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How do I add a New Participant?

Updated

This article covers the following topics: 

View/Add

How do I view a Participant?

A participant can be viewed at both the Network level and the Agency level:

  • Once logged into the CACFP/SFSP application click the Participants heading in the left navigation pane.
  • Next click the View/Add option.
  • This will direct you to the Participants table.
    • When logged in at the network level, the first column of the table lists the organization.
    • When logged in at the agency level, the table will not have a first column of organizations, the first column will be the participants' first names.
  • The remaining columns contain participant identifiers and their current status; the last column allows you to view and edit a participant's profile.

How do I add a New Participant?

To add a participant you will first need to log in at the Agency level, a participant cannot be added at the Network level.

Once logged in at the Agency:

  • Click Participants in the left navigation pane.
  • Next click the View/Add option, this will direct you to the Participants table.
  • At the top right-hand side of the page above the table will be the options to Bulk Upload (click here for instructions on how to bulk upload a list of participants), + New Participant, and Export (click here for instructions on how to export a list of participants).
  • To add participants individually, click the blue + New Participant button.
  • The Participants Details page will open, complete all the required fields, and click Save, you will be redirected back to the Participants table and the new participant can now be viewed.

The following explains the fields to be completed: 

  • Participant ID: the participant's ID number (only if the organization allocates its own participant ID).
  • First Name: the participant's first name.
  • Middle Name: the participant's middle name; this is an optional field.
  • Last Name: the participant's last name.
  • Date of Birth: the participant's birth date; the age will automatically be generated.
  • Participant Type: the category assigned to the participant:
    • Child
    • Program Adult
    • Non-Program Adult
  • Lunch Type (if tracked): the lunch type the participant receives:
    • Free
    • Reduced 
    • Paid
    • N/A
  • Gender (if tracked): gender of the participant.
    • Male
    • Female
  • Ethnicity (if tracked): Choose all race and ethnicity categories that apply to the participant. These appear in aggregate in the Participant Demographic Report.
    • White / Anglo
    • Black / African American
    • Hispanic / Latino
    • Pacific Islander
    • Alaska Native / Aleut / Eskimo
    • Arab American
    • American Indian / Native American
    • Other
    • N/A
    • Undisclosed
    • Asian
  • Classroom (if tracked): the participant's assigned classroom. The options that appear here pull from an editable list; click here to see how to add list items.
  • Grade Level (if tracked): the participant's assigned grade level. The options that appear here pull from an editable list; click here to see how to add list items.
  • Enrollment Date (if tracked): the date the participant enrolled in the program.
  • Withdraw Date (if tracked): the date the participant withdrew from the program.
  • Status:
    • Active
    • Inactive
The status will automatically change from Active to Inactive if a participant hasn't received any services in 90 days.

Adding a new participant walk-through

How do I edit a Participant's Profile?

To edit a participant's profile you can be logged in at the Network level or the Agency Level:

  • Click Participants in the left navigation pane.
  • Next click the View/Add option, this will direct you to the Participants table.
  • Click on the orange pencil icon in the far right Actions column in the participant's row.
  • The Participants Details page will open, make the required edits, and click Save.

How do I export a list of Participants?

To export a participant's list you can be logged in at the Network level or the Agency Level, and must have the Export role enabled:

  • Click Participants in the left navigation pane.
  • Next click the View/Add option, this will direct you to the Participants table.
  • Click on the Export button in the top right corner.
  • The export will be in CSV format and include:
    • Participant ID (if tracked)
    • First Name
    • Middle Name
    • Last Name
    • Status (should include active and inactive)
    • Date of Birth
    • Age
    • Participant Type
    • Lunch type (if tracked)
    • Gender type (if tracked)
    • Ethnicity- comma separated (if tracked)
    • Grade Level (if tracked)

How do I set a Participant's Status to Inactive?

To set a participant's status to inactive:

  • Click Participants in the left navigation pane.
  • Next click the View/Add option, this will direct you to the Participants table.
  • Click on the green Active button in the Status column of the participant's row; the participant is removed from the Participants table. "The participant has been deactivated" will appear in a green banner across the top of the page.
  • To set the status back to Active, toggle the Show Inactive button, on the top right-hand side above the table.
  • The inactive participant will be placed back in the Participants table, with a grey Inactive button in the Status column of the participant's row, click the Inactive button and it will change to a green Active button. "The participant has been activated" will appear in a green banner across the top of the page.


Uploads

How do I bulk upload Participants?

You can bulk upload a list of participants in one of two ways:

  • Click Participants in the left navigation pane, and then click Uploads.
  • This action will take you to the Uploads page, where you can view completed uploads, and upload a new participants list by clicking on the Bulk Uploads Participant button, on the top right-hand side of the page.
  • This will direct you to the Upload Details page, where you will find instructions on how to format your upload document.
  • Once your participant list is formatted, click the Browse button in the Upload File field to upload your file, and then click the blue Upload button.
  • After the upload is complete, each participant from your spreadsheet will appear in the Participants table. 

Alternatively:

  • Click Participants in the left navigation pane, and then click the View/Add option, this will direct you to the Participants table.
  • Click the Bulk Upload Participants button, on the top right-hand side above the table.
  • This will direct you to the Upload Details page, where you will find instructions on how to format your upload document.
  • Once your participant list is formatted, click the Browse button in the Upload File field to upload your file, and then click the blue Upload button.
  • After the upload is complete, you will be taken back to the Participants table on the View/Add page. Each participant from your spreadsheet will appear in the table and a notification will appear confirming that the upload was successful and the participants were added.
The Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) format MUST be used to upload the document. If the wrong format is used or information is missing in the document, the upload will fail.
Before uploading the participants' list please check against existing clients to ensure there are no duplicates.

 

ERRORS:
If you experience an error uploading your participant list, it may be for the following reasons:
  • Make sure your document matches the headers outlined in the Sample instructions on the Upload Details page; a template is available to download at the bottom of this guide.
    • Ensure all headers in your document are features that are tracked in the Agency Settings page of that organization.
    • If adding list items, ensure the list items in your document match the spelling on the Lists page. 
  • Ensure all blank cells are cleared.
    • To do this, select the empty cells, click on the eraser icon on the right of the toolbar at the top, and select Clear All.
  • Ensure all cells don't have spaces before or after the text in that cell
    • Double-click on the cell so that you see the cursor. If the cursor isn't right after the last letter or right before the first letter, there are extra spaces that need to be removed.
  • Ensure all dates of birth are in the correct order/format.
  • Do not put N/A in all the Ethnicity columns. If the ethnicity is N/A, it would only need to be entered once and the subsequent columns would be left blank. If the client has one or more ethnicities, the rest of the columns would be left blank as well.
  • Ensure that there is NO space between the "/" character in Ethnicity labels.


How do I view a list of Imported Participants?

To view a list of imported participants:

  • Click Participants in the left navigation pane, and then click Uploads.
  • This action will take you to the table on the Uploads page, where you can view completed uploads.

  • Upload Date: the date the upload form was uploaded.
  • Upload By: the name of the user who uploaded the upload form.
  • Records Uploaded: the number of participants who were on the upload form.
  • Status: the status of the completion of the upload.
  • Actions: clicking on the blue document icon in the last column displays the list of participants that were on the upload form.

Participant Duplicates

How do I manage a "Possible Duplicate" Pop-Up?

  • Click Participants in the left navigation pane, and then click the View/Add option, this will direct you to the Participants table.
  • Next click the blue + New Participant button, and begin typing in the participant's details.
  • If the first and last names match exactly with one or more participants, a Possible Duplicate notification will pop up on the page.
  • If this is the participant you were trying to add, click on the Open button to go straight to that participant's page.
  • If that is NOT the person you were trying to add, click on the Dismiss button and the system will allow you to continue entering that new participant's information.


How do I dismiss Participant Duplicates?

Duplicates will appear on the Participant Duplicates page. 

  • Click Participants in the left navigation pane, and then click the Participant Duplicates option, this will direct you to the Participant Duplicates list.
  • If there is more than one page of duplicates you can go between pages by using the pagination at the bottom. It will also show you a count of how many pairs of duplicates there are in your list.
  • If you know a pair is NOT duplicate, click the Dismiss button beside the pair. This pairing will then be removed from the Participant Duplicates list and added to the Dismissed Participants list.
  • If you are unsure the participant is duplicated click the View button for a side-by-side comparison of the duplicated pair; click the blue Close Window button on the top right-hand side of the page to return to the Participant Duplicates list.


How do I un-dismiss Participant Duplicates?

Duplicate pairs that have been dismissed in error can be moved to the regular Participant Duplicates page by un-dismissing them.

  • Click Participants in the left navigation pane, and then click the Participant Duplicates option, this will direct you to the Participant Duplicates list.
  • Click the blue View Dismissed Participant link in the top left-hand corner of the duplicates page. This will direct you to the Dismissed Participant Duplicates table.
  • If you are unsure the participant is duplicated click the View button for a side-by-side comparison of the duplicated pair; click the blue Close Window button to return to the Dismissed Participant Duplicates list.
  • If you are sure the pair is indeed a duplicate, click the Un-dismiss button, and the pair will be returned to the Participant Duplicates list, where you can merge the duplicate profiles into one.

How do I merge Participant Duplicates?

To merge duplicated participants from the Duplicated Participants table:

  • Click Participants in the left navigation pane, and then click the Participant Duplicates option, this will direct you to the Participant Duplicates table.
  • If there is more than one page of duplicates you can go between pages by using the pagination at the bottom. It will also show you a count of how many pairs of duplicates there are in your list.
  • If you're looking for a particular duplicate that you know is in the system:
    • You can use the Search bar at the top right-hand side of the page.
    • You can search for a participant using first or last names.
    • The fields that the system found to be duplicated will be highlighted.
    • If you're unable to find a duplicate pair you know exists, they may be in the Dismissed Participant Duplicates list. 

  • Click the View button for a side-by-side comparison of the duplicated pair;
    • Best practice would be to merge the profile with the least up-to-date participant information into the profile that has captured the most information.
    • Clicking the Merge button with the downward arrow merges the first-row participant into the second row, keeping the second-row participant ID and information.
    • Clicking the Merge button with the upward arrow merges the second-row participant into the first row, keeping the first-row participant ID and information.
  • Click the blue Close Window button.
  • Click on the Merge button to start the process of merging one participant profile into another. Once clicked, the files will be displayed on a second screen which will show a confirmation view of the information to be merged.
  • The profile on the page's left-hand side will be kept, including any demographic information. Any client information not already present in the maintained profile will be moved over from the discarded profile, as well as any meal services.
  • Once you are certain that the profiles should be merged, click on the Merge and Save button to complete the merge.

Once you have clicked the Merge and Save button you will receive a Record of Merge Action Taken, detailing:

  • Maintained Profile: the participant ID of the maintained file after the merge.
  • Discarded Profile:  the participant ID of the discarded file.
  • Merged At: the date and time of the merge.
  • Merged By: the user who completed the merge.

When a participant's duplicate profiles are merged, the default status of the merged profile will be Active. A record of the merged duplicates will appear on any meal service log where they were served.


What if I can’t find a pair of Duplicates I know exists?

If you are sure that the client has at least two of the same fields matching that the Participant Duplicates list catches, someone may have dismissed it.

  • Click Participants in the left navigation pane, and then click the Participant Duplicates option, this will direct you to the Participant Duplicates list.
  • Click the blue View Dismissed Participant link in the top left-hand corner of the duplicates page. This will direct you to the Dismissed Participant Duplicates table.
  • Scroll through the list or use the Search field to locate the duplicated participant.
  • Click the Un-dismiss button to move the pair of duplicates back to the Participant Duplicates page. You can then merge the two files; click here for instructions on how to merge a duplicate.

How do I view my Network Participant list?

When logged into the network organization, Network Administrators will be able to see a list of all participants across all of their agencies. It works the same as the agency’s participant list but includes an Organization column to let the user know which agency the participant was created at.

To access the network participant list:

  • Log in at the network level.
  • Click Participants in the left navigation pane.
  • Next click the View/Add option, this will direct you to the Participants table.
  • You have the option of also seeing the inactive participants by toggling the Show Inactive button to ON.
  • You can also export the list by clicking the Export button in the right-hand corner of the page; click here for instructions on how to export the participant list.

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