Create Referral

 

Description 


Use the Create Referral workflow to search for programs that meet a client's needs, review the available options, and send a referral to the most appropriate program or service provider. 

Available to: Agency Admins, Agency Staff

Navigation

On the left navigation bar click “Referrals,” a dropdown menu appears and then click “Create Referral” 

Creating a Referral 

  • Under “Pick a Client or Create One” type a client’s name
    • Create One: You will be taken to the “Create Client” workflow
    • Pick a Client: You can search by first and/or last name.
      • Find the client that matches the name and date of birth then click “Select” 

Location Info

  • City (Required): The city you need the Programs to be closest to.
  • Search Radius (Miles): The distance the Programs need to be found within the “City.” If you find no results, try expanding the Search Radius. 

Search

There are 3 methods to search for Programs. You cannot combine these methods. For the best results, make sure only your method of choice is filled in, and all other methods are clear.

  • Common Services: Search using our taxonomy system, which is broken down at two levels. For example, select “Basic Needs” and then “Housing” in the drop-down menu.
  • Agency / Service Name: Search by the Agency name (i.e. Salvation Army) or Service Name (i.e. LIHEAP, CalFresh)
    • Use the full name when possible. Searching “United Way of Tulare County” will give more accurate results than searching “United Way.”
    • Partial names may return broader results. Searching “United Way” may show multiple United Way agencies.
    • Search is not case-sensitive. “UNITED WAY” and “united way” will return the same results.
    • Word order and missing words can affect results. For example, searching “United Way Tulare County” instead of “United Way of Tulare County” may not return the expected results.
  • Search Term: Enter keywords that describe the client's need, such as housing, food, rental assistance, or transportation. Unlike the other search options, this field allows you to type free-text keywords. For example, entering "housing" will return programs related to housing services.
  • Click “Find Referrals” 

 

How clear your search and run a second search:

  • Common Services: Locate the click “X” to the right of “Common Services” and “Sub Categories” to clear these fields.
  • Agency / Service Name: Delete the text in this field and type in an Agency name or Service Name.  
  • Search Term: Delete the text in this field and type in keywords that describe the client's need.  
  • You cannot combine these methods. For the best results, make sure only your method of choice is filled in, and all other methods are clear. 

Find Referrals

Programs found after clicking “Find Referrals”: Each Program will have the following items:

  • Program Name
  • SRN Partner Badge
    • SRN Partner: The Program has users responding to referrals
    • Not in SRN: The Program does not have users responding to referrals
  • Score: Used to rank search results for this specific search. See Referral Scoring for more information. Scores are based on the following factors:
    • Distance: Distance from “City,” shorter distances will have higher scores.
    • Matched eligibility criteria: The SRN looks at the client’s profile and compares it against the Eligibility for the program. For example: If the client profile indicates they are a Veteran and the program’s eligibility also lists “Veterans,” this score will be higher.  
    • SRN Partner agency: Scores will be higher if the Agency/Program is an SRN Partner, meaning there will be an SRN user that can respond to your referral.
  • Agency Name
  • Regional Notes: If the message “This program serves your county from (Monterey, Kings, Tulare, ect) County” then it means the Agency is either based on that county and/or has an MOU with that county. The Agency is still able to provide services to your area through satellite sites, virtual, or other means.
  • Program Description
  • Program Eligibility

Create Referral

When you find a suitable Program, select “Create Referral” and you will see the following items:

  • From: The email associated with your user account
  • To: The email associated with the Program you are referring to.
  • Referral Note: Any initial notes you’d like to include on the referral.
  • CC Emails (optional): Emails you’d like to include to be notified about this referral.
  • Send SMS notification to client: Toggling this and entering the client’s phone number will send SMS notifications to the client regarding the status of their referral.
  • Hide sender from receiving agency: Checking this box will hide your information (Name, Agency, Contact Info) from the receiving Program. You would use this if your information is associated with sensitive information for example: Domestic Violence, Health, Mental Health, Immigration, ect.
  • Cancel: Closes the “Create Referral” fields and does not save the info.
  • Send Referral: Sends the referral to the receiving Program. 

Outreach Referrals

Programs with this badge are not currently an SRN partner. Sending this will email them about the referral and invite them to join the SRN. They are not required to follow up in the system.