Connect your clients with
Quality Referrals
Heath Ribordy
Agency Relations Manager
The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.
Why make referrals?
• Clients come for food but
need other types of basis
needs assistance to get
by
• To end hunger, we must
all work together to serve
our clients to the best of
our ability
The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.
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Connect your clients with
Quality Referrals
• How to make quality referrals for basic
needs assistance
• Amy Price, Community Information
Director, 2-1-1
The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.
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Scenarios
• Client lost their job
and is facing
foreclosure
• Specific need for
diapers
• Long-term clients with
no end in sight for
their troubles
The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.
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Barriers
• Located in a rural area
• Few resources in the
community available
• Incomplete knowledge of
programs available
• Difficult eligibility guidelines
• Limited volunteers onsite to
speak with clients
• Lack of physical space
The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.
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5 Steps to Quality
Referrals
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Learning
Listening
Questioning
Knowing
Advising
The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.
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STEP 1: Learning
Demographics
Needs
Services
• Zipcode (current or moving to)
• How many in the household
(how many people affected?
• Age(s)
• Gender(s)
• Disability or health factors
• Specific dietary needs
• Languages spoken
• Do you have enough food?
• Do you have shelter? Need
housing? Are you homeless?
Where do you stay? Is this a
stable situation? Is it violent,
are you safe?
• Do you have heat?
• Do you have health insurance
or need health care?
• Do you have access to
transportation? Is it reliable?
• Do you need clothing?
• Are you employed? Do you
need additional work?
• Do you need childcare?
• Do you need substance abuse
recovery support? Rehabilitation
services?
• What assistance do you
already receive?
o SNAP (food stamps)?
o SSI (disability)?
o Medicare/Medicaid?
o General assistance?
o TANF (welfare)?
o LIHEAP (heating assistance)?
The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.
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STEP 2: Listening
•
•
•
•
•
•
Pay attention: look at the speaker, put aside
distractions, don’t mentally prepare the
“answers,” watch the person’s body language
Show that you are listening: nod
occasionally, smile and use facial
expressions, avoid interrupting
Provide feedback: Reflect what the person is
saying, ask clarifying questions when
necessary, summarize what the person has
said
Defer Judgment: Don’t interrupt with counter
arguments; allow the speaker to completely
finish each point before asking questions
Stay relaxed: Keep an open posture
Respond Appropriately: Be candid and
honest, be respectful, avoid patronizing or
dismissive comments
The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.
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STEP 3: Questioning
• Ask open-ended questions
• Funnel questions: Start with a general
question and then home in on a point in
the answer in order to get more detail.
• Probing questions: gain clarification and
draw out information. Perhaps the
easiest thing is to get the person to give
you an example of what they specifically
mean.
• Leading questions: Offer 2 options and
get them to choose, ask “do you agree”
or other types of questions that will
guide the situation to a clear resolution
The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.
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STEP 4: Knowing
• Consider your time and resources and
available space. How do you best
function? What will help you to remember
what is available?
• Make your own reference book with most
critical numbers always available
• Create a box, bulletin board, or rack of
brochures, flyers, and other materials to
show or give your guests
• Develop a contact list of colleagues
(buddy list) who can help you find what
you need
The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.
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STEP 5: Advising
• Wait until you have clear
information
• Is this what the person was
really asking for?
• Provide them with contact
information and how you
accessed the resource
• Inform clients of referrals
services (2-1-1)
The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.
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Helpful Tips to Remember
• People just want to be listened to
• Remain patient, kind, nonjudgmental, and respectful
• Avoid focusing on
specifics/inconsistencies
• Patience
The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.
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Amy Price
Community Information Director,
2-1-1
The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.
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Our Community Value
•
Public/private partnership
•
Free, multilingual and confidential
•
Available 24/7
•
Skilled and professional Navigation Specialists
•
Excellent customer service and short hold times
•
Comprehensive and current database with more than
5,000 services
•
Track community needs and trends, as well as
service gaps
Access to Health Care
• One-call access to health care resources
• Screens for eligibility for MAP, Medicaid, and CHIP
• Schedule appointments for MAP program
• General information on state and local health care
programs
• Link callers to safety net providers and other basic
needs providers
The Need
“I’m a veteran. What
kind of programs are
available for me?”
“I just lost my job,
have a small child
and can’t pay my
rent. Is there
anyone who can
help?”
“We lost everything in the
Bastrop wildfire and don’t know
where to start to rebuild our
home and our lives. We need
help with gas money to get back
and forth, food, clothes,
everything. Who can help us?”
Centralized Point of Contact
•
Housing/Shelter/Utility Bills
•
Child Care
•
Food
•
Substance Abuse Resources
•
Education/Youth Services
•
Volunteer Opportunities
•
Health Care
•
Government Programs
•
Senior Services
•
Criminal Justice/Legal Services
•
Transportation
•
Military/Veterans Programs
•
Community Services
•
•
•
Employment
Mental Health Resources and
Support Groups
Disaster
Information Database
• Thousands of programs and services
•
Up-to-date
•
www.211Texas.org
•
Eliminates need for print directories
2-1-1 Statewide Access
2-1-1 serves as a gateway into the State’s eligibility and
enrollment system for programs such as TANF, Medicaid,
and SNAP.
When dialing 2-1-1, first select the language option:
1
2
English
Spanish
0
Other Languages
Next, choose an option below:
1
2
3
4
United Way
Navigation Center:
2-1-1
Your Texas
Benefits: HHSC
Eligibility and
Enrollment
Office of Inspector
General for Fraud
and Abuse
Transportation
Assistance Registry
2-1-1 Across Texas
National Status
More than 90% of the U.S. population has access to 2-1-1
Partnerships and Seasonal Programs

Texas Division of Emergency Management

Insure-a-kid

Foundation Communities

US Department of Agriculture

Summer Fans

Immunizations/Vaccinations

Holiday Assistance

Back-to-school Resources
Choose Healthier Coach Goals
•
Serve as healthy information
resource
•
Serve as a referral for healthy
resources and opportunities
•
Serve as a personal health coach
Call:
1.844.26.COACH
(1.844.26.26224)
Managing Multiple Needs
• Callers often present multiple needs
• For example, a caller may concurrently need a food pantry, be
unemployed and in danger of losing their housing
• 2-1-1 Staff are trained to work with callers to help them prioritize
their needs
When to Refer to 2-1-1
• Refer callers to 2-1-1 when they need assistance
• Do not call 2-1-1 for a client unless they present a type of disability
that inhibits their ability to call or if you feel that they need additional
advocacy
• When a client calls 2-1-1 for help, they are taking the first step
toward self-help
Cautions about the ‘Safety Net’
• Use caution, try not to fill clients with false hope
• Clients may not always receive all of the services or assistance
they need
• 2-1-1 cannot solve all of a client’s problems
Reporting Community Trends
• Community Needs and Trends Report, yearly since 2003
• Customized per request organized by caller need, demographics,
and geography
• Data draws attention to trends and unmet needs
• Data used by grant writers, researchers, & planners
Navigation Center Call Data
Navigation Center
Navigation Center
Navigation Center
Navigation Center
Child Care Needs
Longitudinal Trends
• Basic needs calls continue to increase over time
• 50% of callers have multiple needs
2-1-1 Basic Needs Calls
80000
70000
60000
50000
40000
30000
20000
10000
0
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
How We Can Help You
• Take 2-1-1 cards to distribute
• Refer clients, parents, friends and neighbors
• Visit our latest Community Needs and Trends Report
at www.uwatx.org
• Ask us for a customized report!
Questions?
The mission of the Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.
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