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The Resource Department Your Agencys Silver Lining: Cathleen Dwyer Kelly, CRS, CIRS Principal, CDK Consulting

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Presentation on theme: "The Resource Department Your Agencys Silver Lining: Cathleen Dwyer Kelly, CRS, CIRS Principal, CDK Consulting"— Presentation transcript:

1 The Resource Department Your Agencys Silver Lining: Cathleen Dwyer Kelly, CRS, CIRS Principal, CDK Consulting Cat@CDKConsulting.com www.CDKConsulting.com

2 Resource Departments are often overlooked, but without them, I&Rs could not do their jobs.

3 Overview What is a Resource Department? What does a Resource Department do? Why do you need one? What is a Resource Department? What does a Resource Department do? Why do you need one?

4 Resource Department Responsibilities keeping the resource database up-to-date; producing printed and/or electronic directories or any other database products (such as mailing labels or database on the web); supporting the communitys need for information by disseminating call center statistics (the number and types of services requested, unmet needs in the community, etc.) keeping the resource database up-to-date; producing printed and/or electronic directories or any other database products (such as mailing labels or database on the web); supporting the communitys need for information by disseminating call center statistics (the number and types of services requested, unmet needs in the community, etc.)

5 AIRS Standards and the Resource Department Standard 5: development of inclusion/exclusion criteria for the database; Standard 6: development of a standardized profile for each organization listed in the resource database includes 17 required, six recommended and seven optional data elements; Standard 7: indexing the database in a meaningful manner to allow retrieval of the information therein; Standard 8: adherence to a classification system or taxonomy Standard 9: regular maintenance of the database. Standard 5: development of inclusion/exclusion criteria for the database; Standard 6: development of a standardized profile for each organization listed in the resource database includes 17 required, six recommended and seven optional data elements; Standard 7: indexing the database in a meaningful manner to allow retrieval of the information therein; Standard 8: adherence to a classification system or taxonomy Standard 9: regular maintenance of the database.

6 Development of Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria (Standard 5) The Resource Department must develop, maintain, and publish guidelines regarding the scope of its resource database. must be reviewed, at minimum, once every three years. A Resource Specialist must be able to understand the criteria established and have the ability to apply them consistently. Standard Competency

7 Development of a Standardized Profile (Standard 6) The information within the resource database must be collected using a standard survey document (often called a profile) to ensure consistency within the resource database. Determining how to structure an agencyhow to organize an agencys information into these components requires research skill and analytical ability Standard Competency

8 Required Fields fax number; URL (Uniform Resource Locatortheir Web site address); e-mail address; legal status; days and hours of operation; name and title of the director; documents required; languages other than English fax number; URL (Uniform Resource Locatortheir Web site address); e-mail address; legal status; days and hours of operation; name and title of the director; documents required; languages other than English how one applies for the service; eligibility; target populations served; fee structure and methods of payment; geographic area served.

9 Why Your Organization Needs A Resource Department Gathering, understanding and structuring this detailed information required by AIRS necessitates trained professional staff who are inclined toward detailed, analytical work. This is a different skill set than that required of I&R Specialists who respond to phone or in-person inquiries

10 Indexing the Resource Database (Standard 7) Ensure the database is indexed properly using the AIRS Taxonomy. Ensure indexing is consistent (every agency that offers a particular service should be indexed using the same term) Accurate (the correct term is chosen for the service) Standard Competency

11 Indexing Competencies indexing is a labor-intensive process that requires staff who are familiar with health and human service concepts, have high reading comprehension and an excellent vocabulary. For this reason, indexing the resource database should be the responsibility of a trained professional and is generally considered a Resource Specialists primary job responsibility. indexing is a labor-intensive process that requires staff who are familiar with health and human service concepts, have high reading comprehension and an excellent vocabulary. For this reason, indexing the resource database should be the responsibility of a trained professional and is generally considered a Resource Specialists primary job responsibility.

12 Adherence to a Classification System (Standard 8) Resource Department must keep its version of the Taxonomy current by adding and changing terms and references as the Taxonomy evolves. AIRS Standards dictate that new taxonomy upgrades must be integrated within six months of issuance. Resource Department must keep its version of the Taxonomy current by adding and changing terms and references as the Taxonomy evolves. AIRS Standards dictate that new taxonomy upgrades must be integrated within six months of issuance. Adding new terms to the Taxonomy or changing definitions often involves re- indexing the resource file to take advantage of the new terms and to ensure accurate indexing. Standard Competency

13 Database Maintenance (Standard 9) The Resource Department needs to periodically contact all of the agencies contained in the database. Resource database must be totally updated at least annually, regardless of the number of agencies listed, and a mechanism must be in place to ensure interim updates or ad-hoc updates as needed. The Resource Department needs to periodically contact all of the agencies contained in the database. Resource database must be totally updated at least annually, regardless of the number of agencies listed, and a mechanism must be in place to ensure interim updates or ad-hoc updates as needed. The difficult aspect of database maintenance is ensuring that the Resource Department is adequately staffed to update the entire database once per year and to process ad-hoc changes within an acceptable period of time Standard Competency

14 Database Maintenance (Standard 9) investigating and correcting database information which has been reported to be erroneous; restructuring agencies in the event of a merger or reorganization; adding new agencies, sites, or services/programs; deleting discontinued agencies, sites, or services/programs; reindexing entries to reflect Taxonomy changes; and reindexing entries to reflect changes in services offered by an agency investigating and correcting database information which has been reported to be erroneous; restructuring agencies in the event of a merger or reorganization; adding new agencies, sites, or services/programs; deleting discontinued agencies, sites, or services/programs; reindexing entries to reflect Taxonomy changes; and reindexing entries to reflect changes in services offered by an agency

15 Core Competencies for Resource Specialists Analytical skills Interviewing skills Writing skills Understanding of and interest in the human service delivery system Technical skills Analytical skills Interviewing skills Writing skills Understanding of and interest in the human service delivery system Technical skills

16 The Work EnvironmentBehavioral Competencies for Resource Specialists Independence: manage a workload with little supervision be self-motivated Teamwork: interact with other Resource Specialists to ensure consistency discuss informational needs with I&R Specialists Flexibility: work on different types of projects and agencies complete repetitive, detailed tasks as well as complicated analysis of programs Independence: manage a workload with little supervision be self-motivated Teamwork: interact with other Resource Specialists to ensure consistency discuss informational needs with I&R Specialists Flexibility: work on different types of projects and agencies complete repetitive, detailed tasks as well as complicated analysis of programs

17 Behavioral Competencies for Resource Specialists Organization: juggle multiple projects at one time concentrate on each project with great respect for detail adhere to a structure and rules for consistency Resilience: withstand criticism work with agency staff who may be negative or disinterested Organization: juggle multiple projects at one time concentrate on each project with great respect for detail adhere to a structure and rules for consistency Resilience: withstand criticism work with agency staff who may be negative or disinterested

18 Concepts to be Included in a Training Program an overview of information and referral (including listening to I&R Specialists take calls) an overview of major health and human service programs (if needed) an overview of information and referral (including listening to I&R Specialists take calls) an overview of major health and human service programs (if needed) using the software understanding the data structure employed by the software a review of the inclusion/exclusion criteria used for the resource database understanding the tax classifications of organizationsnon- profit, for-profit, etc.

19 Resource Specialist Tasks and Skills profile / data collection form review Taxonomy overview and indexing training (one of the most difficult skills to learn) style manual review (conventions for entry) interviewing skills (procedure for agency phone contact) research skills (finding information, utilizing search engines, common sources for information, fact-checking) profile / data collection form review Taxonomy overview and indexing training (one of the most difficult skills to learn) style manual review (conventions for entry) interviewing skills (procedure for agency phone contact) research skills (finding information, utilizing search engines, common sources for information, fact-checking) organization skills (prioritizing, handling paperwork, etc.) data collection procedures; structuring resource database entrieswhat constitutes an agency, a site, and a service; determining legal names for agencies and organizations; and indexing.

20 Concepts to be Included in a Training Program overview of information and referral (including listening to I&R Specialists take calls) an overview of major health and human service programs (if needed) overview of information and referral (including listening to I&R Specialists take calls) an overview of major health and human service programs (if needed) using the software understanding the data structure employed by the software a review of the inclusion/exclusion criteria used for the resource database understanding the tax classifications of organizationsnon- profit, for-profit, etc.

21 Evaluation Checkpoints number of updates completed; difficulty level of the updates; the total workload managed; quality of updates (accurate indexing, proper grammar, accurate assessment of services); and interaction with agency staff. number of updates completed; difficulty level of the updates; the total workload managed; quality of updates (accurate indexing, proper grammar, accurate assessment of services); and interaction with agency staff.

22 Benefits of Having a Resource Department Resource Departments save time save work make your organization look professional helps you adhere to AIRS Standards Resource Departments save time save work make your organization look professional helps you adhere to AIRS Standards

23 Further Reading and Resources www.airs.org - look in the library for helpful articles download a copy of the AIRS standards – free from AIRS website. www.211taxonomy.org - library has great articles join the AIRS Networker and Taxonomy Listservs (links from AIRS.org) Cat@CDKconsulting.com www.airs.org - look in the library for helpful articles download a copy of the AIRS standards – free from AIRS website. www.211taxonomy.org - library has great articles join the AIRS Networker and Taxonomy Listservs (links from AIRS.org) Cat@CDKconsulting.com


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