the States/jurisdictions. Other deliverables included National Outcome Measures (NOMs) data, State- and community-level epidemiological profiles, data gap plans, dissemination plans, and sustainability plans.
Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP)
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
State Epidemiological Outcomes Workgroup Implementation Support 2008–2013
Synectics monitors and implements the State Epidemiological Outcomes Workgroups (SEOWs) for CSAP. Synectics oversees the subcontracts that have been awarded States and jurisdictions, providing training and technical assistance, arranging training seminars, and supplying logistics for sessions. We continue to maintain a private Web portal for information sharing among SAMHSA and the States/jurisdictions that we developed under a prior contract.
Office of Inspector General (OIG)
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Information Management Systems for OIG 2000–present
(Tasks are issued under individual BPAs)
Synectics has developed information management systems for components within the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) under a series of consecutive task order since 2000. Components include the Chief Information Officer (CIO),
System Development Branch (SDB), Investigations (OI), Evaluation and Inspections (OEI), and Audit Services (OAS).
We are currently converting existing ASP/Oracle systems to .NET technology, including developing the
Investigation Reporting and Information System (IRIS), which required migrating the OIG Case
Information Management System (CIMS) from a mainframe environment to a Web-enabled environment,
providing Web-based application development services for the Information Management System,
and maintenance and programming services for a variety of other applications.
Other systems Synectics has developed and continues to support include the Firearms Tracking and Training System (FITS), the Training Information System (OTIS), the Correspondence Control Management System (CCM), the Activity Reporting System (ARS), the Contract Management System (CMS), the Audit Information Management System (AIMS), a Telephonic Survey on Medicare Fraud, a Tracking System and Electronic Library, a Web-based system to track the status of Inspection Reports, and an Assessment of OIG Systems using NIST guidelines and the NIST Automated
Security Self-Evaluation Tool (ASSET). We have also developed and support the HHS-OIG Training system
redesign, a Web-based application to conduct a Telephonic Survey on Medicare Fraud, a Training Information
Migration System (TIMS), and a Tracking System and Electronic Library. Earlier, we provided Oracle and
Web applications development to migrate the Audit Information Management System (AIMS) from the
mainframe environment to a Web-enabled environment and continue to support this.
We also completed an analysis for the OIG security program to assist in program monitoring, evaluation,
and policy development. Using automated assessment tools, individual and group interviews, and in-depth analyses,
we made recommendations that led to policy changes and improved OIG security and resulted in one streamlined
System Security Plan, eliminating redundancy and reducing costs.
We provide support for Web-based surveys for OIG. Recent projects cover a variety of topics from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, responses from the Commissioned Officers Corps, food chain restaurant safety, durable medical
equipment, to Medicare true out-of-pocket costs. The surveys were developed using custom ASP programming or
commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) Web survey software. We are responsible for designing the database to
contain the survey responses, converting questionnaires into Web format, testing the survey before
roll-out, sending out invitations to participate, reporting response rates, editing the responses,
and delivering the data to the client. Sample sizes have ranged from 51 to 450 persons. Earlier,
we did a telephone survey on Medicare fraud that was conducted in most of the 10 HHS Regions and
consisted of nearly 40 questions with multiple answers that were stored in a database.
Office of Planning, Policy, and Budget (OPPB)
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
National Outcome Measures (NOMs) of State Substance Abuse and Mental Health Profiles 2005–2008; 2008–2013
NOMs are key to measuring, managing, and improving national program success for substance abuse
treatment and prevention, and mental health treatment. This contract supports three task areas:
Systematic Search and Description of Data Sources; Updating SAMHSA State Profiles Web Pages;
and Preparing Analytic Reports. Synectics identifies federal and non-federal databases to answer
substance abuse and mental health policy questions, assesses existing data sets, and establishes
benchmarks.
Under a previous contract (2005–2008), we produced such products as expanded profiles of States and other jurisdictions to include all NOMs data; recommendations on additional data sets available for measuring outcomes data; and strategies for relating costs to outcomes and financial data. We produced analytic reports
using the data sets acquired in the first task. Earlier, we developed the SAMHSA State Profiles Web site,
and we maintained, updated, and enhanced content pages, maintained the data, and entered both qualitative and quantitative data based on technical reviews. We developed trend graphics on admissions, discharges, expenditures, and State budgets, as needed. We added to the current Internet site as data became available.
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT)
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Technical Support for Opioid Partial Agonist Implementation 2005–2010
Synectics assists CSAT in implementing use of the drug buprenorphine for office-based treatment
of opioid addiction and enhancing communications with the addiction treatment field about new
models of service delivery. We support Tracking of Practitioner Waiver Nominations and Registration
Applications; verify medical licensure; develop mechanisms to respond to public inquiries;
develop listserv capability; and train SAMHSA/CSAT staff. We communicate with physicians
on use of the Web site to find training and explain credentialing procedures for those applying for a waiver,
handle any problems, and answer questions. We maintain the Buprenorphine Waiver Notification System (BWNS),
for which we had earlier defined functional requirements, then designed, developed, implemented the system,
and developed a Web version of the waiver notification form.
Under a previous contract Synectics developed the public Buprenorphine Web site at SAMHSA and
the original version of what is now the Buprenorphine Physician and Treatment Facility Locator
http://buprenorphine.samhsa.gov/bwns_locator/, a search tool for
locating physicians and facilities authorized to treat opioid addiction with buprenorphine. Physician names and addresses are
only available for physicians who have given permission to publish their information. In addition to the Locator,
this site includes current training opportunities, FAQs, and a Web Board for waived physicians.
We maintain, update, and monitor this Web Board. Under the current contract we update and maintain the
Web site. Both a Spanish-language Web site and an 800 number with Spanish prompts are also maintained
under this contract. We provide the Blast Faxes that waived physicians frequently receive from the CSAT administrator on current developments within the Buprenorphine community.
Survey and Analysis Branch
Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS)
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Computer Programming/Applications Support for the National Reporting Program (Consecutive contracts 1995–2007)
These contracts have supported operations of the National Reporting Program in computer analyses for use in data
reporting and dissemination, database management support, and statistical methodology and applications.
We developed the 1997 Client/Patient Sample Survey (CPSS) Sample Design and Weighting Plan and continue
to support analytical work, most recently in the area of youth and children. We developed chapters for the periodic Mental Health, United States, using data from the Survey of
Mental Health Organizations and General Hospital Mental Health Services (SMHO). We also helped to write the annual Additions and Resident Patients at End of Year, State and County Mental Hospitals, by Age and Diagnosis,
by State, United States, starting with the 1995 edition. The 2004 and 2005 editions came out under the title
Background Report, Admissions and Resident Patients, State and County Mental Hospitals, United States.
These reports were based on data from the Annual Census of Patient Characteristics—State and County Mental Hospital
Inpatient Services, Additions and Residents.
Bureau of the Census
U.S. Department of Commerce
Census R&D 2007 Task Orders 2002–2008
Synectics designed an innovative Web-based self-service data access system for the Census Bureau that
allows interested persons to run statistical analyses and generate tabular and model-based results
from restricted-access, confidential data, without allowing any direct access to the confidential
microdata. This system is referred to as the Microdata Analysis System (MAS). The MAS allows users to
specify a set of constraints—dataset, geography, universe, and analysis type—that generate SAS
syntax and then run the generated SAS syntax against a Title 13 restricted-use microdata analysis file
behind the firewall. The results of the SAS syntax execution are scanned for confidentiality limitations
and returned to the user via a Web page.
Synectics has done work for the Census Bureau under task orders issued under contracts since 1991.
Previously, under Census R&D 2002, in the areas of Statistical Analysis and Dissemination and
Statistical Analysis Research, we provided advisory and technical assistance services. These
covered data analysis, technical assistance, methodological support, tabulation, and programming
for the Bureau’s Special Population Statistics Area, including developing and updating a series
of quick turn-around research reports using Current Population Survey (CPS) data. For one task, we supported a
project to identify and assess new and emerging technologies for possible use in the 2010 Census. We also created a risk assessment for the 2000 Integrated Coverage Measurement (ICM) project that
involved in-depth analysis of the processes involved in the 2000 ICM, determining which were cause
for concern, and suggesting strategies to mitigate the risks. Under another task, we evaluated the Bureau’s population estimates methodology and suggested changes and improvements. Finally, we determined that estimates produced by the American Community Survey (ACS) are statistically similar to those produced by the CPS, which allowed the Bureau to migrate an annual publication of population characteristics from CPS data to the more in-depth ACS data.
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
U.S. Department of Education (ED)
Support for Selected Technology, Data Processing, and Data Analysis Activities,
Under Contracts with Kforce Government Solutions (KGS),
2001–2004 and 2004–2009
Two consecutive contracts have provided the NCES Elementary, Secondary, and Library Studies Division (ESLSD) and the Executive Office (including the Office of the Deputy Commissioner) with Technology, Data Processing, and
Data Analysis support, with KGS as the prime contractor and Synectics as a subcontractor.
Under the original contract, Synectics carried out Work Agreements to create restricted-use and public-use
versions of an Electronic Code Book (ECB) for the 1999–2000 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS).
SASS is a system of surveys containing individual components on public, private, public charter, and
Bureau of Indian Affairs schools, school districts, administrators, teachers, and school library media
centers. The ECB is a tool that allows users to find variables of interest easily by giving them the
ability to search in a number of ways, and without having to know variable names and codes in the data
files. The ECBs are designed to guide users through the data files and allow them to extract data and
documentation for use in SAS, SPSS, or other statistical packages. The product emphasizes ease of use
in the user interaction and selection process leading to data extraction.
Under the current contract, Synectics continued work on the ECB project. Initially, Synectics used data from the 2000–01 Teacher Follow-up Survey (TFS) to create public-use and restricted-use 1999–2000 SASS/2000–01TFS ECBs. Since then, Synectics has created a restricted-use 2003–04 SASS ECB and, most recently, a restricted-use 2003–04 SASS/2004–05 TFS ECB.
Another part of this contract has been providing editing and formatting services to support creation
of user documentation for the 2003–04 SASS, the 2004–05 TFS, and the 2003–04 Private
School Universe Survey (PSS).
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
U.S. Department of Education (ED)
2000 Decennial Census School District Technical Assistance 2003–2006
Synectics and its subcontractor, Pinkerton Computer Consultants, Inc. (now Kforce Government
Solutions), provided NCES with support for a number of tasks.
The project covered several broad areas: support for studying, designing, and completing the 2000
School District Analysis System; designing, conducting, and analyzing the 2004 Customer Satisfaction Survey;
program, logistical, and technical support for NCES database training seminars; technical support and
maintenance of the NCES School District Demographics System; and support in developing reports for
2000 Census School District Special Tabulation Data topics.
Among the tasks for which Synectics was directly responsible were: developing the 2000 School District
Analysis System; the 2004 NCES Customer Satisfaction Survey; and supporting the NCES database training
seminars, continuing the type of support we provided for NCES since 1991. We had oversight responsibilities
for other areas.
The 2000 School District Analysis System (SDAS) is an online cross-tabulation system for addressing
educational policy issues, and for researchers to detect and focus on emerging problems. The extensive
database represented by SDAS is ideally suited to inform a number of issues and topics of interest to federal,
state, and other research analysts involved in education policy. It builds on earlier work on the NCES 1990
Decennial Census School District project that resulted in the School District Analysis Book (SDAB).
We analyzed requirements, formulated a technical plan, designed architecture, and implemented a system
to produce approximately 7,000 spreadsheet-style reports on school-aged children for each state.
Under this and earlier NCES contracts,
Synectics provided statistical analysis and methodology. We supported Customer Service programs at NCES
for more than 10 years, including customer satisfaction and employee surveys, as required under GPRA. We designed, conducted, and analyzed Customer Satisfaction Surveys for 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001, and 2004. We
facilitated focus groups, performed data collection and analysis, and prepared
final reports. The 1999, 2001, and 2004 surveys were administered via the Internet.
U.S. Department of Education (ED)
Program Evaluation for No Child Left Behind (NCLB) program 2005–2007 Under a subcontract with the Urban Institute, Synectics was responsible for
supporting Faith-based and Community Organization (FBCO) Grantees Performance Evaluation (2007), an
ongoing effort to evaluate FBCO grantees' performance in three programs funded by Education—Physical
Education, Mentoring, and Community Technology Centers. The final task included developing a protocol that provided criteria to evaluate different aspects of the programs; reviewing grantee project reports to rate and document grantee performance; and comparing the performance of FBCO with other grantees in summary tabulations and narratives. Earlier tasks included comparing National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Data with National Education Association (NEA) Data (2005) and helping determine Sample Size for Equity Assistance Centers (EAC) Customer Survey (2005).
Sandler &Travis Trade Advisory Services, Inc.
2007–2008
Synectics is developing a Web-based a tool to facilitate the gathering, analysis, and reporting of security metrics and other physical parameters for foreign manufacturing plants, transportation providers, warehouse and consolidation facilities, freight forwarding and logistics providers, and ports. These data are gathered and analyzed on behalf of U.S. importers, within the context of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Customs – Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) guidelines. The tool is a combination of a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software system and a custom programmed .NET application. The COTS software system is a Web-based data collection instrument that is loaded onto mobile devices for data collection at various manufacturing facilities throughout the world. Results of the data collection efforts are combined onto a single back-end MS-SQL server for analysis. The .NET application is a workload management system that surrounds the data collection system. The .NET application creates assignments, assigns offices to undertake the data collection efforts, tracks the status of those efforts, and finally creates dynamic stock and custom reports based on the data collection efforts.
