Erie County families that are currently receiving services under the wraparound process will soon be able to truly exercise their own choice in vendor service providers, via a newly-developed search engine software created in a collaborative effort between Community Connections of NY, Inc. (CCNY), and Consilium1, a Rochester-based Information Technology consultation firm. In the pilot phase, families will be able to choose their child’s vendor service provider based on previously collected demographic information, such as age, gender, race/ethnicity, language capability, or special interests.
With the help of their Care Coordinators, families will be able to see a list of which Vendor Agencies currently employ service providers that meet their criteria, rank order them, and submit their requests. Emails will automatically be generated and sent to the selected Vendor Agency’s designated personnel (either immediately, if in a wireless environment, or after docking their laptops back into their workstations). A brief description of the family’s need will be in the email, along with an option to accept or decline the case.
Once a case has been accepted, the individual Care Coordinator will be notified, and that service provider should expect a call from their supervisor. If declined, the next available agency will be contacted, until such a time as the need has been filled. This process will assure each agency and independent contractor of an equal chance of representation and access, while respecting the families right to choose.
Once the pilot is completed, and all Care Coordination and Vendor Agencies are trained on the use of the software, a county-wide online date will be announced.
You can read the Family First Care Coordinator Training Manual here [PDF].
If you're a Vendor Supervisor, you can access the Vendor Supervisor manual here [PDF].
You can view a demo video of how Family First will function here.
