Perhaps the most critical role of a resident services staff is referring residents to quality, outcome-oriented service providers that can assist residents in achieving their stated interests or goals. The quality and capacity of the service providers you partner with will significantly affect whether the residents achieve their goals or not.
In the past, some resident services programs have merely presented residents with a listing of community resources without having any concrete data or extensive firsthand experience about the providers and the effectiveness of their services. Far too often this has led to disappointment for both the resident and the service provider.
The key to developing a quality resident services referral process lies with the staff's commitment to make the best possible match between a resident’s stated goal and a service provider. To accomplish this, resident services staff need to become knowledgeable about available local resources, and complete an assessment of the service outcomes histories of these resource providers before considering establishing referral partnerships. Once the identification and assessment process is completed, staff can decide on which providers are likely to best assist the residents achieve their goals, and then begin the process of developing formal or informal referral partnership agreements with the selected providers.
After establishing service referral partnerships, it is important to keep track of:
Which service providers residents are referred to
What services residents are referred for
Finally, and most importantly, the outcomes of the referrals
Such data will provide staff with the necessary information to help determine what service areas, if any, need to be improved, and will be invaluable in the ongoing maintenance of positive relationships with your referral partners.
The following resources are available in the Service Referral and Outcome Management section of this manual.
2. Best Practices for Designing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU): A memorandum of understanding is a document used to formalize a shared agreement between partners. An MOU provides a structure to negotiate role definitions, legal issues, and operation procedures while still allowing for flexibility. This document will provide you with points to consider when negotiating an MOU with a partner agency.
4. An Introduction to Microsoft® Excel-based Tool for Tracking Referral Outcomes: Tracking the positive impact of off-site programs on residents is an essential job function of service coordinators, even though many referral agencies conduct tracking on their own. Recognizing the need for an inexpensive, customizable outcomes tracking tool, Enterprise has developed a tool using Microsoft’s Excel spreadsheet program that provides both flexibility and uniformity in data collection. These Excel-based tools can be downloaded and customized. Download the Sample Completed Tracking Tool. Download the Outcomes Tracking Tool. We also encourage you to provide feedback on these tools.
5. Responding to Residents in Crisis: At times, residents face serious issues that are beyond the scope and training of a resident services coordinator. This list of organizations will help you help the residents find the support they need during especially difficult times.
