Using iCarol Public Web Forms to Dispatch Mobile Crisis Teams

iCarol September 29, 2021 Helpline Best Practices, Helplines, iCarol, iCarol Features, Enhancements, and Updates

Data shows that when specialists respond to mental health crises, everyone is safer and outcomes are better. That’s why communities everywhere are investing in crisis intervention teams as an alternative to 9-1-1 and law enforcement in response to crisis, suicide ideation, homelessness, substance abuse, and more.

One way iCarol organizations are improving their workflows around Mobile Crisis Dispatch is by using Public Web Forms.

Our Public Web Forms are essentially a public-facing version of the same forms our customers use internally in the iCarol web application to log their contacts with clients, collect data, and provide resource and referral information. When placed on a website, these forms can be used for purposes such as intake and eligibility screening or service requests. Once a form is submitted by the web visitor, it arrives in the iCarol system as a completed Contact Form where it can be dispositioned as appropriate by contact center staff, and work with other elements of iCarol to take their purpose even further.

One example of how our customers use Public Web Forms is for Mobile Crisis Team dispatch. In a traditional workflow, someone in need of Mobile Crisis might call the contact center, and a specialist will process their request and complete an intake form over the phone, print it, and fax it to a team who will respond in person. In some centers using disparate systems for different departments, they may even encounter processes where paper or electronic forms are passed between departments requiring specialist to do manual data entry for their data collection.

A Crisis Team Dispatch workflow using a Public Web Form may look something like this:

1. A crisis services provider has a web page outlining their Mobile Crisis offerings, and places the link to a request form on the web page.
2. The person requesting response fills out the form, configured by the provider, requesting services and providing information about the situation.
3. If certain criteria must be met in order to request services via form, a pre-screening element can be built in which directs the person to call instead and speak to a specialist live, if they don’t meet the eligibility requirements to submit a form online.
4. Submitted forms arrive in the iCarol system and certain staff are notified of submission by email.
5. The specialist opens the form, contacts the requestor if necessary to fill in additional information, and explain to the requestor what will happen next.
6. The form is shared with the team providing the direct Mobile Crisis response. In iCarol, forms can sent in many ways: password protected and emailed within the system, sent to a secure Provider Portal for responders to access, transmitted electronically to another software system, are just a few examples.
7. The crisis team receives the necessary information, and responds.
8. The crisis team can then disposition the visit according to their protocols, and can add additional data to the form electronically to close the loop and provide the contact center with outcome data and more.

This is just one way Public Web Forms are being used, and we look forward to bringing you more of these stories in the coming days.

Want to learn more about Public Web Forms and talk through how they might be used for your program or partnership?

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