Franklin Training Guide - Section 3: Application Processing

By the end of Section 3: Application Processing training, the user should be able to:

• Know which part/parts of delivery bag scanning apply to your District
• Successfully scan an application
• Define and complete the recognition process
• Complete scanning Q&A
• Define what is meant by "fuzzy match"
• Know which "hot keys" will speed the process
• Edit applications in application review
• Explain why an application may be "Held for Review"
• Correct issues
• Save changes and complete the application process
• Print notification letters

Delivery bags allow you to track when groups of applications arrive at the office and track the progress from arrival through scanning. The process takes you through receiving delivery bags, entering counts, editing receiving details, reviewing delivery bags, and scanning batches of applications.

1. From the Home tab, locate the Scanned Applications ribbon and click on Scan.
    
2. Choose the correct operation suitable for your role in the District.
   1. Scan New Delivery Bag (most common) - Allows the user to scan items received in order to begin the application process.
   2. Receive Delivery Bag - Mainly used by lrager Districts who have designate personnel for receipt, counts and scanning.
   3. Enter Counts - Mainly used for larger Districts once a delivery bag has been received.
   4. Scan Delivery Bag Contents - Mainly used for larger Districts once a delivery bag has been received and counts have been entered.
       

3. The Delivery Bag Receiving Information window will appear. Once you have entered the necessary information, click Ok.

   Many districts choose to simply click the Ok button; however, this process can be useful for tracking and auditing information.

   
   

   • Reference Code - An identifier used by the system to track the delivery bag. This is typically a pre-printed ID on the outside of the delivery bag.
   • Received Date - The Received Date should be the date the main office receives the bag. Received Date defaults to the current day and can by modified by clicking on the ellipses  and selecting another date.
   • Sent By - Enter the name of the person who delivered the delivery bag to main office.
   • Sent Date - This should be the date the delivery bag was sent from the school. Sent Date defaults to the current day and can by modified by clicking on the ellipses  and selecting another date.
   • From School - To keep track of delivery bags received from individual schools, use the magnifying glass  to select a different school.
   • From Location Code - School location codes may be used instead of or with the From School field.
   • Reported App Count - Used to track the number of applications reported by the school.
   • Reported Supporting Document Count - Used to report if additional supporting documentation is included with applications.
      
4. The Delivery Bag Counts window will appear. Separate applications from supporting documentation. Count the number of applications or supporting documents and load them in the scanner. Once you have entered the necessary information, click Ok.
   1. In the Applications section, complete the necessary fields.
      
      • Scannable Apps - The number of applications to be scanned in a delivery bag (Required)
      • Batch Count - Enter the total batch count (including scannable, unrecognizable, rejected, and discarded applications).
      • Unrecognizable Apps - Applications that are not able to pass the recognition process can still be included in a delivery bag. (e.g. red ink or light pencil)
      • Rejected Apps - Applications that will not be scanned. (e.g. a previous year application)
      • Discarded Apps - A torn or duplicate application that will not be scanned.
      • SNAP/TANF/DC Letters - Used to track supporting SNAP, TANF, or Direct Certification letters that accompany a completed application.
      • Other Documents - Used to track additional supporting documents. (e.g. Legal paperwork stating a student is emancipated or a list of students who are recognized as homeless.)
         

   2. In the Supporting Documents section, complete the necessary fields. 

      This feature is for tracking purposes only. You cannot scan supporting documents with applications. Supporting documents must be scanned on a separate scanner that has not been configured for application scanning.

   3. In the Informational section, you may choose to enter if the bag was sorted by date received or homeroom.
       
5. The Scan Batch window will appear. This allows you to change the page count, but the field is prefilled from the Delivery Bag Counts window in the scannable applications field. The Scan Form options can be changed as well, but is defaulted to the last used setup. Only districts with multiple scan form setups may need to adjust this. Once you have entered the necessary information, click Ok.
   
   
6. The batch scanning speedometer window will appear. Note the left speedometer indicates the number of applications scanned and the right speedometer indicates the number of scans processed. During the processing of scanned applications, applications are identified as valid or invalid and, if necessary, rotated correctly for Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR - which identifies handwriting).
    
7. After applications have been scanned, you should see a Scan Complete window. Click Ok.
    
8. The Paper Delivery Bag Contents tab will appear. The Delivery Bag ID should reference the number on the outside of your delivery bag (if you use this method). Scannable Apps should reflect the number of items you scanned. If all images have scanned in successfully, you will see a green check mark in the Images Ok column.
   You can view the images scanned by double-clicking the check mark and then clicking on an image file in the next window.

Once Delivery Bags have been received and scanned, you need to run the Recognition process. During this process, Franklin looks at the handwriting in the required fields and attempts to match it with alphabet (ABC) and numeric (123) characters.

In the Home tab, locate and click in the Recognize button. Recognize will validate the applications after they are scanned and prepare them for the scanning verification process (Scanning Q/A).

All batches should be selected as a default. If the Select None button is pushed, simply click the Select All button again. To select a single row only, click the row of scanned batch applications you wish to recognize. Next, click the Recognize button in the action tab.

When you click the Recognize button, you should see a progression bar as the batch you selected is being prepared for the next process.

Since everyone's handwriting is unique, the system will have questions. That's why there's a Scanning Q&A process. This process highlights and zooms in on the questionable information and makes a best guess what it thinks is correct. You need to verify that information or change it so it's correct. "Hot keys" will allow you to breeze through the application process more quickly.

1. From the Home tab, select Scanning Q&A or click the Scanning Q/A button located in the shortcuts ribbon of the Recognize screen.
    

2. As each application runs through the Q/A process, the field will highlight in yellow. An enhanced image of the highlighted arrow will appear at the bottom of the screen (*Note the blue arrows showing this). 

   In the student match field, the best match for the student will appear. The higher the score, the better the match for the student.
    

3. Once you have ensured the student on the application is the student in the system, click Match Found. If you cannot locate or ensure the student on the application and the student in the system is the same, click No Match Found.
    
4. The Q/A process will next bring you through the verification process of other fields listed on the application. As the process continues through each zoning area, you will notice an edit area at the bottom of the screen.
    
5. In the example below, the applicant has made an error and the system has recognized value for the zone. Make any necessary corrections in the zone area. In this case, simply use your mouse to highlight and delete the information. Then, click Enter.
    

6. Continue through the process for each application. When you have completed, the last application, the Batch Completed window will appear. Click Ok.

   Once an application has completed the Q&A process, one of two things will happen. If there are no issues with the application, the application will be processed, benefits awards, and a letter queued. If there are issues with the application (such as a missing signature), the application will be placed in Application Review.

If the system has a question about name, it will pull up a "fuzzy match" - that is, it recognize some of the information, but would like you to confirm and choose the correct student. Fuzzy matches appear during application processing, adding additional students to an application, or keying an application. Red indicates a mismatch. Green indicates a complete match.

Yes. Applications appearing in Application Review are there because an issue has been determined by the system. These applications will not be fully processed and meal benefits will not be awarded until all issues have been cleared up.

1. From the Home tab, select Application Review.
    
2. The top row is automatically selected. Click the Edit Application button under the Application Review ribbon.
    

3. Refer to the Problems window in the lower left-hand corner to see why an application has been held for review.

   
   

   DC Student	Invalid Adult SSN	Missing Household Members List	Second application, increasing benefits	Student Not Found	Total Members Mismatch
   DC Students Mixed with Non-DC	Invalid SNAP Case Number	Missing Income	SNAP/TANF application	Suspicious Income	Zero Income
   Foster Child	Manual Review	Missing Income Frequency	Special Circumstances	Suspicious Total Members

   
   

   1. Attempt to match the student by double-clicking the Matched column for the student. Follow the directions above to match or not match the student. If you cannot locate the student in the system, place a check mark in the Problems box to indicate the student has not been found. The record will remain in the Application Review queue until the student is matched successfully.
   2. Verify which field is missing income. In this case, the student is missing income. If the student has no income, click in the No Income box. (The "student - no income" will not apply to all districts.)
   3. The Missing Income Frequency error can be resolved by clicking on the respective Missing Income column and choosing a frequency.
       
4. After you have made all changes, click Save Changes & Process. If all issues have been resolved, a window with the student's meal status will appear.
    
5. Continue the same process through the rest of the student applications.

_{The following problems are holding this student's record:}

• • _{Student not found}
  • _{Missing income}
  • _{Missing income frequency}

Once applications are fully processed, letters will automatically be generated by the system. Letters are stored in the print queue waiting for you to release them.

Notification letters include:

• Application processed and benefits awarded (free, reduced, full pay)
• Application Incomplete and reasons why the application is incomplete
• Benefits decreased
   

1. From the Home tab, click on Print Letters.
    
2. Choose which letter type to print and how to sort the letters. When you have completed setting up print options, click Ok.
   
   1. Kinds of Letters to Print - If you have setup a separate template for Notification Letters, use the drop-down menu to select the correct letter, otherwise, leave the Normal Letters default selected.
   2. Letter Sort Order - Use the drop-down menu to choose how letters should be sorted for printing.
   3. You can also choose to print letters for all schools, a specific school, or by category by using the magnifying glass icon.
       
3. Letter batch counts will only print the maximum amount established in System Settings. To proceed with letter printing, click Ok.
    

4. In the Letters window, review the notification letters.

   Use the printer  icon to print, the PDF disk  icon to export/save.
    

5. You will be asked if all letters in the batch printed successfully. If they printed correctly, click Yes and the printed batch will appear in Review Batches.