WU

Referrals

Ross Woods, Jan. 2010, rev. 2019

If you can’t help your client, you should refer him/her to another service that can. As a community services worker, you will often need to send your clients to other services and specialists (or to other departments in your own organization) to get various kinds of support.

How to prepare

You need an up-to-date list of all the available services that your organization normally works with and refers people to. You will need to get a full range of options on what you can do. (Sounds obvious, but you still need to do it.)

This may be a list of phone numbers and a simple way of referring. On your list, include a note on the accepted referral practice. For many services, a phone call referral is enough, especially if you have a continuing relationship. Some will need a letter of referral, perhaps from a medical practitioner.

Make sure the list is placed where you can easily see it in an emergency. However, you might need to make sure that only staff can see it. Places like women's refuges keep their addresses confidential to prevent visits from potentially violent relatives of clients.

Your list needs to be complete with contact details and any particular rules for accessing the service. You'd want to consider:

Are the services open to anybody in the general public, or only certain groups of people? (e.g. Aboriginal, unemployed, etc.)

Are appointments necessary? If so, how far in advance?

Do you need to talk to someone in particular, or just whoever answers the phone?

What can each one do? What can't they do?

How are their services paid for?

For example:

Name	Service	Phone number	Hours	Who to talk to	Referral procedure	Address	Fees
St John	Ambulance	000	Anytime	Whoever answers	N/a	N/a	Expensive
Dr Bones	Medical doctor (GP)	9555 1234	Office hours	Receptionist (make appointment)	Phone call	123 John Street, Littletown	Medicare only
The_house	AOD detox, withdrawal and support	90808080	Anytime	Receptionist	Phone call	765 High St, Littletown	N/a
Crisis Counseling Inc.	Mental health	98980765	Anytime	Whoever answers	N/a	21 Lame St, Littletown	N/a
Dr James Bottomly	Mental health	98767676	Office hours	Receptionist (make appointment)	GP letter	76 York Rd, Bigtown	Medicare
Littletown Police Station	Police	000 131444	Anytime	Whoever answers	N/a	234 Mark Street, Littletown	N/a
Dr John Schmittles	Pediatrician	91234555	Office hours	Receptionist (make appointment)	GP letter	35 Luke Street, Bigtown	Medicare
URBAN Womens Refuge	Domestic violence	91234567	Anytime	Sally Goodwin	Phone call	878 Jane St, Littletown	N/a
St Hilda’s	Emergency accommodation	98765432	Anytime	Roger Sims	Phone call	32 Thin St, Littletown	Means-tested
Inner City Inc.	Emergency accommodation	91919191	Anytime	Rick Smoo	Phone call and Centrelink letter	12 Long St, Littletown	Means-tested
Jobs R Us	Employment, careers & job advice	91234555	Office hours	Fred Jobs	Centrelink letter	71 Fat Way, Bigtown	N/a
Disability Services	Disability	91234555	Office hours	Maureen Murray	Phone call and GP Letter	32 High St, Littletown	N/a
GetRich Inc.	Financial counselling	91212121	Office hours	Ken Boyze	Phone call	12 High St, Littletown	N/a
Littletown Centre	Family and relationship counselling	98989788	Office hours	Sharron Botts	Phone call	8A:Low St, Littletown	Means-tested
Centrelink	Centrelink	98989898	Office hours	Whoever answers	Phone call	12 Fat Way, Bigtown	N/a
Kidz R Us	Child care	91231231	7.00 a.m. - 6.00 p.m.	Cheryl Girlze	Phone call	43 Long St, Littletown	Means-tested
DCP	Child protection	9123 4555	Office hours	Robyn Smith	Phone call	132 Matthew Street, Bigtown	N/a
Legal aid	Legal assistance	9125 5534	Office hours	Joseph Schlonk	Phone call	111 Matthew Street, Bigtown	Means-tested
Bigtown Community Legal	Legal assistance	9534 1255	Office hours	Jeff MacTavish	Phone call	11 Luke Street, Bigtown	Means-tested

The simple cases

You've already prepared the procedure, so now you only have to follow it.

Your agency will usually deal with the organizations and professionals on your list. Inside some of them, you will have the names of individuals you can contact directly. Over time, you'll build a good working relationship so you can solve problems as simply and efficiently as possible.

In practice, many referrals are quite simple. A simple discussion is often enough. You phone up, talk to the contact person, ask about referring someone, state exactly what kind of support your client needs from them, and then send the client around.

In some cases, you should be present during the meeting with the other service. For example:

You need to introduce the client personally.

The person is mentally or physically incapable of representing themselves, and doesn’t have anyone else.

You have duty of care for a client with a drug abuse issue and are referring him/her to a medical practitioner. You might want to check that the client does not tell a fairly tale to get particular prescription drugs. In this kind of case, you need the client's permission to attend.

You should then do whatever is necessary to keep all records maintained, stored and accessible; fill in the case notes and referral notes (Follow your routine procedures.)

The other cases

Sometimes you might have to negotiate. Things to watch out for:

If you have to provide information about the client, follow your organization's policies. Privacy is a factor, but you are allowed to release information that was given for the purpose of getting help.

You may have specific referral procedures, such as a form or a formal letter, or a procedure, or other prerequisites.

Make sure the decisions on a course of action are very clear; write them down if they're complicated.

In many cases, you can't just refer people to other organizations; you'll have to work with them to provide services to clients. During that time, keep in contact with your client and make sure they get the support they need. Later on, you may need to develop longer term plans so that the services runs self-sufficiently, without you needing to keep an eye on it.

Will the referral help the client? You’ll probably also need to evaluate the benefit of referral to the client, and several ways are quire common. You can discuss options with the client, carers and family. Were the satisfied? What sort of things didn't work or went wrong?

Be aware that some services work under different kinds of limitations. For example:

Check the availability and accessibility of services. For example, if you recommend a residential facility, you might want to know if they always have beds available. If it's a specialist, the waiting list for an appointment (often up to six weeks) might be so long that it does not help some clients.

Civil servants can generally only tell you what the law says, and will avoid interpreting it for you.

Most organizations (and all government agencies) have clear procedures on how to accept referrals. They may be quite simple, but not always.

Members of most organizations don't want to be vulnerable to complaints and litigation from members of the public, so they don't readily admit mistakes unless they are aware of the facts and can rectify problems within their service policies.

Most will follow legal guidelines and professional codes of conduct, some of which may be unfavorable to you. For example, some may be unwilling to disclose information to you even if you have a signed authorization.

Getting referrals from other organizations

You will have to inform other organizations about what you do so that they can refer clients to you. This means having information for them (usually a brochure or website) and telling them your procedure for accepting new clients. It will also involve handling telephone referrals.

Be relevant and current. Make sure the written information is adapted specifically for their needs, and not cluttered with difficult language or unhelpful information. When giving information orally by phone, make sure you ask the right questions so you know exactly what they need.

Gather feedback on your written materials. You might find that they are not as clear as you thought, or even that they are used for purposes that you hadn't expected. (For example, people might use your fund-raising brochures for referring clients.) Use the feedback to develop future materials and resources.

Referral ethics

Link: Ethics in community services