Designed by National CASA specifically for CASA/GAL
programs, Comet, CASA Outcomes, Management and Evaluation Tool, is a child-centered
database which maintains and tracks information on abused and neglected children and the
volunteers who advocate for them in the court system.
Comet helps programs manage vital case information, produce activity reports, evaluate
their program effectiveness and measure outcomes for the children they serve.
Comet is
FREE to National CASA member programs. First-time users of Comet
software can read more about getting started
with Comet.
Comet tracks information on each child
in seven main areas:
Demographics, siblings, and initial case information; Family members’
addresses, phones, and issues/ concerns; Case worker, attorney, and other
"interested people" such as teachers, doctors, therapists; Hearings,
including status, dates, outcomes; Case plan, including
permanent plan goal, placements, services, and visitations; Volunteer
activities and reports; Case closing, including reason and final
placement.
Comet tracks information on volunteers in
five main areas:
Address/ phone, demographics, employment and current status;
screening, including references, background checks, and auto insurance;
initial and in-service training; preferences, interests, and skills;
assignment history.
Comet provides commonly used reports or you
can create your own:
National CASA has included "click of the mouse" reports that are needed by
most CASA/GAL programs for monitoring case activity and the status of individual children
and volunteers. Comet also compiles monthly and annual statistics, making it easy
to complete reports to funders, administrators, and National CASA. For example:
- View a list of children waiting for a volunteer or a list of
children with assigned volunteers
- Review the history of placements and hearings, for a specific
child or all children
- Track changes in volunteers, case workers, and attorneys
- Obtain
monthly, quarterly and yearly child and volunteer demographics and
numbers
- Compile
volunteer activity as total hours and mileage; Create volunteer mailing
labels
-
And, most importantly, compile data needed to determine outcomes for each child and
evaluate program effectiveness and performance.
Comet is flexible and can be
customized to reflect local needs:
- Drop down lists of possible values for fields such as ethnicity or allegations can be
easily changed or expanded using a "List Maintenance" feature
- Customized queries and reports can be built in the Comet Tools
file to produce specific data as needed
Technical
Recommendations
Comet is a Microsoft Access database application. This means it is designed in and for Microsoft
Access2000, Access XP and/or Access 2003. Microsoft Access is a program packaged in Microsoft Office Professional. Comet runs on the Windows operating platform. It is recommended that you run COMET in
Windows 2000 or higher operating platform. Data from some other database programs may be "imported" into Access.
Comet runs on a single computer or on a network, and the Comet files can be password protected through the network for security.
To run Comet a computer with the following recommended hardware and software specifications:
- Pentium 4 (3.06 GHz) Athlon (2.083 GHz/2800+)
- Hard Disk Drive: 7,200 RPM; 10+ GB capacity or greater
- RAM: 512 MB will allow true multi-tasking
- CD / DVD Drive: A 40x (or higher)
- 17-inch CRT Monitor
- Printer (to print reports and labels)
- Windows 2000 operating system, or higher
- Microsoft Office 2000 Professional or higher
- Internet Connection (High bandwidth is recommended - 10/100BaseT Ethernet
low bandwidth -56 Kbps V.92 modem)
For system requirements for Access, refer to
the Microsoft software documentation or contact Microsoft technical support.
It is also highly recommended that you have high speed internet
connection, virus protection and system security software.
A key to success with Comet, and any other software program, is
training. Online training classes on using the COMET software are offered
on a continual basis, contact COMET tech support for more information.
For more information contact Comet
Technical Support by leaving a message at 1-877-266-3882 or 1-800-628-3233, ext.
289.
Your call will be returned as quickly as possible. Or contact
Comet Technical Support by
e-mail at comet@nationalcasa.org
|
