User & Training Guide

1What TraceFlow does

NC Subsidized Child Care Assistance (SCCA) is run county by county. Income is documented and calculated in different ways, files are named and stored differently, and problems are often found after payment decisions. TraceFlow sits on top of the existing state and county systems (it doesn't replace them) and makes that work consistent, explainable and auditable.

One connected workspace

• Core

  Eligibility & filing

  Standard intake, income normalization, document naming, filing and routing.

• Checks

  Compliance screening

  Automated pre-review checks and explained flags. A State Admin can switch screening on county by county.

• Families

  Family portal

  Families apply and renew online with an electronic signature, upload requested documents and follow their status.

2Getting started

Sign in

• Sign in

  Go to Sign in, enter your email and password, or pick a demo account from the list. Sign out is at the bottom of the left sidebar.

• Switch person (demo)

  In the demonstration, select your name at the top right (in the top bar, or in the family portal header) to see TraceFlow as any of the people above, staff or family. With real sign-in turned on, it only shows who is signed in.

Staff start on the Operations dashboard, on its My work tab: the Your work tiles (different for each role, each linking to the right queue) and Next up, the cases to open next. Caseworkers see their open and returned cases; supervisors see cases awaiting their decision. The Program overview tab has the program-wide picture. Families start on the Portal.

3How the workflow works

Every application follows the same path in every county. The diagram shows the case statuses and who moves a case between them.

The same workflow in words

1. New intake. A caseworker enters the standard application (or it arrives from the county system or the API) and submits it.
2. Under review. TraceFlow calculates income, runs every check and applies the routing rules. The caseworker reviews the case.
3. Pending docs. If documents are needed, the caseworker requests them. The family is notified, and the case returns to review automatically when those documents arrive.
4. Decide or escalate. A clean, low-risk case can be approved by the caseworker (level 1). Anything else is escalated to the supervisor (level 2).
5. Supervisor decision. The supervisor approves, denies (with a policy reason), or sends it back with specific revision items.
6. Revise and resubmit. The caseworker answers each item, makes the changes and resubmits. The supervisor sees exactly what changed.
7. Renewal. Near the renewal date, the case becomes Renewal due, the family is reminded, and a new review starts.

4Start a new application

Sign in as a caseworker (for example Alex Williams) and choose New intake in the sidebar, or the New intake button on Case management.

1. Application. Check the county (it's set by your role), the application date, and enter the home address.
2. Household. Add each member with name, relationship and date of birth. Exactly one person is the applicant, and at least one child must need care.
3. Income. Add each source with its type (wages, gig, child support, self-employment, seasonal…), frequency and amount. The panel on the right shows the formula, the monthly baseline and % of the poverty guideline as you type. For example, $1,240 bi-weekly is $1,240 × 26 ÷ 12 = $2,686.67 a month.
4. Review. Check the summary. Any problems are listed in plain language (for example "Household member › At least one child must need care").
5. Save. Choose Save & submit for review to calculate, check and route the case right away. Missing documents are flagged immediately. Or choose Save as new intake to keep it as a draft.

Next, add documents (section 5) or Request documents from the family.

5Documents and checks

Upload on the case's Documents tab, on Document management, through the family portal or through the API. Any file name works. Every file follows the same steps, and the screen shows each step as it happens.

Sample documents for demos: on a case's Documents tab (and in the family portal), open Sample documents for this case. Twelve PDFs are generated with that family's name, employer and amounts. Six pass every check and six each trigger one check: duplicate, missing signature, outside the verification period, income mismatch, unreadable scan and unknown type. Download one and upload it, or press Upload to send it straight through the pipeline.

1. ReceiveStored and fingerprinted
2. ExtractText read from the PDF
3. ClassifyPay stub, ID, lease…
4. Key fieldsDate, amount, signature
5. Rename[CaseID]_[DocType]_[Date]
6. FileCounty / case / type folder
7. CheckAll case checks re-run
8. Auto-routed or reviewedClean files skip review; flagged files go to a person

What the checks look for

Each flag shows the rule and version that raised it and a plain-language reason. A flag clears automatically when a re-check passes, for example after a better document is uploaded. Otherwise a person acknowledges it with a reason, or asks a supervisor for an override.

Actions on a document

• View file: opens the stored file. Every view is logged.
• Accept: accepts the document despite its flags; a reason is required.
• Request new copy: tells the family what's wrong; their next upload becomes version 2.
• Reclassify: corrects the type; the file is renamed and re-checked.
• Document history: every step that happened to this file.

6Review and decisions

7Features by screen

• Operations dashboard

  Two tabs. My work: your "Your work" tiles and Next up, the highest-priority cases to open. Program overview: period comparison (7/30/90 days or 12 months vs the previous period), eligibility pipeline, document quality, county performance against the 14-day goal, and issues needing attention. Hover the i on a card to see how a number is calculated; click a number to open the cases behind it.

• Work queue

  Everything routed to you, highest priority first, with why it's here and the routing rule. Tabs include returned cases, documents to review, the county intake queue, override requests and notifications.

• Case management

  Case list with search, status, risk and date filters; names masked in lists; bulk export and reassign; CSV export.

• Case record

  Tabs for Overview (next step, open exceptions, household, document checklist), Income (formulas, % FPL, rule version, history), Documents, Exceptions (each flag with action, owner and source), History (review rounds and audit) and Notes, and the action bar.

• Document management

  Upload, every filed document with its standardized name and folder, check pass rates, priority items, auto-routing time and estimated staff time saved.

• Compliance & exceptions

  Open issues by category, an example flag fully explained, and recent audit events.

• Reports & analytics

  Missing evidence, exception causes, aging work, override activity, county variation and resolution outcomes. Each exports to CSV.

• Audit trail

  Every action, sign-in and export, with filters and CSV export. The database blocks edits and deletions.

• Ask TraceFlow (assistant)

  The Ask TraceFlow button at the bottom right of every screen. It knows which page you are on: on a case, ask "Why is this case flagged?" or "What's the next step on this case?" without typing the case ID; on any screen, ask "What can I do on this page?". It is also a guide: ask "How does TraceFlow work, step by step?" or "Where do I upload a document?" and it answers in steps, names the screen and who does each step, and links each step to that page. Every answer shows its sources. It is read-only, sees only what your role can see, and every question is recorded in the audit trail.

• Family portal

  Apply online and renew online with an electronic signature (typed name, plus an optional drawn signature); status, the exact documents requested, a checklist, uploads and messages. The signed form is filed on the case and passes the same signature check as any upload. Piloted in Mecklenburg.

8Roles and views

Each role sees its own "Your work" summary, navigation and "Your work" summary. Screens outside a role's view are blocked on the server, not just hidden.

9Key ideas

Standardized income

Risk, approval levels and routing

• Risk is the most serious open flag. Acknowledged flags don't count.
• Level 1: a caseworker may approve a clean, low-risk case. Level 2: a supervisor decides.
• Routing rules run in priority order; the first match sets the queue, priority and approval level. The case shows which rule applied and why.

Versions and the audit trail

Rules are versioned: publishing a change never rewrites earlier results, and open cases show a banner offering to re-run under the new rules. The audit trail is add-only and records every upload, rename, check, flag, routing decision, decision, override, rule change, export, sign-in and record view.

10Rules, rollout and integrations

• State Admin

  Policy rules

  Change a value → Preview impact (how many open cases would change; nothing saved) → add the policy reason → Publish new version. History shows field-by-field changes.

• State Admin

  Routing rules

  Edit or add rules using county, stage, risk, flags, income change and overrides. Test a case shows which rule applies and why.

• State Admin

  County rollout

  Switch compliance screening and the family portal on statewide or in pilot counties. Pilot feedback is collected here.

• State Admin

  Integrations & API

  Pull applications from the county system, push decisions to the state system, and run renewal notices. Each run keeps a log. The REST API uses an x-api-key.

11Training exercises

Each exercise has an expected result to check against. The sample files are in the sample document kit on the portal and on each case's upload panel.

12Troubleshooting and FAQ

13Glossary