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Software for 211 and
Community Navigation

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Software for 211 Centers

211 is an invaluable resource for information and referrals to health and human services, and connections to aid in the wake of disaster.

In a time when reliable, accurate information is more important than ever, iCarol empowers your 211 service to be a leader for trustworthy information and referral in your community. iCarol also empowers you to participate in partnerships where you can leverage your skills, services, and data to bring new opportunities to your organization.

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FeatureiCarol
National Data Platform Integration

Native Support

211 Taxonomy/HSIS Integration

Fully Integrated with real-time updates

Resource Database Management

Robust, Edit/Update in real-time

Public Database Options

Built-in or custom create using API

Referral Documentation

Yes

Additional Referral Send Options

Email and SMS

Coordinated Intake/Closed Loop

Waitlists, Dashboard, Secure Portal for Providers/CBOs

Data Sharing/Support Partnership

Numerous options for collaborating with peer 211s or community-based partners

Reporting

Strong Built-in Reports and Exports

Call Documentation

Real-time, Customizeable Forms

Client Management

Create Profiles, Remove/Merge Duplicates, See History of Interactions and Referrals

Chat and Text Integration

Native Chat/SMS Tools

Follow-up/Call Backs

Built-in Follow-up Workflows Including Automations

How We Help

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Information and Referral

Your 211 center is a trusted source of information and referral in your community, connecting people with the services they need.

iCarol’s resource database framework is highly flexible and configurable, with enhanced tools 211s need like Taxonomy integration, quality updates and data sharing.

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Contact and Client Management

Keeping records and documentation of your interactions with consumers is the key to good customer service as well as accurate data and reporting.

With iCarol’s configurable Contact Forms, you can document each interaction and collect consumer data for your reports. For clients or repeat user of your services, iCarol Profiles keep demographic and other chosen data consistent with each interaction, and preserve an ongoing record of the client’s needs, referrals made, and more.

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Meet People Where They Are

Voice calling is on the decline and more people each year are preferring to communicate by Text/SMS or online. Meeting people where they are and on the channels they prefer ensures more people get the assistance they need.

With iCarol, you can provide services through Live Chat, 2-way SMS/Texting, accept applications or intakes online, and enable consumers to browse your community resource database or service provider inventory on the web.

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Collaborate with Community-Based Organizations

211 is known for finding the right providers to help a person in need, but often making the referral isn’t where 211’s participation ends. Closed-loop referral and actively partnering with community-based organizatons is becoming more common in an effort to better coordination, improve the continuums of care in the community, and address Social Determinants of Health.

With iCarol you can make direct referrals to your partner agencies and share data and outcomes in a closed-loop. Create waitlists and maintain service provider capacity information, with all involved parties updating progress and outcomes along the way.

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Disaster Response

Regardless of the nature of the emergency, 211s play a large role in any community’s disaster plan. Local governments often partner with and advertise 211 during disasters as a place to contact for non-emergency information and referral. Information about shelters, emergency food or water drops, road closures, and vaccine clinics are just a few examples of the information that 211 relays to the public in an emergency.

iCarol helps your 211 respond to disaster with tools that aid in collaboration and responsiveness.

Inform USA member

Follow Information and Referral Best Practices

iCarol is a Commerical Member of Inform USA. Our resource database tools are designed in accordance with the best practices and accreditation standards of Inform USA, the professional membership association for community navigation or Information and Referral (I&R). Inform USA drives quality and connection in the sector as the sole source for standards, program accreditation, and practitioner certification.

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Connect Clients with Services

iCarol’s database structure is flexible to the size and scope of your resource and referral activities. Whether you have a dozen of service provider records or several thousand, iCarol is the perfect fit with:
  • Over 100 available Standard fields
  • Custom field creation
  • Ability to turn fields on/off to match your needs
  • Search by Resource Name, Custom Categories, or Taxonomy Term
  • Service Area Assignments
  • Agency/Program/Site structure recommended for Inform USA accreditation

Add and Edit Records

iCarol supports a number of ways to bring service provider records into your database including:
  • Import with our free template
  • Custom import supported by our data experts
  • Application Program Interface (API)
Edit records any time:
  • When viewing the record in iCarol
  • Using the Resource Advanced Search tool
  • Application Program Interface (API)

Search For and Find Appropriate Services

When helping a client you’ll access your resource database to find appropriate referrals for their situation. Resource records can be assigned categories or Taxonomy terms to describe what services they provide, and geographic coverage areas they serve, to be sure your search will find the best resource for the situation.

Report on Referrals Made

Keep a record of which referrals were made by assigning them to a consumer’s Contact Record when you document the interaction. This will make it possible to report how many referrals your organization makes to which agencies and programs, and many other resource-related reports.

Send Referrals By Text or Email

Your consumer may not be able to write down referral information while on a call with you. With iCarol you can send them the referrals you made by SMS/Text and/or Email for convenience, and to ensure they have the correct information on hand.
Ensure accuracy of resource record data by directly engaging the very service providers you’re referring to. Using iCarol you can send update requests to your service providers, inviting them a secure way to review and make changes to their listing in your resource database. Your Resource Managers can then review updates proposed by the service provider, and choose to accept their update as is, or make their own further adjustments. This Automated Verification tool eliminates the need to track down service providers through manual emails, phone calls, or postal mail, saving hundreds of hours yearly in the effort to update your database in alignment with Inform USA standards.

Enable Self-Service

With iCarol’s Public Resource Directory option, you can embed your Resource Database on your website where it can be searched or browsed by your web visitors. This allows multi-channel access to your services for those who prefer self-service over engaging directly with your specialists, while still providing them with relevant and expertly curated search results.

211HSIS Taxonomy Integration

For those who subscribe to 211 Human Services Indexing System (211HSIS), also known as the LA 211 Taxonomy for resource record categorization, iCarol can directly integrate the Taxonomy into your iCarol system where you can customize and apply it according to your policies and accreditation needs. iCarol makes daily updates to the indexing system so that when 211 LA releases new versions, you’ll automatically have the Taxonomy updates applied to your system.

Share and Monetize Your Data

At iCarol we believe in supporting collaborations that will help your community and bring in new revenue streams for your organization. With iCarol you can leverage your resource data in any number of partnerships and opportunities.

Hear From Your Peers

“The iCarol team was helpful, informative, and patient working with our organization to understand what all the iCarol system could do to help make our jobs easier. They had a comprehensive understanding of our needs and helped walk us through customizing features to make the system work more effectively for our program. Thank you again for helping us and teaching us! It will make a huge difference in how we run our program!”

– Deborah T., Contract and Community Relations Supervisor, 2-1-1/LIFE LINE

“We’ve been very impressed by the responsiveness and professionalism of the whole iCarol team. Deploying one software solution for 211 Canada-wide poses many challenges. These have been tackled both creatively and sensitively by a company truly committed to help us take 211 to an entirely new level.”

– Bill M., Executive Director

“After using iCarol for many years now, we can’t remember how we got along before the switch! Having real-time statistics and the ability to make changes to the data we collect allows us to be responsive to funders and our community. Thanks, iCarol!”

– Suzi B., Division Director, Community Support Services, 2-1-1 Western Maryland

“Can’t say enough about how responsive your team has been.”

– Myrna H., Executive Director

“The iCarol team was very attentive to our transition needs from RFP to implementation. Our dedicated iCarol project manager for the transition was a pleasure to work with and did an excellent job of keeping things on track!”

– Tanya B., Senior Vice President

“iCarol empowers us to do what we want with our data.”

– Scott R., Director of Data Solutions

We look forward to learning how we can help your organization thrive and grow!