I'd like to gently remind folks that >>all<< the data in MLS is confidential. Exporting data out does not reduce the requirement to protect the data. Each report contains the notice "For Church use only".
For the time being I suggest sitting down and reviewing MLS's "other" talents. The use of special categories and geographic zones is made for extended classifications. Our Ward/Stake was able to setup MIS to contain the data for EP 10 years ago. The functions needed are contained in MLS. Admin overhead is reduced using MLS because as members move in or out their records are automagically added and removed. The hard part is keeping up on entering the data of talent and resource from surveys. Also remember information about who has what property/resources, talents/interests is VERY private to many (most) people. For people of other faiths you can add them to the local MLS database. Simply add them and answer "N" (non-member) in the membership status field. Keeping record of who has a truck is great - if the truck still runs and can be used. Keeping the data up to date is enough to keep 2 membership clerks very busy. The Sec. in the RS, Elders, HPs can be a great asset since they can be used to update the HT/VT info each month. I'd suggest asking for a talent/resource survey to be filled out each quarter from each adult and young adult member. Then updating MLS at least quarterly. Again - >> All << data should be considered confidential. Anyone receiving any data should receive clear instructions to correctly destroy (paper shred, disk wipe, etc) the data once it is not needed. Also instructions should be given to protect the confidentiality of the data. If someone does not need the data they should not have access to it. Printing a quarterly list (folder) of resources is about the only way to make the info available when there is no power. I'm more interested in the communications part of EP. Most plans I see setup a structure around ham radio ops and voice or cw traffic as done from the 30's through the 40's, 50's and into today. Ham traffic can not be secured to encrypt the data as required by some of the new privacy laws. As I read the regs I can not see any legal way to pass traffic which may reveal information about the heath or status of anyone especially a minor. Also if a cell phone is available you may not be able to legally pass traffic of any meaningful nature via a ham radio (even if the cell phone only works some). How are various folks/groups dealing with the requirements to protect personal information? What do folks understand the FCC regs of data traffic on Ham versus cell phones to include? Good luck Oscar On Wednesday 11 January 2006 08:05 pm, Jeff Raymond wrote: > One point that has come up in our bishopric meetings is the need to involve > nonmember households in our neighborhood preparedness planning. Since our > community is mostly LDS, some non-members may feel left out of neighborhood > preparedness planning. > > > > Perhaps this might be something to consider with respect to information > dynamics and who the possible beneficiaries of this software would be. > > > > Thanks, > > Jeff _______________________________________________ Ldsoss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ldsoss.org/mailman/listinfo/ldsoss
