LSC seeks comments on its Draft Characteristics of a Telephone Intake, Advice and Referral System.

After considering comments received from the field to these draft characteristics, LSC’s Office of Program Performance plans to publish the characteristics in a Program Letter and use them as the best practice standard when evaluating programs’ intake systems.

In arriving at the Draft Characteristics, LSC staff reviewed many documents describing standards for intake systems including the ABA Draft Standards For The Operation of A Telephone Hotline Providing Legal Advice and Information and the AARP Legal Hotline Best Practice Tips Guide published in July 2000. We also solicited input from a number of leaders in the arena of intake systems. These Draft Characteristics were also presented during a workshoip on "Best Practices" at the March ABA/NLADA Equal Justice Conference.

The Legal Services Corporation has vocally advocated the use of Telephone Intake Advice and Referral Systems for many years. In 1996 LSC and the Legal Counsel for the Elderly sponsored a Conference on Centralized Telephone Intake and Delivery. The Office of the Inspector General that year published Increasing Legal Services Delivery Capacity through Information Technology. In March 1997 LSC published Basic Elements of Effective Centralized Telephone Intake and Delivery Systems in which LSC advocated the use of a centralized telephone intake system. In September of 1997 Uses of Technology in Centralized Telephone Intake And Delivery Systems was published and in March 1998 LSC published Intake Systems Report Innovative Uses of Centralized Telephone Intake and Delivery in Five Programs.

LSC now wants to obtain as many opinions as possible from all interested parties before proceeding to the next step in publishing the Characteristics in a Program Letter later this year. The Characteristics will then be included in the LSC Evaluation Guidelines and used as part of the competitive bidding evaluation process.

We request that you send your comments to John C. Eidleman, Program Counsel, at eidlemaj@lsc.gov by June 7, 2001.

These characteristics apply to telephone advice and referral intake systems. LSC recognizes that telephone advice and referral intake systems are not the only way that clients access services. Indeed, a telephone advice and referral intake system may not be the best way for certain segments of the client population to access services. However, LSC does recognize that a telephone advice and intake system is the most effective and efficient method of providing services to the vast majority of legal service programs’ clients.

These Characteristics are intended to be progressive, forward looking and aspirational. At the same time, we intend them to be realistic and achievable. LSC knows that some recipients can only seek to reach these Characteristics in the future. The development of a superb intake system can be expensive. Strategic planning is necessary in developing an intake system to ensure that the system has adequate resources to do its job well. At the same time, the intake system should not be a drain of essential resources from other critical parts of the delivery system, including extended services.

These Characteristics apply to both free-standing and extended service programs.¹ LSC does not have a preference between these two types of intake systems and believes that both serve an important and needed role in serving clients.

The intake interview is primarily done by telephone.

Exceptions are made for the convenience of clients including those without a telephone or unable to communicate by telephone.

Offices, outreach sites or other arrangements are available for applicants who need in-person interviews.

There is a policy to deal with call volume that provides access within a reasonable period of time after the initial contact. One example is an Automatic Call Distribution phone system that places applicants in a queue for no more than twenty minutes.

When placed on hold, the applicant is told of the estimated waiting time or given the option to call back.

Applicants can speak with a legal worker at the time of initial contact in most cases.

Intake systems that are designed to avoid callbacks are favored. Callbacks are used infrequently. Circumstances include when none of the staff is available, the applicant has been given the option to receive a callback rather than wait in the queue or the call is received outside of the regular hours of operation of the intake system. When callbacks are use they should designate a time when the call will be made. If a callback occurs, it generally occurs within 24 hours of the call.

LSC encourages intake systems that have evening or Saturday hours to help applicants who cannot access the system during normal office hours.

When the intake system is accessed outside of business hours, a recorded message informs the applicant of the hours of operation.

Calls are local or toll-free. Documents can be faxed to the intake worker without cost to the applicant. Arrangements are made, by the program, with social service and other agencies for applicants to use the agencies’ fax capabilities at no charge to send documents to the program.

There are regular hours of operation, publicized and known in the client community.

Applicants are clearly informed of the scope of service that will be available from the intake system. If it provides only advice, brief service and referral the applicant must be clear as to the limitations.

There are specific, written protocols for emergencies and walk-ins.

There are specific, written protocols describing the operation of the intake system that is available to staff and updated as changes to the system occur.

Programs with multiple offices have one intake system that is the point of entry for all applicants.

The staffing structure recognizes the importance of intake as a key to successful delivery of services. For example, it relies on staff who has experience and expertise in the area of intake.

Staffing levels are adequate to serve client communities without routinely relying on callbacks.

The intake system is integrated with the provider’s other units or components.

A free-standing intake system provider is integrated into the overall delivery system of the service area.

The staff is knowledgeable in substantive areas affecting clients and in intake delivery procedures as appropriate for the size of the legal services provider.

The staff employ resource materials or manuals to support their work.

The staff have access to information about non-legal services that may be of assistance to the applicant. The staff is knowledgeable about these services and refers applicants when appropriate.

The staff is knowledgeable about intake policies of other legal services providers to whom the applicant may be referred.

The staff schedule is reasonably adjusted to avoid burnout caused by excessive hours on intake.

The staff receives regular training on issues of substantive law and intake skills.

The staff consists of generalists or specialists who have cross training in one or more other legal areas.

There are specific, written protocols describing the operation of the intake system that are available to staff and updated as changes to the system occur.

The staff engages in regular internal communication and scheduled meetings of intake workers to discuss emergent or common legal issues and system operations.

The legal services provider’s written case acceptance policy provides guidelines regarding: eligibility, conflicts, cases to be accepted, services to be provided, and cases appropriate for referral.

A decision is made promptly as to whether, and what type of, assistance will be provided. The applicant is promptly informed of the decision.

Denials based on case type (not falling within priorities, restrictions) will be referred to other service providers, where available.

Denials based on lack of legal merit (statutes of limitations, facts) require no further action other than supervisory review.

For a case where the decision by the intake worker is that advice or brief service is the appropriate assistance, that assistance is promptly provided, and is summarized in a letter or e-mail to the client. Assistance is often supplemented with legal information, forms, community service information, and web site information.

Cases requiring extended assistance are promptly referred to the extended assistance unit for review or the applicant is given an appointment. The referring intake staff will notify the applicant of the referral action in writing.

Cases originating from a free-standing intake program requiring extended assistance are promptly referred to an appropriate provider for extended service. The referring intake staff will notify the applicant of the referral action in writing.

When preliminary advice is given pending a decision on extended assistance, the staff giving the advice will advise the applicant that the action of giving preliminary advice does not mean that the case will be accepted for extended assistance.

Within two business days of the referral, the extended assistance unit or program receiving the referral will contact the applicant. Within five business days of the referral, a decision will be made concerning acceptance of the case, and the applicant will be promptly notified.

The program provides a toll free number (either local or 800 number) for the applicant to call to get into the intake system.

The initial intake options are provided by the telephone system. Options may include a language choice, recorded substantive information or the types of services provided by the program.

The instructions are multi-lingual in locations that require it.

The telephone system provides information on the program, intake procedure, and basic legal problem areas.

It provides methods for an applicant to reach a live attendant if needed.

It is capable of routing calls to multiple intake locations if required by the intake system.

It can advise an applicant on the expected hold time and give an option to leave callback information.

If the initial intake worker transfers the applicant to a casehandler, the system will have the ability to route the call to the casehandler without the applicant having to call back or call a different number.

The system is either designed so that the intake worker can see who is available for calls and route the applicant to that person, or the system does it automatically after the intake worker puts the applicant into the queue.

The system is designed to accommodate persons with disabilities.

The legal services provider has a central database covering the entire intake area to allow information sharing and system-wide conflicts checking.

The software allows for regular backups of the database to ensure preservation of data.

There is eligibility checking with built-in error checking to insure CSR accuracy.

The software provides intake workers with a system of questions and advice for applicants keyed to legal problems.

It provides intake workers with searchable referral information on other agencies and service providers to provide applicants with additional help.

It stores sufficient information to prepare needed reports for management and funders.

It provides intake workers with the ability to generate customized form letters for applicants, clients and others, such as PBI attorneys or other agencies.

There is a designated supervisor of the intake systems who is an experienced attorney.

Within 24 hours of the initial contact, there is a review of intake decisions and assistance.

The review process is designed to screen for quality and to identify recurrent problems or issues in the client community.

Intake staff receives ongoing substantive and procedural training on performing intake.

Attention is given to the effectiveness of the intake system and results achieved for applicants and clients. For example, this can be done by using satisfaction surveys and, when appropriate, outcome measures.

Resource materials used by casehandlers are regularly reviewed and updated.

Based on ongoing evaluation, appropriate procedural changes are made in the intake system.

Legal services providers are aware of technological advances that benefit their intake systems as they become available and use those technologies to enhance the services they provide.

¹Free-standing programs are generally those whose primary goals and activities are to provide intake and brief service assistance and to refer most clients needing more extended assistance to other legal providers. Extended service programs are usually those that provide extended service in addition to advice, brief service and referral. These programs may receive most of the intake from free-standing programs or may have a unit that conducts intake and is integrated fully into the program.