Statewide Intake (SWI) Procedures Handbook
May 2007

This revision of the Statewide Intake (SWI) Procedures Handbook was published on May 1, 2007. Below are summaries of the revisions, followed by the revised items with significant changes noted in red. Not displayed are minor copyediting and formatting changes.

Cross-references to some of the items changed by this revision were updated in:

2190 Staffing With the SWI Supervisor

3150 Saving or Closing the Intake Stage

3621 Processing I&Rs for Other State and Social Service Agencies

3830 Down Time Call-Out, Notification, and Confirmation Procedures

4610 CPS Out-of-State Intakes

3900 Call-Out, Notification, and Assignment

SWI Procedures June 2005 May 2007

See:

4940 CPS Call-Out, Notification, and Assignment

5333 DCL Call-Out, Notification, and Assignment

5443 RCL Call-Out, Notification, and Assignment

6540 APS Call-Out, Notification, and Assignment

7730 AFC Call-Out, Notification, and Assignment

 

Item 3910 not affected by this revision

3911 Time of Transmission of Intake

SWI Procedures May 2007

The time of transmission is defined as the time the intake worker completes the intake and clicks the "Save & Assign" or "Save & Submit" button.

3920 Call-Out and Notification

SWI Procedures June 2005 May 2007

A call-out is a phone call from SWI staff to field staff during which SWI relates the details of a report before the IMPACT report has been transmitted.

SWI begins call-out procedures at 4 PM weekdays, except for AFC and CPS offices open after hours. See 3930 Assignment Charts.

Normal business hours are 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM CST/CDT, Monday through Friday. Call-outs begin at 4:00 PM Monday-Friday for offices with normal business hours. Some CPS offices have extended business hours. See 4942 CPS Offices Open After Regular Hours.

SWI follows regular open office procedures on skeleton crew holidays, as local offices are required to have office coverage.

Under most circumstances, support staff complete call-outs, notifications, faxes, and report confirmations to allow intake workers to move to the next incoming call.

Under certain circumstances the intake worker always performs the call-out or notification. See 3923 Call-Outs and Notifications Performed by Intake Workers.

3921 Call-Outs Performed by SWI Support Staff

SWI Procedures May 2007

Under most circumstances, SWI support staff completes call-outs.

In order for SWI support staff to provide the IMPACT history to the on-call staff, the intake worker must paste the IMPACT history into the narrative and document the:

  ·  date of the case(s), allegations and dispositions; and

  ·  names of the victims and perpetrators.

3921 Definitions of Call-Out and Notification

SWI Procedures June 2005

Call-Out

A call-out is a phone call during which SWI staff relates in detail a callers report to the field (local office or on-call staff) when the report has not been faxed or transmitted.

Notification

A notification is a phone call that provides an alert to field office of a P1 that is being transmitted through the automated system. No details are required.

3922 General Call-Out and Notification Procedures

SWI Procedures June 2005

When field offices are open call-outs and notifications are made to the routing coordinator.

When field offices are closed the intake or I&R is called out to the on-call staff. Notifications are generally made the following morning, with some exceptions (see 3924 Specific Call-Out Procedures).

See:

3925 Contacting On-Call Staff

Documenting Notification and Call-Out

If the intake worker performs the notification or call-out the call out information (date/time and complete name of person contacted) must be documented in the narrative. For example: Called out to [name of field staff] at [time] of this report. See Appendix 1000: Best Practice Narratives.

If support staff performs the notification or call-out the same information is documented in a contact report.

The person notified might not be the routing coordinator (RC) listed if someone else is covering the RC's phones. To be sure there is no confusion, tell the person notified that the intake or I&R will be saved and assigned to the RC's workload.

Saving and Assigning Intakes

If the intake requires call-out or notification by SWI support staff, the intake worker saves and assigns it to the designated support staffs workload.

If the intake is to be called out by support staff, the intake worker is required to not only paste into the narrative any open and/or relevant closed history, but also to document the dates of the allegations and dispositions, and the names of the victims and alleged perpetrators.

Saving and Assigning I&Rs

If the call is an I&R that requires call-out or notification, the I&R is saved and assigned it to the routing coordinator or the person who was given the information.

Deviations from Standard Procedures

There may be occasional exceptions to this procedure. Any special request from the field that causes deviation from these procedures is staffed with a supervisor and documented in the narrative or contact.

3922 3923 Call-Outs and Notifications Performed by Intake Workers

SWI Procedures June 2005 May 2007

An intake worker must always perform the call-out or notification in the following situations:

  ·  for all AFC intakes (because of the one-hour time frame field staff have to notify the facility superintendent of the report)

  ·  for APS P-1 intakes when field offices are open (notification)

  ·  for I&Rs for all program areas or CRSRs that require an immediate response from the field

  ·  for emergencies that cannot wait for the report to be completed in IMPACT and assigned to support staff (intakes, I&Rs, or CRSRs)

  ·  when support staff are not available

  ·  when directed to do so by a supervisor

  ·  when SWI support staff is not on site.

When SWI Support Staff Is Not On Site

If SWI support staff is not on site and the intake worker has called out the report, occasionally the field worker may request that the report be assigned immediately to his or her workload. Under these circumstances the intake worker:

  ·  documents the on-call worker's request in the narrative;

  ·  prints the Call Summary information, which is located at the bottom of the Intake Action page. The easiest way to do this is to cut and paste the Call Summary information into a Word document;

  ·  prints this document and makes a notation on it that the intake worker called out the intake and already sent it to the field, and that support staff needs to process the LEN;

  ·  places this document in the A.M. LEN box in the support staff area in the main SWI room; and

  ·  saves and assigns the intake directly to the field worker.

3923 Call-Outs Requiring Supervisory Approval

SWI Procedures May 2007

The following situations require supervisory approval prior to call-out:

P-1 Intakes Between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.

All P-1 intakes that are to be processed between the hours of 10:00 PM and 8:00 AM for all programs except AFC must be staffed. (See7730 AFC Call Out, Notification, and Assignment)

The worker and the staffing supervisor assess the urgency of the P-1, and the supervisor determines whether the intake needs to be called out during the late night hours or whether it can be held for morning.

The worker documents this staffing decision in the narrative.

Emergency Situations

Regardless of the time of day, any emergency situation assessed by the intake worker to need immediate field response and call-out because the situation cannot wait for the completion and assignment of the automated report must have supervisor approval before call-out. (For exceptions, see 7730 AFC Call Out, Notification, and Assignment).

The intake worker then documents in the narrative the field staff who was contacted. After completion of the intake, the intake worker follows the instructions on the appropriate program's assignment chart.

If SWI support staff is not available, see When SWI Support Staff is Not On Site, in 3922 Call-Outs Performed by Intake Workers.

3923.1 SWI Supervisor On-Call Schedule

SWI Procedures May 2007

There are times when no supervisor or acting supervisor is in the building, for example late at night when supervisor shifts may not overlap. If a supervisor or acting supervisor is needed to give permission for a call out at such times the intake worker contacts the supervisor on call.

The Supervisor On-Call schedule can be accessed on the "Supervisor Schedule" block on the "Schedule Page" of the SWI Web site.

If the person listed cannot be reached, the intake worker tries the next person on the list or calls one of the program directors.

3924 Documenting Call-Out

SWI Procedures May 2007

If the intake worker performs the call-out, the call-out information (date/time and complete name of person contacted) must be documented in the narrative. For example: "Called out to [name of field staff] at [time] of this report. "

If SWI support staff performs the call-out, the call-out information is documented in a contact report.

3924.1 Saving and Assigning Intakes

SWI Procedures May 2007

If the intake requires call-out by SWI support staff, the intake worker saves and assigns it to the designated support staff's workload. See 3930 Call-Out and Assignment Charts.

3924 Specific Call-Out Procedures

SWI Procedures June 2005

Call-Outs Requested by Law Enforcement

For call-outs requested by law enforcement, see 2182.4 Request from Law Enforcement to Speak to Field Staff.

Call-Outs Requiring Supervisory Approval

The following situations require supervisory approval prior to call-out:

  ·  Any intake taken between 10:00pm and 8:00am (exception: AFC intakes and CPS open field office), when the field needs to respond to the situation before the next morning at 8:00 am.

  ·  Any emergency situation (other than AFC) assessed by intake worker to need immediate field response and call-out because the situation cannot wait for the completion and assignment of the automated report

When in doubt about whether or not to call out a report, staff with a supervisor.

See 3930 Assignment Charts.

3925 Contacting On-Call Staff

SWI Procedures June 2005 May 2007

Time Frames for Contacting On-Call Staff

On-call staff is only contacted when the field office is closed. When the field office is open the routing coordinator (RC) is always contacted first.

Procedures for Contacting On-Call Staff

When calling out an intake, follow the procedures below:

1.   Using the IMPACT On-Call Schedule, select the appropriate staff person to call by following the numerical order of field preference for contact. See FYI: Search for On-Call Schedules.

      For The word open, office, or the @ symbol in the Ext. field indicates an office open after regular business hours, with staff in the office. SWI should contact the open office instead of the on-call staff. See 4942 CPS Offices Open After Regular Hours, for individual office schedules.

2.   Call the on-call staffs home phone number first, unless on-call schedule advises differently. If you get an answering machine, leave a message. Identify yourself, the date and time of the call, and request that the on-call staff call you at 1-800-252-3223. Provide your extension. Exception: For call-outs between 4 pm and 5 pm weekdays, the intake worker calls the office number first.

3.   If the on-call staff is not at home, page or call the on-call staffs cellular phone. Page the on-call staff at least two times within 20 minutes. Because some pagers have a limit on the number of digits they accept enter 800 ext. [your extension].

      Many field staff are now using cell phones instead of pagers. Be sure to contact all numbers listed for the on-call staff before moving to the next person on the list.

4.   If there is no response after 20 minutes, call the home number of the person listed as #2. If the #2 staff is not at home, page or call the #2 staffs cellular phone. Page the on-call staff at least two times within 20 minutes. Request that the on-call staff call you at SWI at 800 ext. [your extension]

      If an SWI supervisor has already approved the call-out It is not necessary to obtain additional approval before contacting other on-call field staff, even on-call supervisors.

5.   If the #2 person listed does not respond, repeat the same procedure with the persons listed in the IMPACT on-call schedule in the numerical order indicated.

6.   If after 20 minutes of attempting to contact the final person on the schedule without response, consult with the SWI supervisor. The supervisor may decide that another field supervisor or program manager must be contacted at home.

Documenting Multiple Attempts to Contact the Field

Only one I&R is necessary to document all call outs for a single intake. If several calls have to be made to contact an on-call staff, the time of each prior attempt is documented in the narrative section of the last, successful callout.

Refusal by On-Call Staff to Take the Report

Occasionally, the field staff listed and contacted does not want to take the report or denies being on call.

After rechecking the On-Call Schedule, SWI explains that this person is listed as on call. If the field staff still refuses, SWI contacts the next person listed on the schedule. See 3927.2 Handling Problems With Call-Outs.

If field indicates that the case should not be assigned to the county indicated on the On-Call Schedule, the intake worker screen-prints the On-Call Schedule and the Call Summary of the intake for review and resolution by a SWI supervisor.

 

Item 3926 not affected by this revision.

3927 On-Call Schedule Changes

SWI Procedures June 2005 May 2007

Local office staff is responsible for updating the on-call schedule and for ensuring that contact numbers are current, that schedules show the correct workers, and that all hours are covered. It is the fields responsibility to maintain the On Call Schedule.

When field staff requests changes to the On-Call Schedule for the local area, SWI staff must be consistent in responding. In most circumstances, SWI staff reminds field staff that it is the field's responsibility to update the On-Call Schedule. If field staff does not know how to update the On Call Schedule, refer staff to the SWI Procedures Handbook 3927.1 To Change an On Call Schedule. These instructions can be pasted directly into an e-mail to the local office if assistance is needed.

If it is a weather-related situation, but field staff is still in the building, SWI staff reminds field staff that it is the responsibility of the local office to update the On-Call Schedule.

However, SWI staff should not insist that field staff update the schedule. SWI staff reports the unwillingness of field staff to update the On Call Schedule. Procedures are outlined in 3927.2 Handling Problems With Call-Outs.

SWI updates the on-call schedule under the following circumstances:

  ·  If it is an emergency situation and field staff cannot complete an update, SWI staff accepts the information and makes the necessary changes.

  ·  If field staff is calling in a requested change away from the office and it is not during normal business hours/days for local office staff. If the change is not due to an emergency and was an oversight by field staff, report this concern according to the procedures outlined in 3927.2 Handling Problems With Call-Outs.

If the On-Call change must be made by SWI, the change should be entered by Automation staff. If Automation staff is not available, changes can be made to the On-Call Schedule by support staff authorized by a supervisor to make such changes.

Do not send an Instant Message to the floor with the change.

When field staff call in requested changes to the On Call Schedule for their area SWI staff must be consistent in responding. SWI management requires that SWI staff follow the guidelines in the scenarios below to communicate who is responsible for maintaining the schedule.

Scenario 1

Field staff is in the office calling in a change for that day or evening.

      SWI staff reminds field staff that it is their responsibility to update the On Call Schedule with the requested changes prior to leaving the building.

      If field staff does not know how to update the On Call Schedule, refer them to this handbook, 3927.1 To Change an On Call Schedule. These instructions can be pasted directly into an e-mail to the local office if they need assistance in learning how to update their on-call schedule. However, SWI staff should not insist that field staff update the schedule themselves.

      If the On Call change must be made by SWI it should be entered by Automation staff. If Automation staff is not available, changes can be made to the On Call Schedule by support staff authorized by their supervisor to make such changes.

      It is the field's responsibility to maintain this information when they return to the office to ensure the appropriate on-call staff are listed.

      Do not send an Instant Message to the floor with the change.

      SWI staff reports the unwillingness of field staff to update the On Call Schedule according to the procedures outlined in 3927.2 Handling Problems With Call-Outs. 

Scenario 2

Field staff is calling in a requested change away from the office and it is not during normal business hours/days for local office staff.

      SWI staff will accept the information and make the necessary changes as outlined above.

      If the change is not due to an emergency and was an oversight by field staff, report this concern according to the procedures outlined in 3927.2 Handling Problems With Call-Outs.

Scenario 3

It is an emergency situation and field staff must evacuate their building.

      SWI staff will accept the information and make the necessary changes as outlined above.

Scenario 4

It is a weather-related situation and field staff are getting ready to leave their building, but have not left yet.

      SWI staff reminds field staff that it is their responsibility to update the On Call Schedule.

      Report the unwillingness of field staff to update the On Call Schedule according to the procedures outlined in 3927.2 Handling Problems With Call-Outs.

Scenario 5

The field staff listed in the On Call Schedule as the person on call refuses to accept the call out.

      Proceed to the next person on call. 

      Report this On Call Schedule concern according to the procedures outlined in 3927.2 Handling Problems With Call-Outs.

 

Item 3727 contains grammatical changes only and will not be displayed here.

3927.2 Handling Problems With Call-Outs

SWI Procedures June 2005 May 2007

On Call problems impede the notification or call out of intake information to field staff.

When field staff requests changes to the On-Call Schedule for the local area, SWI staff must be consistent in responding. In most circumstances, SWI staff reminds field staff that it is the field's responsibility to update the On-Call Schedule. If field staff does not know how to update the On Call Schedule, refer staff to the SWI Procedures Handbook 3927.1 To Change an On Call Schedule. These instructions can be pasted directly into an e-mail to the local office if assistance is needed.

If it is a weather-related situation, but field staff is still in the building, SWI staff reminds field staff that it is the responsibility of the local office to update the On-Call Schedule.

However, SWI staff should not insist that field staff update the schedule. SWI staff reports the unwillingness of field staff to update the On Call Schedule. Procedures are outlined in 3927.2 Handling Problems With Call-Outs.

SWI updates the on-call schedule under the following circumstances:

  ·  If it is an emergency situation and field staff cannot complete an update, SWI staff accepts the information and makes the necessary changes.

  ·  If field staff is calling in a requested change away from the office and it is not during normal business hours/days for local office staff. If the change is not due to an emergency and was an oversight by field staff, report this concern according to the procedures outlined in 3927.2 Handling Problems With Call-Outs.

If the On-Call change must be made by SWI, the change should be entered by Automation staff. If Automation staff is not available, changes can be made to the On-Call Schedule by support staff authorized by a supervisor to make such changes.

Do not send an Instant Message to the floor with the change.

To ensure that these issues are resolved timely and addressed appropriately with field staff, follow the procedures below.

If support staff calls out an intake and the field indicates that the case should not be assigned to the county they are covering, make a screen print of the On Call Schedule and the Call Summary of the intake and take them to a SWI supervisor or acting supervisor to resolve.

Problems To Report to the SWI Risk Director

  ·  No On Call information listed

  ·  Incorrect On Call information entered

  ·  Refusal to update On Call schedule for a non-emergency situation

  ·  On Call list shows someone as the person to contact but he/she refuses to accept the intake

  ·  Could not reach on call staff within appropriate amount of time

  ·  No answer during the lunch hour

To Report the Problem to the SWI Risk Director

1.   Make a screen print of  the affected portion of the On Call Schedule.

2.   Write the following information at the bottom of the print screen page: Please write legibly.

  ·  Your full name or the name of the SWI employee with an On Call Schedule or call out concern

  ·  The Call ID number you are calling out (if applicable)

  ·  The county number or name

  ·  The name(s) of the field staff you spok with or had difficulty reaching

  ·  The date and time the On Call concern arose. If you had a difficulty reaching on call staff list, in order, the times of each call out and the phone number you called (home, pager, cell, or office).

  ·  Details of the particulars concerning the On Call issue

3.   Place the print screen page in the SWI risk directors mailbox.

3930 Call-Out and Assignment Charts

SWI Procedures June 2005 May 2007

Click the links below to open Word documents containing the assignment charts.

CPS Assignment Chart

APS In-Home Assignment Chart

AFC Assignment Chart

CCL Assignment Chart

I&R Assignment Chart