Clients are individuals experiencing homelessness and are in need of help. Creating a client in Outreach Grid allows service agencies to work together to help an individual improve their situation. A client may or may not be the client that has been assigned to you; it represents the total population of individuals who are or have experienced homelessness.
In this article, we will cover:
Client tools are provided in "Client Management" which is the second tab on the navigation bar. There are three subsections: Clients, My Clients, and Client Encounters.
Searching for a Client
Click on "Client Management" and select "Clients." On the Clients page, you will see a search bar along with two tabs underneath it, “Unclaimed Public Clients” and “Unclaimed Clients Assigned to [Your Agency]”.
Unclaimed Public Clients are clients created by Users from agencies other than your own. A Public Profile exists for this client, but a Private Profile has not yet been created. An Unclaimed Client that is assigned to your agency has both a Public and Private profile, but no User has been assigned as the client’s case manager. You can find out more about Client Private Profile in [WEB] Client Management: Private Profile.
To ensure that there will be no duplication entries created, search for your client by typing in their first name, last name, AKA, date of birth, or the last four digits of their Social Security number.
If there were no client profiles found with that name and the client wants to receive services, create a new client.
Creating A Client
To create a new client, click the green "Create Client" button located in the upper right corner of the "Clients" page.
You will then be navigated to the "New Client" page. Before creating a new client, you are prompted to first search for the client again to ensure that no duplicate entries are created. If your new client has yet to be logged in the system, click the "Create New Client" button near the bottom of the page.
You will then fill out the Universal Identifier Elements for the new client. Outreach Grid uses the Universal Identifier Elements to gather initial client data. This initial assessment is customizable and may differ based on jurisdiction. Users should gather and enter information as accurately as possible.
For questions that you do not know the answer to, please select the appropriate response: Information Not Collected or the Client Did Not Know. For questions with this option, the distinction is important for reporting purposes.
At the end of the initial assessment, there will be a Release of Information Waiver(s) available for the client to review and sign. Click on the title of each waiver to read them.
If a Verbal Consent is given, you may check the verbal consent box to indicate that you will be signing on behalf of the client. After reviewing each form with the client and verifying that the client consents to sharing information, check the waiver agreement checkboxes.
The waiver(s) can be signed using the mouse if using the Desktop version, or by finger or stylus if using the web or mobile app on a touchscreen device. After the signature has been entered, the "Accept Signature" button must be clicked, and then a green "Submit" button will appear. Depending on the permission waivers that were selected, a Public and/or Private Profile will be created for the client. Please contact our support team if you would like to know which profile type will be created from the specific waiver(s) on your Outreach Grid environment.
If the Client is concerned about signing any documents, you can submit the client’s information and collect a signature at a later time. Click the black bar below the signature area to cause the “Submit and Sign Later” button to appear and and click it to move forward without collecting a client’s signature.
Once you've clicked the green "Submit" button, you will be redirected to the client's new public profile.