Q&A
Childcare application process and user feedback
0:42:31
·
6 min
Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez raises concerns about the childcare application process through MyCity, particularly regarding processing times and user feedback. CTO Matthew Fraser and Deputy Commissioner Ruby Choi discuss the current state of the application process and plans for improvement.
- Over 90% of users rate the online application process 4 out of 5 or higher.
- OTI is working on integrating the entire application processing system to provide real-time feedback to applicants.
- Future improvements include auto-checking for incomplete applications and faster eligibility screening.
- The discussion highlights the need for better communication and feedback mechanisms throughout the application process.
Jennifer Gutiérrez
0:42:31
Okay?
0:42:32
I love hearing that.
0:42:33
Can I ask a little bit more on the childcare piece?
0:42:38
Because I am hearing kind of mixed reviews from some folks about the length of time that it takes to process.
0:42:46
So I'm not sure if what is the system that you all have to be able to hear to hear feedback from folks that have already set up a profile, have applied, excuse me, is there a survey?
0:43:00
What happens in those instances?
0:43:01
I've heard of some and I work closely with the early childhood education movement, and I've heard from folks that's saying, like, it's taking too long.
0:43:08
So they're just going to the site and and sending a paper application in any way.
0:43:11
Yeah.
0:43:12
So what is your response to that?
0:43:14
Have you heard a lot of that?
0:43:15
What and what are some of the steps that you are taking to to prevent that?
Matthew Fraser
0:43:19
So we collect sentiment in different places along the way.
0:43:22
After application submission, we come back.
0:43:25
We collect initial sentiment to see how people felt about the process.
0:43:29
I'm proud to say that most New Yorkers that have taken the tool, I believe, is it over 90% that have taken that has filled out the application online, has rated the of 4 out of 5 or higher, which is which is significant, which means that people are pleased with the application process.
0:43:46
Now fulfillment of benefits is something that I would have to defer to the agencies that actually fulfill those benefits.
0:43:51
I would say New York City Schools Small Business DSS and everyone in between that actually pays that information out.
0:44:00
They they're responsible for delivering post post post receipt.
0:44:05
I think if you apply online or say, if you apply online and then you submit a paper application, in that process, it's more like duplicating effort.
0:44:15
I'm not necessarily certain that a paper application.
0:44:19
I'm confident the paper application is not gonna be served any faster than the digital application.
0:44:23
In fact, the digital assist the digital application is coming faster so that we'll be served faster.
0:44:28
And I think that the agencies in this process, it's just like we've refined the submission process, there's an opportunity to refine the eligibility review process.
0:44:40
And that's one of the things that we're looking at when we talk about future refinements with my city.
0:44:44
It's like it's great that you can apply for the service in one place.
0:44:47
You can get a preliminary review of what your eligibility looks like.
0:44:51
Oh, that's great.
0:44:52
But after I submit now, what happens?
0:44:54
And that's the part of the refinement piece that we're bringing into the childcare universe to ensure that after you apply that entire universe of processing that process that application lives in one space, so you can get real time feedback in terms of where your application sits.
0:45:08
And I think right now, part of the part of the chunkiness that people feel to a degree is the fact that you can apply and you can get determinations back through one interface, but the thing in between is being managed in separate places, which is what we're trying to integrate now.
Jennifer Gutiérrez
0:45:23
And well, that's what you're trying to do.
Matthew Fraser
0:45:25
Yeah.
0:45:25
Trying
Jennifer Gutiérrez
0:45:25
to do now.
0:45:26
But you OTI besides getting, you know, out of 5 stars or 5 out of 5 stars, you're not hearing individual takes of folks who are saying, you know, the processing time is taking a really long time.
0:45:37
I haven't gotten a response.
0:45:38
Are you all hearing that specific?
Matthew Fraser
0:45:40
Yeah.
0:45:41
So as the chief technology officer for the city of New York, my purview is technology.
0:45:45
Terms of business operations, I'd have to defer to the agencies that are responsible for for fulfilling those.
Jennifer Gutiérrez
0:45:50
And do you send those directly to the agencies?
Matthew Fraser
0:45:53
Yes.
0:45:53
Those could go directly to the agencies.
0:45:55
Okay.
Jennifer Gutiérrez
0:45:55
And then do you have a sense if it's a result?
0:45:58
Sorry.
0:45:59
Do you have a sense of if and when those instances those issues are resolved?
Matthew Fraser
0:46:03
So I'm gonna defer to my deputy commissioner for strategic initiatives.
Ruby Choi
0:46:08
So like the CTO says, we we can't really speak to the processing on the agency side.
0:46:14
But we convene meetings with the agency stakeholders on a regular basis, and we do hear the feedback of some of the challenges and how long it's taking for the agency to review an application.
0:46:26
Many times, it's because of a in aggregate or incomplete applications.
0:46:32
And that, we are thinking about incorporating into our future phases so that the the application itself can auto check if you've missed providing information or incorrectly provide the information, this would help the reviewers review the application faster.
0:46:50
The other thing we're we're looking to do is screening eligibility in a faster way so that you'd provide less information as a user and being able to move faster through the application process.
0:47:01
So that's the type of feedback that we get from the agency and that we build into our next versions of upgrading the the childcare service application.
0:47:09
Sure.
Jennifer Gutiérrez
0:47:09
And I under I understand that.
0:47:11
I think working government, I I I certainly understand it by just giving you the perspective of a New Yorker who is, you know, just online could easily go through in one, decide to do to set up a profile.
0:47:23
And my city has heard good things from other parents, for example, and is setting up their profile, putting in all their personal information despite maybe what they wanted, but they're doing it and they're applying it this way.
0:47:34
If they're having an issue, they're not thinking that it's the DOE, which is, for example, maybe, like, the second or third process.
0:47:42
Right?
0:47:42
The first line is is the MICE City portal.
0:47:45
And so for a New Yorker that is functioning on that, bit of information, they're expecting some kind of service to the customer, to the client through the the portal.
0:47:56
And that's it's the way that we're conditioned to receive services, government or not.
Matthew Fraser
0:48:01
So I I think I think you are your spot on on that front.
0:48:06
One of the things that we we are looking very very diligently at is how do we provide a more common way to collect sentiment, not just after a process has been submitted, but as a process is is is underway.
0:48:21
And we're currently in a phase where we're assessing tools that'll give us the capability to do that and do that not just within an application, but across applications so that we can manage a constituent satisfaction.
0:48:36
So we're we're looking at that, and it's reasonable to assume that we should have those types of capabilities across all city systems and all city processes.
0:48:46
But again, this is one of those things where I say we have decades of inertia behind many of these systems and user sentiment, user feedback, public satisfaction wasn't something that was contemplated at the time that those things were built.
