Legacy Referrals | Add Referral

#Legacy Information on adding and managing referrals within "Record Efforts," our Legacy functionality

Updated over a week ago

Legacy Referrals have been sunsetted in ETO as of 2022. Learn more below!

Internal Referrals are faster, more user friendly, and track more data points! Update to internal referrals!


Add Referral

This feature allows you to refer a Participant to a different Site, Program, or Entity. ETO Administrators can limit the type of referral options available in a Program through the "Manage Programs" feature.

Referral types can be divided into 2 categories:

  1. Those that are “outside referrals” are to Entities

  2. Those that are “internal referrals” are to other Programs in the Site, or to other Sites on the enterprise. Internal referrals are unique because they can be accepted or not accepted from the "View Pending Referrals" page.

If you are looking for a way to make a referral for a group, family, or list of Participants, please see "Multiple Participant Referrals" for more information.

In-Depth Instructions

Step 1 – On the Navigation Bar, click "Record Efforts". Then select "Add Referral".

Step 2 – Search for a Participant in your Program by full or partial last name (and first name), SSN or Case Number.

  • Check the box to include dismissed Participants in the search results.

  • To see all Participants, leave the search box empty.

Step 3 – Select the Participant you wish to refer by clicking on their name.

Step 4 – After clicking on the Participant, most Users will see a list of 5 options:

  1. to Site

  2. to Entity (Service Providers)

  3. to Entity (Employers)

  4. to Entity (Educational Institution)

  5. to Program

Referrals to Entities

Entity Types can be further categorized by the ETO Administrator using the Define Entity Sub-Types feature. To have the ability to refer by Entity Sub-Type, Site Administrators can activate this feature via the "Manage Programs" page by checking the box labeled Entity Sub-Type with Referrals on the Referral Settings tab. This can be very helpful for organizations who have a large pool of Entities within a Type. For example, if a Program contains 200 service providers, it would be much easier for a User to select the Entity from the Sub-Type of food pantry service providers, which contains 15 Entities.

Step 5 – If your Program is set up for Entity Sub-Type with referrals, you will be prompted to select a Sub-Type. Then click the Submit button.

Step 6 – Select the service provider (Entity) that the Participant is being referred to from the drop-down.

-- Depending on how the ETO Administrator configures the setting on "Manage My Site", it is possible that the last option in the drop-down will be “Add New Entity.” If selected, an arbitrary text box appears so that a new Entity can be added directly on this page, rather than with the "Add New Entity" feature. 

-- Note that there is also the option to View or Edit an Entity.

Step 7 – Select a Reason for Referral (optional) from the drop-down. This is populated by the Site Administrator from the "Manage Feeder Tables" page.

Step 8 – The Referral Date defaults to today, and can be modified as needed.

Step 9 – The Pending Drop Off Date defaults to a month from today. This field does not impact referrals to Entities.

Step 10 – Select a Referral Status (optional) from the drop-down.

  • This is populated by the ETO Administrator from the "Manage Feeder Tables" page.

  • To Add a Referral so that it is similar to an effort, with the option to enter a "Date of Next Contact" and "Time Spent on Contact", a status must be entered. Status can be updated later using the "View/Edit Referrals" feature.

Step 11 – Referral Notes are optional and Release Participant Information does not impact referrals to Entities.

Step 12 – Check the "Dismiss from Program" box at the bottom of the page to dismiss the selected Participant from the Program.

Step 13 – Click the "Submit" button.

The following page contains a printer icon so that the referral information can be printed if a hard copy is needed. There are also links to Add Another Referral.

Use the "View/Edit Referrals" feature to add details to the referral status, to make edits to the reason for referral and referral date, or to delete or print the referral.


Referrals to Programs and Sites

In order to refer to another Program or Site, it must be set up to accept referrals. This can be done by the Site Administrator on the "Manage Programs" page, or by the Enterprise Manager on the "Manage Sites" page.

Referrals to Sites will also allow you to select the Program within the selected Site that you want to refer the Participant to.

Most options on the "Add Referral" page function the same for internal (Program/Site) and external (Entity) referrals, with a few exceptions:

  • Pending Drop Off Date: If this is a referral to a Program or Site, the referral will stay in Pending Referrals at the destination Program/Site until this date. The default for this field is 30 days from today’s date, but can be set to any date.

  • Release Client Information: This is relevant when referring to another Program or Site, as it allows Participant demographic and effort information to be shared as set up in your ETO software. For this functionality to work successfully, the shared options must also be enabled by the Site Administrator on the "Manage Demographics" and Manage Point of Service pages.

  • Use the "View Pending Referrals" feature in the Program the referral was made to to see the referral. From here, the User can accept or not accept the referral. If they opt not to accept the referral, the Reason for Dismissal feeder table populates options why. The View Edit Referral feature is functional for internal referrals the same way that it is for external referrals. "View Pending Referrals" and "View/Edit Referrals" can be used in conjunction with one another, or View Pending can be used alone for internal referrals.

Tips for Referrals to Programs:

  • The Site Administrator can choose the Confirm Referral by Email option on the Referrals tab of the "Manage Programs" feature. If enabled, Program referrals will trigger email notifications. The Program Manager (determined on the "Manage Programs" page) will receive an email when a referral is made to their Program. The Program Manager of the referring Program will receive an email once the referral is accepted or not accepted.

  • It is also possible to set up Programs so that they will automatically accept a referral. This is also managed by the Site Administrator on the Referrals tab on "Manage Programs".

  • If there are Programs that should not receive referrals, that can be set up on the "Manage Programs" page by unchecking the Accept-Referrals box on the Referral Settings tab.

  • If multiple Programs refer the same Participant to the same Program at the same time, you can accept each referral without creating duplicate enrollments for that Participant.

  • Only click the "Submit" button once. If you click multiple times for one referral, unwanted duplicates will appear.


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