Child Support Services Agency Embraces Self-Service Reporting

Pixel Perfect for Improved Data Access in State, Local & Fed

In Brief

The child support services agency of a major US state faced a critical challenge. Their legacy BI platform, nearing the end of its shelf life, wasn’t able to meet their formatted reporting needs at scale. This threatened the efficiency and effectiveness of their efforts. Pixel Perfect for Tableau transformed the agency’s legacy BI-dependent reporting and offered users the ability to generate self-service reports independently without relying on IT. Pixel Perfect facilitated creation of reports in PDFs for easy sharing & archiving and CSVs for further data analysis. The solution not only improved report accessibility but also helped the agency effectively retire its legacy home-grown BI solution.

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Customer

The client is a large state-wide agency responsible for the safety and well-being of children across 47 counties via local agencies providing crucial services directly to the public. It establishes and enforces fair child support orders for non-custodial parents and acts as a neutral third party, facilitating timely and accurate payment deliveries to custodial parents or guardians and promotes conflict resolution through mediation services.

Underpinning these efforts is a robust data collection and reporting system which enables the agency to track child support cases and outstanding legal issues.

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Business Challenges

The agency’s legacy reporting system, built on Oracle Hyperion and IBM DB2 databases, was reaching its end of life. This posed a significant threat to its ability to generate over 200 critical reports supporting federal measures, case audits, payment history, court calendars, and e-filings. The situation necessitated a modern, more efficient reporting solution.

Pixel Perfect Solution

Pixel Perfect for Tableau emerged as the ideal fit. It enabled self-service reporting, allowing users to request formatted reports directly through a user-friendly front-end. The Pixel Perfect engine facilitated a seamless workflow:
report-request
Report Request
Users submit report requests through the front-end.
data-processing
Data Processing
Pixel Perfect interacts with Tableau to retrieve data from DB2.
Report Generation
Report Generation
Pixel Perfect generates print-ready formatted PDF/CSV reports.
Distribution
Distribution
Completed reports are readily downloadable through the front-end.

To ensure compliance with federal retention policies
To ensure compliance with federal retention policies, a content management system was integrated. This system archives reports along with user and usage data. The PDFs Pixel Perfect generated were ideal for easy sharing with external parties and archiving for compliance purposes while the CSV crosstab reports proved useful for data analysis.

To ensure compliance with federal retention policies, a content management system was integrated

Key Outcomes

Pixel Perfect not only helped the client retire the indigenous legacy Hyperion BI but also
delivered significant improvements including:
Number One
Self-service reporting without the need for IT assistance
Number Two
Real-time data from OLTP enabling instant report generation
Number Three
Custom, on-demand reports without additional infrastructure
Number Four
Easy report access and sharing via streamlined workflows
Number Five
Improved adherence to federal record-keeping regulations
Different report types, supported by Pixel Perfect such as Non-Custodial Parent Payment History and Court e-Filing reports helped legal teams access information easily, while Community & Social Services teams could utilize reports like Closed Case Reports to track casework progress.

Lessons Learnt

This case study demonstrates the transformative impact of Pixel Perfect for Tableau in addressing complex reporting challenges often unique to government agencies. By empowering end-users with self-service reporting capabilities, the solution acted as a catalyst for operational efficiency and data-driven decision-making. Additionally, Pixel Perfect’s automated workflow significantly cut down reporting time, improved data access, and strengthened the agency’s compliance performance. Pixel Perfect for Tableau is more than just a reporting tool; it’s a strategic asset that can drive substantial improvements across functions in government agencies (state, local & fed).

Conclusion

This case demonstrates that government agencies facing legacy system obsolescence don’t need to compromise on reporting capabilities when migrating to modern platforms. The integration of user-friendly interfaces with powerful backend processing allowed the agency to maintain continuity of its 200+ mission-critical reports while empowering staff with greater data access. As government agencies nationwide balance budget constraints against growing service demands, this implementation provides a practical blueprint for leveraging specialized solutions that extend core platforms to address sector-specific requirements, ultimately improving public service delivery through more efficient data utilization.
happy-customer

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