Agency Essential Reading for Schools

Agency Essential Reading for Schools

Children thrive in families, and families thrive in community. The CarePortal platform mobilizes a network of caring people to help connect vulnerable families back to their local community.

Guiding Principles for Partnership

Circles of Care | CarePortal is guided by a model we call The Circles of Care. The child is always at the center of our efforts. We believe what is best for every child is a loving family wrapped around by a local church. For this reason, we focus on building the capacity of local churches so they may provide effective care for children and families in crisis. We also establish on-ramps for businesses, individuals and people who care (included in the outer Community circle). The local church connects directly with the child or family in need.

Collaboration is critical | No single organization can do this work alone. It takes a fierce commitment to collaboration to make long-term impact.

CarePortal serves any child in crisis | Jesus cast the widest net of love, tearing down cultural biases and promoting radical, personal generosity and concern for those in need. With that example, CarePortal brings together diverse constituents - government agencies, churches, businesses, schools, and other ministries - to support children and families in crisis regardless of race, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, nationality, political leanings, etc. If we find any of our partners are discriminating against the children and families they meant to unconditionally serve, they will be removed from the network.

We are ecumenically minded | CarePortal promotes unity in and among the Church and seeks to build a network across denominational, ethnic, and socio-economic lines. While we are open to the support of the other faith-based organizations, The Global Orphan Project exists to help Bible-believing Christian churches care for vulnerable children and families in their own communities. CarePortal was developed as a ministry tool to help accomplish the mission of meeting needs, making personal connections, and establishing meaningful relationships within and beyond the community of Christ-following believers.

Child-Centered Requesting Partners using CarePortal must:
(1.) Serve children and/or families in crisis (2.) Highly value community engagement using one or more of the Tiers described below (The Grid) (3.) Desire to collaborate with local ministry partners that facilitate CarePortal (Implementing Partners)

The Grid

• Tier 1 - Physical Requests represent physical items or services that local churches could provide to a family. These requests would not require a background check by your agency but may require the family needing assistance to sign a release of information.
• Tier 2 - Relational Requests represent more relational needs of a family, provided by a church responder that first needs to complete an approval process by your agency.
• Tier 3 - Familial Requests address familial needs of a child or family and require responders to complete further training and licensing.

Value of Partnership

Requesting agency workers identify needs of local children and families, then go to CarePortal.org or the CarePortal app to submit a request for help that is approved and immediately sent to local churches. CarePortal can also facilitate and streamline volunteer recruitment and application processes that require screening and training (Tier 2 - Relational & Tier 3 - Familial Requests).

One of the following purpose statements must be assigned to each request:

• Help improve a child's school attendance
• Help remove an educational barrier for a child
• Help improve a child's safety/well-being

With CarePortal, your agency will be able to select one of the following Requesting Options to efficiently identify and approve requests in the way that best fits with your operational protocols:

• Option 1: Worker > Supervisor AND Agency Rep
  • Worker submits a request (online or via mobile app)
  • “Supervisor email address” required to be completed in Request Form
  • Review email sent to supervisor email AND Agency Rep
  • Supervisor OR Agency Rep can click the link to edit, approve, or decline request
  • Request sent to churches and confirmation email sent to Worker, Supervisor, and Agency Rep
  • Responses sent to Worker
• Option 2: Worker > Agency Rep
  • Worker submits a request (online or via mobile app)
  • Review email sent to the Agency Rep for that agency and county
  • Agency Rep clicks the link to edit, approve, or decline request
  • Request is sent to churches and confirmation email sent to Worker and Agency Rep
  • Responses sent to Worker
• Option 3: Agency Rep
  • Request information collected from worker by Agency Rep
  • Agency Rep submits a request with login access
  • Request is sent to churches and confirmation email is sent to Agency Rep
  • Responses sent to Agency Rep

Targets for Success (in each county)

• 10% of churches actively engaged through CarePortal by local Implementing Partners
• 50-75% of Agency requests met by churches and community partners
• Full-Grid Implementation (Tier 1 - Physical, Tier 2 - Relational & Tier 3 - Familial)
• Stronger connection to the community for Families, Churches, and Agency workers
• Economic Impact of requests equal to at least 8x annual agency investment

Requesting Agencies Commit To:

• Designate appropriate staff (Agency Executive + Representative) to oversee use and training of workers, and collaborate with local CarePortal Implementing Partners
• Create a designated agency mailbox to be copied on all CarePortal emails
• Provide any publicly available data that may assist in educating and recruiting churches
• Identify and assist in training agency staff to access CarePortal
• Establish a policy for communication by workers to clients regarding confidentiality before releasing family information to the church member willing to help (if applicable)
• Make appropriate requests through CarePortal at the frequency agreed upon in each county
• Monitor and engage responses, and close requests in a timely manner when request is met
• Collaborate with local Implementing Partner by attending Active Community gatherings and training events as needed/requested
• Follow the payment schedule agreed to with the local Area Director
• Specific to Tier 2 - Relational & Tier 3 - Familial:
  • Implement background checks and other processes/training necessary to clear volunteers to see requests and respond
  • Participate in training church volunteers similar to training other agency volunteers

CarePortal Commits To
As a platform, CarePortal is used by various implementing partners that provide local support to agencies, churches, and community partners. Through this partnership, CarePortal provides:

• Access
  • CarePortal website, mobile app, and other technology in support of the platform
  • Unlimited user access to submit an agreed-upon number of requests
  • Connection of agency partners to churches and their members, on a volunteer basis, to serve children and families in need of assistance
  • Efficient, agency-approved online application processes for volunteer recruitment and vetting (Tier 2 - Relational & Tier 3 - Familial)
• Training
  • Support to the Requesting Agency by providing live platform training to staff
  • Online resources and in-person experiential training opportunities
  • Convening of local Active Community gathering for agency staff participation
• Support
  • Systematic reporting and metrics to track impact and cost avoidance
  • Opportunities for Requesting Agency leadership to collaborate and communicate with local and state CarePortal leadership
  • Technical support team

Financial Agreement

This document describes the agreement between CarePortal and its Requesting Agency Partners for the non-exclusive use of the CarePortal platform. Formal evaluation will take place each year by Agency Leadership, the CarePortal Area Director, and Implementing Partner leadership to jointly assess progress. If any party feels this is no longer an effective approach, the agreement can end with 30 days written notice by either CarePortal or the Requesting Agency. Any fees paid by the Agency Partner beyond the end date will be refunded to the Agency.

Cost | Cost varies based on Agency type because of expected use, support requirements, and value.

SCHOOLS AND DISTRICTS