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Attachment <br />Information & Referral System <br />Since developing an effective information and referral <br />system is crucial to inter - program coordination, the Inter - <br />Program Coordination group spent much of their time discussing <br />the desired characteristics of such a system. The topic came up <br />in the other groups as well. <br />The following list of criteria for a desirable I &R system <br />was taken from flip chart sheets and individual questionnaires. <br />Since forum participants directed a significant portion of their <br />energies towards sketching a conceptual model of the ideal <br />system, it seems appropriate to record that information in this <br />report. <br />The characteristics participants desired in an ideal I &R system <br />were: <br />Be user - friendly. <br />Operate 24- hours /day on toll -free lines. <br />Use a person rather than.an automated voice. <br />Offer its services in Spanish as well as English (and other <br />languages as needed). <br />Provide information in jargon -free, easily understood <br />language. <br />Be timely /current /responsive to.changes. <br />Be sensitive to needs of individuals. <br />Be staffed by trained personnel. <br />Be accessible to all. <br />Obtain relevant information efficiently; doesn't just <br />distribute it efficiently. <br />Be evaluated by users. <br />Be value- and client - driven, not technology- driven. <br />Stay aware of the continuum of need and diversity of <br />residents. <br />Include informal resources for help, such as churches. <br />Involve a research component (for example, ask for zip code <br />of user) to assist in assessing needs. <br />Require thorough marketing: <br />to obtain community support for it, <br />- to ensure.community access to it, and <br />-.to emphasize the human -ness of it. <br />Operate similar to a 911 system. <br />There was considerably support for a centralized, <br />computerized I &R system in Orange County. However, forum <br />participants requested that the proposed triangle -wide system <br />provide further definition and evaluation before the local human <br />services network agrees to support it. <br />0 <br />