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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 12-01-1997 - 9c ' I ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Action Agenda Item No. q-c. ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: December 1, 1997 SUBJECT: Computerized Information and Referral-Orange Resource Connection DEPARTMENT: Manager's Office PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) ►?d BUDGET AMENDMENT: (Y/N) ?u ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: ORC Survey Results Albert T. Kittrell, Assistant County Manager ORC Information TELEPHONE NUMBERS: - - ext. 2300 Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel Hill 968-4501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane 227-2031 PURPOSE: To review the operations of the Computerized Information and Referral System- Orange Resource Connection(ORC) and consider renewing performance agreement with the Triangle United Way to administer the system. BACKGROUND: In November 1994, the Board received a report from the Human Services Coordinating Council and the County Manager suggesting methods to improve youth/family services coordination and the human services delivery system. Many of the suggestions were the results of dialogue among human services agencies, Human Services Advisory Commission Forums, and the Public Private Partnership trip to Bloomington, Ind. The Board approved recommendations toward the enhancement of the human services delivery system by authorizing staff to research the effectiveness of computerized information and referral services. The Manager's Office hired a Master of Public Administration Intern(MPA) to assess available I&R systems and recommend a plan of action. In May 1995, the Board endorsed the concept and implementation of a computerized information and referral system as presented by the MPA Intern's report. The system would essentially replace the loose leaf binder (Orange Book) used by agencies throughout the County. Also the goal of the I&R system was to improve coordination and communication among human services agencies. In June 1995,the United Way of Greater Orange County agreed to provide ongoing administration for a county-wide I&R system. Also, the Board approved a contract between the Partnership for Young Children and Orange County for $50,000 of Smart Start funds for start up and operation of the system. Orange County contributed $25,000 in June and $15,000 in August 1995. j In August 1995, the County entered into an agreement with the United Way of Greater Orange County to develop a county-wide computerized I&R system for ' human services and provide ongoing administration. In January 1996, the United Way of Orange, Wake and Durham Counties consolidated to form the Triangle United Way. In March 1996. the Computerized I&R became operational and officially named the "Orange Resource Connection". Staff turnover and reassignment of duties among the personnel of the new Triangle United Way created service gaps during the period of May 1996 to September 1996. In October 1996, the new United Way staff began an intensive effort to eliminate service gaps and improve the system. In June 1996, the Partnership for Young Children approved $19,720 and County allocated $31,000 to the Triangle United Way for administration of the ORC during the 1996-97 fiscal year. In June 1997, the Partnership for Young Children did not approve funding for the ORC. The County included $31,000 for fiscal year 1997-98 budget for ORC, however, an agreement with the Triangle United Way has not been approved by the Board. At the September 16, 1997 Commissioners Meeting, the Board did not approve an agreement with the Triangle United Way for administration of the ORC. The Board expressed concerns regarding the ORC and requested staff to report on the effectiveness of the computerized system. In October 1997, the Manager's Office surveyed the 54 users (human services agencies) that have installed the software which is the I&R system. Approximately 28 users responded to the survey. The survey results are attached. (Please note that the name of the software package is IRis and is mentioned several times in survey). Most users believe the ORC is an important resource and a better I&R tool than the Orange Book. Although the ORC was viewed favorably, the experiences with the software package and actual usage varied greatly among agencies. The Triangle United Way has submitted goals, outcomes and funding options for the ORC (pages 6-11) and will demonstrate the IRis software package. The Partnership For Young Children(Smart Start) plans to reconsider funding for the ORC, since additional funding has been provided by the State to that agency recently. RECOMMENDATION(S): The manager recommends that Board renew the performance agreement with the Triangle United Way to administer the Orange Resource Connection. 1 t Attachment 1 Orange County Manager"s Office Orange Resource Connection 1. Orange Resource Connection is an important resource in Orange County. (22) Agree (2) Disagree 2. Orange Resource Connection is a reliable service that allows your agency staff to respond promptly to client questions/concerns. (15) Agree (7) Disagree 3. Please estimate how many times your agency has referred clients using the IRis program in the last month? (Avg. 2.9) last 6 months? (Avg. 12.1) How many times have you or your agency used IRis for non-referral purposes in the last month? (Avg. 0.8) last 6 months? (Avg. 2.7) Have you ever contacted the staff of Orange Resource Connection for information about the IRis program? (17) Yes (8) No 4. Can you describe a typical encounter with Orange Resource Connection services? I have contacted Orange Resource Connection regarding volunteers through this program. ♦ Friendly, responsive. ♦ Calls are returned promptly and staff has offered to assist our office re: adapting IRis to our particular needs. ♦ Months ago we were informed our equipment did not have capacity for program. ♦ In the beginning, encounters were informative. However,our disk was not workable. We were never contacted for follow-up. ♦ Staff is extremely helpful. ♦ N/A. ♦ I usually contact the director for help. ♦ Only occurred in updating information and installing IRis. ♦ Excellent, very helpful. ♦ Good and helpful. ♦ Excellent one-on-one contact. Recently assisted with providing mailing labels for a mass mailing--Names and addresses came from their database. It would have taken forever to do this manually. ♦ No. ♦ Most excellent response. ♦ Very prompt and courteous service. ♦ Have not experienced it. ♦ Very personable. ♦ When a client has a request, and appropriate resources are not available, a call is made to Orange Resource Connection-- especially since they list sources in Durham and Wake County! ♦ Very helpful. ♦ Use it to look up possible referrals for residents when seeing pts. 5. Have you had any problems using the IRis program? (9) Yes (11) No 4 � 6. Do any barriers exist that keep you from utilizing IRis? (For example; hardware, training, difficulty in use?) None. ♦ No. ♦ Time constraints; unfamiliarity with program; need more training on generating reports. ♦ Hardware,training. ♦ Yes, all of the above. ♦ It was only on one computer on an office of five. It's no longer on that one since the computer crashed. We are planning on having it reinstalled. ♦ IRis does not really fit our needs. ♦ Hardware. • None. ♦ Mostly training. ♦ No. ♦ Nothing. ♦ Keeping info. current? • Hardware--it would be nice if we had on-line capabilities. ♦ Nonwindows based program. • No. ♦ No.. ♦ No--the staff is very helpful with set-up. ♦ Limited computer access in community based services. Cannot afford internet service charges monthly. ♦ System not available here. ♦ Over summer,program was deleted from my computer. Need re-load. ♦ Physical setup and hardware. ♦ Hardware--IRis needs to be memory resident for quick access. ♦ No, very usable. 7 What would you change about the IRis program? Nothing at this time. ♦ More frequent updates. ♦ Needs to be more user-friendly or more simple to use. ♦ Reliable. ♦ Don't know. ♦ Not sure--I'm not familiar enough with it to make suggestions. ♦ ? ♦ ? ♦ Would like to see it statewide in order to respond to our total patient. ♦ Nothing yet. ♦ Can only load it on one computer because of its size. It is too large to be put on older, smaller computers. ♦ Windows based installation. ♦ More information. ♦ Printable resource lists. ♦ Nothing. ♦ N/A. ♦ Client information--more user friendly. Want to track unduplicated counts more efficiently. Add support groups and Durham and Chatham county info. ♦ Easier to log in and retrieve info. ♦ Make it so you can print out agency info. with listings of associated programs. Easily done by connecting the program to MS Access. 8. Orange Resource Connection's services should be expanded. (10) Agree (9) Disagree 9. Orange Resource Connection's services should be reduced. (1) Agree (17) Disagree 10. The Orange Book was more effective than Orange Resource Connection. (4) Agree (12) Disagree 1 a 5 11. How could Orange Resource Connection improve its services to the community? No recommendations. ♦ Bill Norcross does a good job of community outreach. ♦ Don't know how IRis itself could be improved. ♦ If it was available thru public computers at locations such as Post Office, etc. ♦ More on-site training--help with hardware and software. ♦ Make more agencies aware of IRis program. ♦ Books are on the way for those of us who don't have the $ for computers on every employee's desk--I hope. ♦ Involve agency staff more in planning, feedback,etc. This survey hopefully will help give agencies an opportunity to provide these suggestions. ♦ Identify more available resources in Orange County. They are all in Wake Co. (not all,but the majority). ♦ Make it memory resident of PC and Windows based. ♦ 1. When calls are forwarded, Orange Resource Connection, should be part of the answer. 2. Have IRis more readily available to the public--schools, public housing, family resource centers, libraries, etc. (Grant money may be available for the equipment.) ♦ I think they are doing a great job. Attachment 2 ' 6 ORANGE RESOURCE CONNECTION Orange Resource Connection provides a comprehensive coordinated information resource and referral service for all populations in Orange County via a toll free number 1-800-831-1754 or the local # 933-6371 The goals of Orange Resource Connection are to: • Increase resident's knowledge of resources and improve access to services • Build a cooperative relationship of compatibility among agencies to provide services more efficiently and effectively • Provide training to agencies implementing the IRIS software system * Compile data and information on service utilization to foster improved coordination and planning to address unmet needs • Conduct promotional, public relations, advertising and marketing to increase public awareness • Continue to implement and enhance the unified comprehensive database to meet community needs 7 Information and Referral System provides: • INFORMATION AND REFERRAL TO ALL ORANGE COUNTY RESIDENTS • SINGLE POINT OF ENTRY INTO A COMPLEX SOCIAL SERVICE NETWORK • CENTRALIZED DATABASE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES • COMMUNITY INTEGRATION OF SERVICE PROVIDERS • LINKAGE TO PROVIDERS BY ELECTRONIC NETWORK • QUALITY ASSURANCE BASED ON CLIENT FEEDBACK Results and outcomes: • CALL VOLUME PROVIDES A TOOL TO ASSESS COMMUNITY SERVICE UTILIZATION AND CALLER DEMOGRAPHICS • UTILIZATION WILL PRODUCE A GEOGRAPHICAL OVERVIEW OF WHERE CALLS ARE COMING FROM COUNTY WIDE • SERVICE AND RESOURCE GAPS WILL BE MDENTIFIED s THE SOFTWARE SYSTEM WILL GENERATE AND ALLOW TRACKING TO PERFORM STATISTICAL DATA INFORMATION IN ORANGE COUNTY • CONDUCT SIT VISITS TO AGENPTS TJTILIZING THE IRIS SYSTEM PROVIDE I, GAS NEEIJ$t 8 Basic Database Management: / Orange Resource Connection One staff person handles this position Community data is collected from: • Social service providers • Health care providers • Education providers • Libraries • Government information • Faith Communities Systems organization includes: • Maintaining computerized database • Knowledge of technical expertise needed to perform tasks • Resource files for back up • Producing specialized directories (disk or in hard back copy) • Housing National data of I&R services (disk or hard back copy) • Staff person responsible for collecting new community resources Provider Information collected: • Agency programs and service information(eligibility, guidelines, etc) • Client specific information, geographic info, age, need, how heard of service, and issues surrounding their specific problem • Statistical analysts on unmet needs, demographics, pertinent geographic info • Configuration of collected data 9 Community based Iris software users: • Installed Iris in 13 Agencies during 1997 • Installed Iris free to each agency including installation and training on the program • Orange Resource Connection maintains • 26 single user version • 4 multi user sites • 32 directory on disk • Trouble shooter for his software problems • Developed Iris user group Information and Referral Service: • Information and referral calls increased by 15% Advisory Committee for Orange County: • Advisory committee chair Laura Zimmerman, UNC • Advisory committee met 5 times in 1997 • Representation from United Way funded agencies, Orange County government, Local government representation, Orange County Association Community agencies, Faith Community and Hispanic Community leaders • It has already been identified from statistics gathered that information for the Hispanic Community is needed Media Public Relations: • Article in Voices of the Town on ORC ( April) • ORC featured in Straight Talk Newsletter(May) • Interview by Chapel Hill Herald (April) Community Collaboration ORC: • Coordinator active in housing, elderly, and youth related issues • Provides input on gaps in local services • Coordinator serves as Chief Information Officer for Youth Services Advisory Committee 10 INCLUSIVENESS OF MERGED DATABASES The goals of merging a three county database system for Durham, Orange, and Wake counties are: • Increase Triangle resident's knowledge of resources and improve access to services in the Triangle • Provide Triangle residents a single point of access to resources and services • Continue to implement and enhance the unified comprehensive database to meet community needs • Compile data and information on service utilization in the Triangle to foster improved coordination and planning to address unmet needs • Build a cooperative relationship of compatibility among agencies to provide services more efficiently and effectively • Provide training to agencies implementing the IRis software system • Maximize utilization of agencies using the technology • Provide cohesive promotions, public relations, advertising, and marketing to increase public awareness in the Triangle • Implementation assessment tool for adding additional county information systems to the database 4 11 Proposed Orange County Information and Referral Pricing Structure Service Analysis $35,000 Package $20,000 Package Community data collection X X Systems organization X X Provider information X X Community based IRis user utilization X X Information and referral line X I&R line in ORC = 20 hrs/wk I&R line at TUW= 10 hrs/wk Advisory committee staffed X Media public relations development X Community collaboration development X Triangle United Way backup X Financial Analysis $35,000 Package $20,000 Package Staff Salaries 39,000 27,060 Operating Expenses 15,720 9,420 Total Expenses 54,720 36,480 X=Services Rendered