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Community information systems: Analysis of an agency referral program
Author(s) -
Mathews R. Mark,
Fawcett Stephen B.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/1520-6629(197910)7:4<281::aid-jcop2290070402>3.0.co;2-d
Subject(s) - referral , agency (philosophy) , directory , service (business) , indigenous , social work , community service , family medicine , medicine , nursing , business , public relations , political science , computer science , sociology , marketing , social science , ecology , law , biology , operating system
Referring community residents in need of assistance to local social service agencies is a critical role for community support systems. An information referral system composed of a social service directory, an interagency feedback procedure, and an information referral training manual was developed for nonprofessional community service workers. This study analyzed the effects of the agency referral program. The results showed that both the percentage of occurrence of specified referral behaviors and the proportion of referrals to an appropriate agency increased after training. This study demonstrates an effective procedure for training indigenous community service workers to provide referrals to other members of a community support network.