Having data is critical during emergency response to understand and express how clients are impacted during emergency conditions. Below are suggestions for how to leverage Link2Feed for emergency response.
This article covers the following topics:
- Shortening the intake process
- Appointments
- Gathering additional data
- Communication
- (US Only) Adjusting for Federal Waivers - TEFAP/CSFP
- (US Only) CACFP/SFSP
- Next steps
Shortening the intake process
Temporarily disabling fields
Temporarily disabling fields that are not related to emergency response can help process clients more quickly. Some examples include:
- Marital Status
- Languages
- Referred By
- Education Status
- Expenses
Modified visit recording
Removing details on visit records (ex. quantity of food provided, provisions) can make visit recording more efficient. Some other ways to streamline visit recording include:
- Using the Quick Click feature.
- Changing Preferred Visit Page. See How do I set my preferred visit tab? (link here)
- Incorporating Barcode Scanning.
-
Anonymous visits.
- Update 4/9: You can now record notes in anonymous visits that can be viewed in the client notes review.
- Updated 4/9: Anonymous visits are now included in the Dashboard Stats count.
- Note: To report on Anonymous visits, use the Statistics report and ensure that you have checked off Include Anonymous Visits in the report setup.
- Include the section Served: Households/Individuals (Duplicated) to see a row that includes a total of all Anonymous households/individuals.
Administrators can enable these features for their organizations and users. Details on how to enable are in the linked guide articles above.
Delivery Feature
The delivery feature can be set up quickly and involves four easy steps:
- Create household profiles.
- Create delivery routes, including drop-off orders.
- Download the list for the driver (or have the driver access list on their mobile device).
- Record completed deliveries.
A video including more information on how to create a delivery route can be found here.
A video with more information on the feature overall can be found here.
For a detailed guide on how to set up this feature please navigate here.
The feature is also integrated with Google Maps, making it easy to optimize a route and open it in Google Maps on any mobile device. Learn more here.
Extending Forced Profile Review
You can extend your standard forced profile review period by following these steps:
- Open Case Management.
- On the left click on Administration.
- Click on Settings.
- Under Intake Options locate the Force Review Period.
- Modify the date to any number of days you wish.
- Select Save Changes once complete
CNCT (Client Self-Enrollment Portal)
There is a premium feature available which allows for new clients to create an online account with their household profile information that then syncs with the Link2Feed Case Management software.
This was originally piloted in response to a growing need to enroll new clients while maintaining social distance protocols.
More details on CNCT are available here.
Appointments
Scheduling appointments can be helpful where there is an influx of new clients or social distancing is important.
You can use the Appointment Caseload feature to indicate how many clients you will see per number of minutes (ex. 5 clients every 30 minutes).
See here for more information.
Gathering additional data
Tracking Reason for Visit
The Reason for Visit feature is recorded at each visit. This list can be customized to specify if their reason for the visit is related to emergency response.
If you are not already tracking this field, you can enable this within your program settings. For more details on how to enable this feature please review the applicable program configuration article here. You can then change the options through the list administration. For more information on how to customize list items click here.
Modifying Self-Identifies As
You can also add additional options to the Self-Identifies As list to identify clients impacted by the emergency situation. For more information on how to customize list items click here.
Create a New Program
If you are doing special emergency distribution programs, they can be tracked via a new program type. Network admins can contact support to add a new program type.
Survey Feature
Surveys can be created to gather non-demographic feedback from clients about the impacts of emergencies. As of 4/9 visits are not needed to record survey data.
Click here for more information on Surveys.
Communication
The Link2Feed messaging feature can be a great way to communicate directly with users. Click here for more information.
(US Only) Adjusting for federal waivers - TEFAP/CSFP
A number of states are reducing program requirements (ex. discontinuing signatures) for commodities programs.
Current options in Link2Feed include:
Double Distribution
Allows you to do two months' worth of pickups at once. Please see this article here regarding double distribution.
- Forward Distribution: One visit today and one exactly one calendar month from today.
- Ex. Today is Feb 10 - One visit Feb 10, one visit March 10.
- Backward Distribution: One visit today and one exactly one calendar month before today.
- Ex. Today is Feb 10 - One visit Feb 10, one visit January 10.
Modified Signature Types
Signature requirements can be removed entirely and options for Verbal Signature and Pre-typed Signature can be enabled.
(US Only) CACFP/SFSP
For more information on how Link2Feed is managing COVID waivers for CACFP/SFSP please navigate here.
Next steps
If you are interested in learning more about any of the above features or have questions about how Link2Feed can help you with emergency support, reach out to your account manager or technical support at any time.