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Tips from a Compliance Coordinator

  • Updated

The following was originally created by Leanne Wiedemann, Compliance Coordinator for the Kansas City Area Team, and updated by the Compliance Advisory Group in 2023.

 

TIP: Monitor Contacts and Visits

This section sets out the steps for monitoring and following up on contacts and visits from your team.

My workflow:

  • Login to MyAFS: http://usa.afsglobal.org
  • Click "Monthly Contact" on the left side menu

 

  • Click the "All participants" button:

  • Students will be listed on the left-hand side of the screen. The students that you are responsible for (serving as their liaison) will be the first ones listed. Any student that has a “To Do” button means there is a missing contact. A blue button means there is something upcoming that’s due. An orange button means something is past-due. To see what’s due, scroll over the “To Do” button and it will provide a list:

  • From here, you can see who the liaison is by reading the “Responsible” column. This will be the person you want to contact about completing any missing contacts and visits.
  • To get the liaison’s contact information, you can click on the “Team” page on the left-hand side of the screen. Then click the “Volunteers & Staff” button and then “All Volunteers.” This will provide a list of all volunteers in the team, listed alphabetically by first name. To get their contact information, simply click on the volunteer you’d like to contact:

TIP:  Cut and Paste from the auto-email reminder list to send a personal and friendly reminder to anyone missing a contact.

  • Global Link sends an automated email reminder list (Monthly SQL define SQL?  report) to the Compliance Coordinator, Team Chair, and Support Coordinator on the 15th and 25th of the month. As the Compliance Coordinator, this list provides an overview of all the Team's outstanding contacts as of that date for the current month. The email includes a service reference number linking to the monthly contact page for each student.
  • The automated system also sends a list of missing contacts to each liaison, on the 15th and 25th of each month, so it is best to avoid those dates for your personal reminders. Use your version of the automated email as an easy place to copy and paste the direct monthly contact page link into your targeted emails.

Running the Reports

  • To pull a report on monthly contacts, go to Global Link. To get there from MyAFS, click on the “Global Link” tab on the left side of the screen:

      

  • Click on “Reports” on the left side of the screen:

Select the Monthly Contact Tracking Report

  • Another way to see the list of what contacts are missing is to select the Monthly Contact Tracking Report. It provides a list of all the students in your Team and the status of each month’s contacts, for both the student and their host family.

  • When you pull the report, things should automatically default to get the information you’re after. You may want to change the year and cycle if you only want NH or SH students. You also have the option of changing the “Selection” status to show all contacts, only students who have been contacted, or only students who have missing contacts. Then click the “View Report” button. It normally takes a few minutes to download the report.

  • The report downloads into an excel spreadsheet, which can be manipulated. I usually hide irrelevant columns and rows (select the entire column, right click, select ‘hide’) and sort by the liaison name (agree to the prompt to expand so the entire content is sorted, not just the selected column). The report also lists the Associate Support Coordinator, if one is assigned, who can also be copied on your friendly reminders so they can help mentor the liaison.
  • Then, send an email with the text: "Just a friendly reminder that the following students and or their host families need a May contact entered into MyAFS. Thanks for all you do!" Paste in the relevant rows and columns from the report.
  • I sometimes add another tidbit about resources or timely reminders about the kind of things to focus on for a particular time. I take these from the liaison training or support website.
  • Lastly, sometimes I will remind them about the need for school reports, general reminders about 30/60 day contacts early in the year, or other requirements. I try to make it different each month, so they might actually read it!

TIP:  Monitor how well your team is doing over all by looking at the Monthly Contact Percentage Report

  • This report will give you an overview of the percentages of Monthly Contacts for Hosted Participants and Host Families:

  • You can open this report in the same way you would open the Monthly Tracking Report mentioned above. You may want to adjust the “Cycle” but everything else should default to get the information you’re after. Then click “View Report”:

  • This also opens as an Excel spreadsheet. You may need to enable editing and adjust column width, so the numbers show (#### means not enough room to display the full number so you’ll need to increase the width of those columns).

TIP:  Set a reminder to check the 30-60 In Home Visit Report in August, September, and October and again in January and February for semester arrivals.

  • The 30 – 60 In Home Visit Report will provide a list of all the students in your Team and the status of any 30- or 60-Day In Home Visits. It also includes the due date of any upcoming required in home visits:

  • To pull the report, things should automatically default to get the information you’re after. Again, you may want to change the year and cycle if you only want NH or SH students. You also have the option of changing the “Regulations you want to show” status to show _All (meaning both 30- and 60-day visits), only 30-day requirements, or only 60-day requirements. Then click the “View Report” button:

  • These excel spreadsheets can be manipulated. I usually hide irrelevant columns and rows (select the entire column, right click, select ‘hide’) and sort by the liaison name (agree to the prompt to expand so the entire content is sorted, not just the selected column).
  • You can assign the 30-60 visitor by excluding the assigned liaison from the filter and assigning a visitor within the required proximity.
  • The assigned 30-60 visitor will get an email reminder about the upcoming visit.

Remember:

Global Link currently sends an automated message to each liaison on the 15th and 25th of each month with a list of remaining required contacts, so it is best to avoid those dates for your friendlier reminders. Liaisons also have the option to receive text messages on or around the 20th of the month regarding missing contacts for the current month.

 

Section 2: Other Important Notes

  • There are many useful resources on MyAFS Help & Learning that can be shared with liaisons, including how to record a contact, FAQs, and many others!
  • Note that if a liaison is missing a contact for a month, reach out to the Associate Support Coordinator for that student (if there is one), the Liaison or Volunteer Coordinator for the team, or contact a nearby liaison-trained volunteer who might help out or mentor the liaison.
  • Note that the Support Coordinator(s) also receive the auto-emails with all the Team’s missing contacts twice each month.
  • Remind the liaisons of the MyAFS contacts and visits timeline feature, which you can get to by clicking on the student’s name in the contacts and visits page in MyAFS. It shows all requirements, missing and completed contacts, and when each requirement is due:

 

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