Enterprise Case Management (ECM)

Enterprise Case Management (ECM) is a common platform designed to help plan and deliver services for the Department of Human Services (DHS) and DHS-supervised programs. It will make information sharing easier, lower maintenance costs, and enhance data security and compliance with laws and regulations. Subsystems include:

  • Home and Community-Based Services System (HCBSS): The HCBSS will replace what is currently known as the Home & Community Services Information System (HCSIS) and Pennsylvania’s Enterprise to Link Information for Children Across Networks – Early Intervention (PELICAN-EI). It will serve as the enrollment and case management system for DHS program offices, counties, and providers supporting the Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) programs, including Medicaid waivers.
  • Child Welfare Case Management (CW CM): The CW CM subsystem will create a single, statewide CW CM System for all Pennsylvania counties, as opposed to the current individual county case management systems.
  • Hearings & Appeals (H&A): The Hearings & Appeals subsystem will replace the collection of legacy systems DHS uses to manage appeals under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Hearings and Appeals (BHA).
  • Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) Enrollment Services: The OLTL Enrollment Services subsystem will be used by the Enrollment Services Entity, DHS and Pennsylvania Department of Aging (PDA) to manage the process to assist individuals in exploring and applying for Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS).

The Enterprise Case Management (ECM) implementation timeline spans multiple years. A new release schedule has been developed as stakeholders continue to work together, making timely strategic decisions about each subsystem within its phase(s).

The following provides areas of completion, any anticipated phases, and an estimate for release among those remaining subsystems and offices. 

Phase 1: Release 1 Hearings and Appeals:

  • Hearings and Appeals (H&A) Worker Portal – LIVE as of September 2024
  • Hearings and Appeals Provider and Citizen Portals – Further details regarding the Provider and Citizen Portals timeline will be added as they become available.

Phase 1: Release 2 HCBSS:

  • 2a: OCDEL (Early 2027)
  • 2b: OMHSAS (Fall 2027)
  • 2c: ODP and OLTL (Early 2029)

Phase 1: Release 3 Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) IEB:

  • OLTL IEB – TBD

Phase 2: Child Welfare Case Management (CW CM):

  • Further details regarding the CW CM timeline will be added as they become available.

Advantages of an integrated Enterprise Case Management system include:

  • Promoting effective communication among stakeholders at all levels
  • Strengthening the connection between DHS, counties, families, and providers
  • Improving the participants’ experience and helping to better ensure their needs are effectively met
  • Providing a more holistic view of the people being served

Once implemented, DHS anticipates many benefits, including but not limited to:

  • Improved access to complete case information
  • Integrated repository for storing and managing documents
  • Reduced data entry time through automation capabilities
  • Reduced duplication of personal records and documentation
  • Increased mobile capabilities for access to data in the field and the ability to easily collect information
  • Enhanced collaborative tools for participating organizations
  • Improved ability to more quickly react to changes in policy, laws, and regulations
  • Improved and more flexible reporting capabilities, including dashboards and ad hoc queries
  • Improved portal functionality for individuals and families to access the status and other information related to their case

  • For services related to Intellectual Disabilities, Autism, and Early Intervention, the use of the Enterprise Case Management (ECM) system will be mandatory, similar to how counties currently utilize the Home and Community Services Information System (HCSIS)/PELICAN-EI.
  • For services related to Mental Health, counties will be required to enroll individuals in, and provide management data to, ECM either by using ECM as the primary case management system or by interfacing with ECM to upload required enrollment and case management data.
  • For Child Welfare, agencies will be required to use the Child Welfare Case Management system under former Governor Wolf’s Executive Order, which mandated the implementation of a statewide child welfare case management IT system. 

This will be determined by Accenture, the System Integrator (SI) vendor, during the Discovery Sessions.

Training execution will be targeted by subsystem and stakeholder groups. All stakeholder training needs will be considered as part of a broader implementation plan and include the use of a variety of training delivery methods. Stakeholders will be informed in advance of training when the sessions are scheduled so they can plan accordingly. 

The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) is committed to protecting the privacy and security of individuals' health information in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The department employs a range of administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to prevent unauthorized access to this information.

If you want to allow someone else to view your case information in the Enterprise Case Management (ECM) system, you or your legal guardian must provide formal consent. This typically involves completing a consent form or authorization within the system or through your case worker. You can choose who has access and whether they can see all or just specific parts of your case.  User consent will be the foundation of our security efforts, and DHS ensures that the information is accessible only to those you have approved, under HIPAA privacy standards.

The details of each phase are not yet defined; however, DHS anticipates that counties will play an active role. The respective Program Office staff will engage stakeholders as the implementation phases approach.

Subsystem Specific

Discovery sessions are ongoing. Stakeholders are engaged on an as-needed basis by Program Office leads.

The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) is an exception as additional input may be needed.

Continued participation from HCBSS users will be needed during these sessions, as well as during the CW CM Steering Team meetings held twice a month.

The following will be available in the Enterprise Case Management (ECM) system:

  • Eligibility
  • Financial Management
  • Evaluation Reporting
  • Individual/Provider Monitoring
  • Case Management
  • Reporting
  • Waiver Capacity
  • Provider Contracts
  • Plan Development

The following items will be integrated into the Pennsylvania DHS Enterprise Licensing System (ELS): Enterprise Incident Management (EIM), which interfaces with HCSIS, and Public Welfare Incident Management (PWIM)

Child Welfare Information Solution (CWIS), IV-E QA, and County Child Welfare Case Management Systems. CW CM stakeholders will document user stories to capture the functionality needed for additional systems that may be consolidated under CW CM.