The following criteria of the United Way
Services Information and Referral Center and the Virginia Statewide Information
and Referral System, follows as closely as possible the standard practices set
forth by AIRS (Alliance of Information & Referral Systems, Inc.)
1.
The
agency/service provider must provide a human service. Human Services are defined as:
The activities of human services professionals which help people to become more self-sufficient, sustain independence, strengthen family relationships, support personal and social development and ensure the well-being of individuals, families, groups and communities. Specific human services include ensuring that people have access to adequate food, shelter, clothing and transportation; financial resources to meet their needs; consumer education and decision support; criminal justice or legal services; education and employment; health and mental health care including substance abuse services; and environmental protection; both routinely and in times of disaster or other emergencies. Human services also facilitate the capabilities of people to care for children or other dependents; ensure that protective services are available to those who are vulnerable; provide for the support of older adults and people with disabilities; offer social, faith-based, and leisure time activities; provide for the cultural enrichment of the community; and ensure that people have the information they need to fully participate in community life.
NOTE: From the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems (AIRS) as adapted from the definition of "Social Work" in the Dictionary of Social Work published by the National Association of Social Workers.
2.
The
agency/service provider must serve the residents of the I&R region.
3.
The
agency/service provider must have been in existence more than six months in
order to indicate a degree of permanence, unless either of the following is the
case:
·
The
agency/service provider is an affiliate of an established service provider with
multiple locations or
·
The
agency/service provider is the result of a community or coalition planning
process.
4.
The
agency/service provider may be either government or non-profit. For-profit
organizations and unincorporated groups meeting critical human service needs
shall also be included.
·
In
adding agencies/service providers to the database, priority shall be given to
scarce, free or low-cost resources.
5.
Services
consistently and systematically tracked by another organization that gives
referrals to the public may be included or excluded at the option of the
regional I&R center (i.e. mental health practitioners in areas with a
comprehensive mental health referral service). The other referring agency shall
be included in the regional I&R database, whether or not the direct service
providers are listed.
·
Other
local agencies providing I&R, including specialized I&R
·
Essential
services (food, shelter, etc.)
·
Government
agencies (local, state, and federal)
·
Agencies
located in bordering states if they serve the residents of the I&R region
·
Advocacy
organizations
·
Self-help
support groups. Since some support
groups rely on members who volunteer as contact persons, it can be difficult to
keep listings current. The contact
person may move, change telephone numbers, or simply drop out of the
organization. Therefore, each Regional
I&R Center shall have the option to track state, regional, or national
headquarters instead of local groups
·
State
and national parks located in your I&R region only
1.
Organizations
which discriminate based on race, religion or similar factors
2.
Organizations
engaged in fraudulent or illegal activities
3.
Agencies
which misrepresent their services in any way, including non-delivery of listed
services
4.
Individual
practitioners (i.e. physicians or psychiatrists in an private practice)
5.
Organizations
and/or professionals which are not licensed (in areas where licensing standards
exist)
6.
Political
and issue-oriented groups (unless the alternate viewpoint is also represented,
such as pro-choice and pro-life; pro-gun and anti-gun control groups)
7.
Faith
community-based programs that provide services only to members of their own
congregations
8.
Organizations
that only provide funding for programs offered by direct service providers.
Include the providers that offer those services.
9.
National
organizations with local chapters that directly administer services. The local
chapter should be listed. Their affiliation with the national organization may
be noted in their description. However, if the national organization also
delivers services to the public, list it also.
10.
Organizations
that exist solely to serve the clients of another service provider. For example,
if a counseling service only serves clients of DSS’s Child Protective Services
program under a contract, do not include the counseling service in the
database. Instead indicate in the DSS Child Protective Services program
description that counseling can be provided to Child Protective Services
clients by the separate counseling service.
All centers shall have a Review Committee
in place to evaluate program entries submitted for inclusion into their
database. This committee will be
composed of no less than three members
at least two of whom shall be members of the regional I&R staff
(i.e., I&R Specialist, I&R Program Coordinator, or the I&R Manager)
or staff of partner agencies. This
committee can meet on demand to evaluate a program’s mission statement and its
conformity to these I&R guidelines.
Denial
If a program is found ineligible for
listing in a regional database, that center will inform the service provider of
their decision. Notification should be
by letter, with a brief statement of reason for ineligibility, within 30 days
from the service provider’s submission of program information.
Appeal
Each center shall have an appeal process
in place. Service providers must request an appeal hearing in writing no later than
30 days from the date of denial. A
representative of the excluded agency will be allowed to meet with an I&R
program representative to present the service provider’s case.
Note:
To eliminate misunderstandings where right of inclusion is concerned, each
center should add a warning on each survey or update form stating that the
I&R may exclude or remove an agency for any reason - inclusion is a privilege, not a
right.
Before an I&R center will act on a
complaint regarding a service provider, the complaint shall be submitted to the
I&R Center in writing. Complaints may come from the complainant or from a
staff member taking the information from the complainant. This written complaint shall be dated, with
a detailed description of the complaint and signed by the complainant. Complainants may be either inquirers or
human service professionals, including members of the staff of an I&R
center.
Once a formal complaint has been made, the
Review Committee shall review the complaint within seven days. Within three days of completion of the
review, the subject service provider shall be notified in writing of the
complaint, along with the recommended action.
If the Review Committee decides that this
service provider shall be removed from the database, notification shall include
the agency’s right of appeal.
To protect the confidentiality of the
complainant, neither the Review Committee nor the I&R Center shall reveal
the name of the complainant protesting the inclusion of a particular
organization in the database.
The complainant may also be referred to other
agencies with investigative authority to file a complaint. Depending on the nature of the complaint,
these might include licensing, law enforcement, or funding sources.
The Database Manager’s Group of the Statewide
I&R System shall review these criteria every three years.
June 2002