Concept
KinderAttend™ collects attendance information at the childcare provider 
and sends it to a consolidated host database, which again distributes the information to the subsidizing agencies. The entire system is administered 
on the Internet by the agency and provider. For data collection we have implemented several methods. The agency or provider can use them interchangeably. Ideally, the POS, PIN or Bio methods should be used 
for large providers with many children at one site. The Web method is more effective with smaller and medium sized providers who have an Internet 
enabled computer at the facilities. The Dial method is provided for informal providers or very small providers with no Internet access or no familiarity with technology. Depending on the specific needs of your agency, we will help you to determine what combination of attendance tracking methods can work best for you.

The data interface provides two main methods:
1. Import and export of data via the industry standard XML format.
2. Import and export of data via comma-delimited text files.

Of course, agencies using our KinderTrack™ product enjoy seamless integration of all import and export functions. No queries, conversions or manual processes are necessary.

KinderAttend™ Web
 Our Web version provides an Internet web site with two levels of hierarchical access:

1. The agency level. The agency can add providers, edit provider data, add
children to providers, set schedules for children and give passwords and
usernames to providers.

2. The provider level. The provider can pull up all children subsidized at the
provider, check their schedules and update attendance information. She can
also send email to the agency and receive messages from the agency.

The information entered is sent to the subsidizing agency on a daily basis.
This way, payments to the provider can be expedited. But more importantly,
we forego massive amounts of paperwork both at the provider as well as at
the subsidizing agency. This is even more exciting now that President
Clinton signed the bill for electronic signatures into law.

You can sign up for this service today and start using it immediately. The
system is designed to allow the agency to add all providers, children or
schedules right on the web site. Then the providers can start submitting
attendance information.

However, we understand that in many cases, the agency would like to
automatically import provider, child and schedule data. Provider, child and
schedule data can be imported using XML files or simple comma-delimited
files.

KinderAttend™ POS
We ship our card readers preprogrammed to the participating provider. The
card reader is plugged into a power source and connected to a telephone
jack. The provider supplies the phone number to the subsidizing agency. 
The agency uses KinderAttend™ -- Web to update the provider information,
which also contains the phone number of the POS device.

We supply the agency with a magnetic card encoder or card printer,
depending on preference. The agency uses this device and the provided
software to encode the cards that get issued to the parents of the children 
in subsidy.

When the child arrives at the provider facility or leaves, the card is swiped
through the reader. The server calls the card reader daily and uploads all card
information. The data is stored in the consolidated database and is
forwarded to the agency on a daily basis.

KinderAttend™ – Dial
This version of KinderAttend is used by smaller and informal providers to supply attendance information without paper. For example, a grandmother takes care of her subsidized grandchildren:

Grandma Smith dials 1-800-2ATTEND.

VRS (Voice Response System): Please enter your provider number.

(Grandma Smith enters her provider number, which includes check digit verification.)

VRS: Welcome Grandma Smith. Our records show that you have Becky Smith and Marcus Smith in your care. Please enter the hours Becky Smith was in care today, or zero for no care.

(Grandma Smith enters ‘10’ on the telephone keypad, indicating ten hours. Becky is a preschooler and is dropped off at Grandma’s at 8:00am and is picked up at 6:00pm.)

VRS: Enter the hours Marcus Smith was in care today, or zero for no care.

Grandma Smith enters ‘3’ on the keypad, because Marcus is a school age child and comes to Grandma Smith’s house at 3 in the afternoon and stays until 6:00pm.

VRS: Thank you Grandma Smith. We have logged the attendance for Becky and Marcus. You can hang up now.

KinderAttend™ – PIN (currently under development)
We install keypads at the provider. Parents are issued personal identification numbers (PIN) for children. The PIN contains a check digit to ensure validity. When a parent drops off or picks up a child, they enter the PIN at the keypad. The keypad is functionally similar to the POS card reader described above. It records the date and time of entry or exit for the child and ensures validity of the PIN. At the end of the day, the host system calls the PIN keypads and uploads the information into the KinderAttend central database. This consolidated database is forwarded to the agency on a daily basis.

KinderAttend™ – Bio (currently under development)
Biometric information (finger geometry) can be stored for authorized people 
and downloaded to the detection devices. When a parent drops off the child, she places her index and middle finger on the detection pad installed at the provider. The pad has the geometry data for all authorized people and identifies the person. Along with positive identification, the door can be opened, and of course, attendance for the child is logged. At the end of the day, the host system calls the PIN keypads and uploads the information into the KinderAttend central database. This consolidated database is forwarded to 
the agency on a daily basis.

KinderAttend – Bio is a positive identification mechanism to ensure only authorized people drop off or pick up children. This method is the technically most complicated and therefore the most expensive. However, it is the only option that positively eliminates fraud. We recommend it for high-security centers, centers where fraud is a problem, and centers with many children.