107 Findings and Follow-up Referral ** Initial Contact **

Finding NHVR did not consistently meet its time standard for making initial contact with the individual

NHVR’s Time Standard Within 24 hours of contact with the agency, a referral will have an appointment date for an initial interview that is scheduled as soon as possible, and no longer than 30 calendar days from the initial contact.

Case Practice - Referral Additional Guidance: An attempt should be made to call back within 24 hours all third party referrals which arrive on paper through the mail or via phone call. Saturday and Sunday are not counted as part of the 24 hour time frame. If cannot reach by phone, appointment date is sent via letter. In the case of customers who require a coordinated meeting requiring others to be in attendance, (e.g., guardian, school personnel, interpreters) an appointment should be set within 5 working days of the initial contact. The appointment date that is set should be no longer than 30 calendar days from the initial contact.

Example – letter to referral Your friendly VR office 123 Main Street Anytown, NH Dear Joe, You were recently referred to NH Vocational Rehabilitation (VR). We are an agency that helps people with disabilities to get a job, keep the job, and develop a life time career. If you are interested, the first step is to meet with a counselor to learn more about VR and how we can help. To do this an appointment has been scheduled at our office for: January 15, 2005 (Friday) at 2:00 p.m. You will be meeting with me, Joe Counselor Your friendly VR office 123 Main Street Anytown, NH Services are based on eligibility – which simply means that the first thing we do is find out if you are eligible for VR services. To do this we will look to see if you have a disability; if your disability creates substantial problems in preparing for a job, getting a job, or keeping a job; and whether you require VR services to become employed or to stay employed. Please complete the enclosed forms and bring them with you to our meeting. If you have any medical documentation or information about your disability, it would be helpful if you could bring them to our meeting. While this is not required, it can be helpful in completing the eligibility process more quickly. If you have any questions, or need to reschedule this appointment, please give me a call at (603) xxx-xxxx. Thank you. I look forward to meeting with you on the 15th. Sincerely, Joe Counselor Enclosed: VR application (VR-1) Personal Information form 10 question survey VR brochure: Is VR for Me

Case Practice - Referral A referral is defined as any individual who has been brought to the attention of NH Vocational Rehabilitation by letter, telephone, direct contact or by other means for whom the following minimum information has been furnished: Contact information (i.e., name, address, phone) Disability Age and Gender Date of referral Source of referral Social Security Number (although not required at this time, best practice to obtain it if possible)

Case Practice - Referral All referrals will be entered into the CMS system and the 24 hour tracking sheet will be used to track time from initial contact through application and initial interview.

24 Hour Tracking Sheet - CMS

Required Elements Referral Source Referral Method 24Hr Appt offered 24Hr Appt Accepted Appointment Date App Packet Provided Mail Date (if packet mailed) *Orientation Given *Accommodations Requested

Referral Source Options: Drop Down Screen 24 Hour Tracking Sheet - CMS

Referral Method Letter Phone Verbal-In Person Video phone

24 Hour Tracking Sheet - CMS 24 Hr Appt Offered Y/N 24 Hr Appt Accepted Y/N

24 Hour Tracking Sheet - CMS Appointment Date

24 Hour Tracking Sheet - CMS App Packet Provided Mail Date

24 Hour Tracking Sheet - CMS Orientation Given Accommodations requested

Missed Appointment If the referral does not attend the scheduled initial interview appointment, the following information should be collected and recorded in the case notes: The reason for missed appointment, if available Attempt to contact the referral by phone to reschedule appointment If unable to reach my phone, a letter to the referral with a rescheduled appointment date or request to contact office to schedule an appointment date. Copies of any letters should be in the case file

Status 99 Documentation of attempts to contact and results of the contact. Minimal acceptable contacts are one attempt to reach referral by phone and two follow up letter contacts. The second letter can be a letter that notes if the referral does not respond, we will not pursue the referral any further (close case).

Status 99 How do I document the information? Case note of the attempt to reach by phone and the results of that attempt, including any contact with the referral Copies of the letters sent to referral

Examples