Better referrals and coordinated services
Referrals that connect
People with complex, interconnected problems often need help from more than one organization. Moving between services can force clients to retell their story and repeat the same intake information each time. They may also be left waiting for another organization to respond, with neither you nor the client knowing whether the referral connected.
This can result in referral fatigue and delays in getting help. Or clients slip through the cracks between services. These problems can be significant when several organizations need to coordinate support for people with overlapping legal and social needs.
A referral is more likely to succeed when:
- The client understands why they are being referred.
- The receiving organization can help the client with their needs.
- The referring organization collects the information only once, and the client agrees to share it.
- The receiving organization gets clear information about the client and their needs.
- Both organizations understand who is responsible for following up with the client.
A Guided Pathway can build structure around the referral process and make referrals more successful.
How a Guided Pathway referral works
- Identify the need. The referring and the receiving organization determine what information they both need about a client’s circumstances, needs and eligibility. The Guided Pathway asks questions to collect this information.
- Explain the referral. The Guided Pathway explains how the receiving organization may be able to help the client. It also explains what information it will share and what the client can expect to happen next.
- Confirm consent. The Guided Pathway records the client’s consent before sharing their information with the receiving organization.
- Share information. The receiving organization gets the information and documents it needs to help the client. This means the organization has useful information about the client before they arrive, rather than an unstructured message or no information at all.
- Support follow-up. Depending on the arrangement between the organizations, the receiving organization may confirm that it received the referral, contact the client, or provide an update on the referral’s status.
With a Guided Pathway referral, the client gets more than a phone number, address, or website. And when they arrive at the receiving organization, they don’t have to start the process all over again.
One referral relationship or a network
A Guided Pathway referral can begin with one defined relationship between two organizations and grow to support a larger network of organizations. For example, a referral relationship may begin between a settlement organization that wants to refer clients to a local legal clinic. The project then grows to include more referrals among organizations that form a local immigration partnership (LIP).
This approach could be used to support a homelessness network, community-services collaborative, or any other group that aims to offer a “no wrong door” or wraparound model for clients in their community.
What organizations need to agree on
Whether the Guided Pathway referral is between two organizations or among a wider network, everyone needs to agree on:
- eligibility and referral criteria
- what information is necessary
- how client consent will work
- who within each organization can access the information
- who is responsible for client follow-up
- how changes to services will be communicated
- how the network will make decisions.
The Guided Pathways technology supports these agreements. It does not replace them.
Secure access to information
When organizations need direct access to referral information, authorized staff can receive alerts and securely view the information and documents they need.
Each organization gets access based on its role in the referral process. Before launching a Guided Pathway, the organizations agree on who can access the information, what they can see, how to manage staff access, and how long to retain the information.
What a referral pathway cannot do
A Guided Pathway cannot guarantee that an organization will accept a referral or provide a service. The organizations involved must first agree on how referrals will work.
CLEO works with organizations to make clear whether the Guided Pathway will:
- provide information about a service
- suggest a service that may be able to help the client
- send a referral request to an organization
- make a referral that an organization has agreed to accept
- help organizations work together to follow up with clients
These differences are important. They help clients understand what to expect and help organizations be clear about what help they can provide.