Case Management fields & considerations 2024 (Canada networks) – Link2Feed

This guide lists the different field options available in Link2Feed and key details on configuration. It also provides some details on why you might want to track the fields within your network.

This article covers the following topics:

Definitions for table
Table

Definitions for the table

Field Name: The label for the field in the system.
Case Management Tab: The name of the tab where the field appears on the client's profile.
Individuals: Individuals are the people who are selected on the Visit page under the Who from the household is receiving services for this visit section. If a field is for the Individual, it means that it is captured at the individual level and not the household.
Household: Individuals are grouped into household profiles (Households) in Link2Feed based on the discretion of the user. Household reports count the entire household as a unit.
Client: The person whose name was at the top of the page when the visit was recorded. NOTE: The Client in reports is not necessarily the same thing as the Primary Household Member indicated in the household profile.
List Options: The options that appear underneath fields. Didn't Ask, Don't Know, and Prefer Not to Answer are default locked list options for the following fields: Gender Identity, Racial Indentity, Self-Identity, Household Social Programs, and Dietary Considerations, Visit Reasons, Housing Type.
Label: The words you would like displayed in the system for each list option. Reporting is based on labels.
Parent Types: The category associated with a label. Some customizable fields have Parent Types that are used as a mapping of your custom options. For example, for Referred to, you might have a list option called Main Street Salvation Army, which would need to be mapped to the parent type Emergency Shelter. Not all fields have parent types.
Field Type: The field type determines the type of data that a user can enter into the field. The different types in Link2Feed are: Checkboxes- Select All That Apply, Date Field, Dropdown + Free Text, Dropdown- Select One, Dropdown + Select All That Apply, Free Text, Radio Buttons- Select One.

Fields which are unable to be disabled for Household Member fields can be made optional with the use of Anonymous Household Members, more details here.

The rows in the tables below are colour coded based on where they appear within the client intake process whether that be a specific tab or section (in the case of Household Members).

Personal

Profile

Monthly Income

Dietary Considerations

Household Members

Fields that cannot be disabled with no customizable list options

These fields do not display within the Case Management Fields settings page.

Field Name	Case Management Tab	Individuals or Household	Field Type	Considerations
First Visit	Personal	Household	Date Field	Used to understand how long a client has been accessing services. This pulls into the Households: New vs. Existing section of the Statistics Report and is also available in the Time Series Report.
First and Last Name	Personal	Individual	Free Text	Key part of client profiles and part of duplicate checking. Gathered for all members of the household. If clients do not feel comfortable providing their name, anonymous visits can also be configured. Can search for clients by first and/or last name.
First and Last Name	Household Members	Individual	Free Text	Key part of client profiles and part of duplicate checking. Gathered for all members of the household. If clients do not feel comfortable providing their name, anonymous visits can also be configured. Can search for clients by first and/or last name.
Date of Birth	Personal	Individual	Date Field	Entering the date of birth calculates age. DOB is part of duplicate checking. Gathered for all members of the household. Can indicate that the date of birth is estimated. Can search for clients by date of birth.
Date of Birth	Household Members	Individual	Date Field	Entering the date of birth calculates age. DOB is part of duplicate checking. Gathered for all members of the household. Can indicate that the date of birth is estimated. Can search for clients by date of birth.
Disability	Personal	Individual	Yes, No, Didn't Ask, Don't Know, Prefer Not to Answer	If the client identifies with having a disability.
In Canada 10 Years or Less	Personal	Individual	Yes, No, Didn't Ask, Don't Know, Prefer Not to Answer	If Yes, a calendar widget will appear allowing the user to enter the approximate year and month the individual came to Canada.
Post Secondary Student	Personal	Individual	Yes, No, Unknown	Allows you to track whether or not a client is a post secondary student.
Relationship	Household Members	Individual	Dropdown- Select One	Field that specifies the relationship between the primary client and their household members. Fixed list options are: Boyfriend/Girlfriend, Child, Common-Law Partner, Friend, Grandchild, Grandparent, Other, Other Relative, Parent, Roommate, Sibling, Spouse, Undisclosed

Fields that cannot be disabled with customizable list options

These fields do not display within the Case Management Fields settings page. However you can customize their list items by navigating to Administration > Lists.

Field Name	Case Management Tab	Individuals or Household	Field Type	Considerations
Address (Street, City, Province, Postal Code)	Personal	Household	Free Text	Client Address, which is part of duplicate checking. Address finds latitude and longitude in the back end and plots on the map on Personal tab; also used to plot client location on Heat Map Report. Address field is integrated with an OpenStreetMap API to make address completion easier. If the client does not have housing, they can select a "No Fixed Address" checkbox. Can also search for clients by address. Cities are able to be added to a list so they appear as being typed.
Racial Identity	Personal	Individual	Checkboxes- Select All That Apply	Used in the Food Banks Canada annual HungerCount survey. The parent types use categories from Statistics Canada. The options can be renamed however have the following fixed parent types: Arab, Indigenous, South Asian (e.g., East Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, etc.), Black, Japanese, Southeast Asian (e.g., Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, Thai, etc.), Chinese, Korean, West Asian (e.g., Iranian, Afghan, etc.), Filipino, Latin American, White, Other. Didn't Ask, Don't Know, Prefer Not to Answer cannot be renamed.
Gender Identity	Personal	Individual	Dropdown- Select One	Select Gender from drop-down options. The options can be renamed however have the following fixed parent types: Female, Male, None of These, Transgender. Didn't Ask & Prefer Not to Answer cannot be renamed.
Housing Type	Personal	Household	Radio Buttons- Select One	Housing security has a strong tie to food security. This data can help with grant applications and other programming related to the root causes of poverty.
Income Type	Monthly Income	Household	Dropdown-Select All that Apply	Not common to track this field, but sometimes it is useful if the organization conducts wraparound services with their clients.

Fields that can be disabled with no customizable list options

A Network Administrator or Regional Manager can turn off this field, turn it on, or give Agencies/Networks the choice of whether or not they want to track it.

Field Name	Case Management Tab	Individuals or Household	Field Type	Considerations
Preferred Agency	Personal	Individual	Dropdown	Indicates the preferred agency of the client from a fixed list of organizations in the Network.
Max visits per Month	Personal	Household	Free Text	Maximum visits the household should be allowed each month. Is displayed in household summary.
Gender Identity	Household Members	Individual	Dropdown- Select One	Select Gender from drop-down options. Current fixed list options are Female, Male, None of These, Transgender, Didn't Ask, Prefer Not to Answer
Disability	Household Members	Individual	Yes, No, Didn't Ask, Don't Know, Prefer Not to Answer	If the client identifies with having a disability.
In Canada 10 Years or Less	Household Members	Individual	Yes, No, Didn't Ask, Don't Know, Prefer Not to Answer	If Yes, a calendar widget will appear allowing the user to enter the approximate year and month the individual came to Canada.
Post Secondary Student	Household Members	Individual	Yes, No, Unknown	Allows you to track whether or not a client is a post secondary student.
Email Contact Consent	Personal	Individual	Radio Buttons- Select One	Tracks whether or not a client has consented to contact via email
Text Contact Consent	Personal	Individual	Radio Buttons- Select One	Tracks whether or not a client has consented to contact via text.
Voice Contact Consent	Personal	Individual	Radio Buttons- Select One	Tracks whether or not a client has consented to contact via voice.
Marital Status	Personal	Individual	Radio Buttons- Select One	Marital status of the client. Fixed List options are: Single, Married, Common-Law, Divorced, Separated, Widowed, Undisclosed. Many networks shut this field off as "relationship types" are also defined when adding household members.
Email Address	Personal	Individual	Dropdown + Free Text	Beneficial for organizations to collect so they can be in contact with clients about program changes, agency closures, etc.
Phone Number	Personal	Individual	Dropdown + Free Text	Beneficial for pantries to collect so they can be in contact with clients about program changes, agency closures, etc. Can search for clients by phone number. Export will not show the type (Home, Mobile) of the phone number.
Languages	Personal	Household	Dropdown- Select All That Apply	List of all the world's languages. Can specify pinned languages in network settings, so they appear at the top of the list. Having this data gives valuable reporting information at the state level. Helps with advocacy or understanding community language needs/needs for translation of materials. Link2Feed can add languages to the fixed list upon request.
Highest Education Level Completed	Profile	Individual	Radio Buttons- Select One	Tracks the client's highest education level. Having this data can help determine the type of employment clients are eligible for or help identify clients for educational programs. This is especially relevant for organizations that provide wrap-around services or work with education/workforce development partners. Fixed list options are: Grade 0-8, Grade 9-11, GED, High School Diploma, Post Secondary (some), Trade School/Professional Accreditation, 2 Year Degree, 4 Year Degree, Master's Degree, PhD, Undisclosed.
Country of Education	Profile	Individual	Dropdown	Tracks the country of education.
Income Dollar Amounts	Monthly Income	Individual	Free Text	Allows you to input a dollar amount for the income type selected from the income type drop-down.

Fields that can be disabled with customizable list options