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Known Issues & Current Status

Service Forms (Recording Services)

  • Updated

SUMMARY:

This document will guide you in the variety of forms available to record Services for Households and Participants. Service forms are designed for ease of use and complete data entry.

Basic Purpose and Prerequisites

  • Services can be recorded after program enrollment
  • Forms must be customized and assigned to Work Templates during setup
  • Services can be either Regular program services or Non-Program services

Staff access to service forms is managed through Work Templates. There are two ways to grant staff access:

  • Adding the template to the staff member's own record under "Work Templates"
  • Adding the staff member directly within the Work Template's admin settings (Admin ->Work Templates by using the Staff Assignments Tab)

Once granted access, staff can record both program services and non-program services for any templates they're assigned to.

Service Template Types

The system includes six types of service templates with their associated subforms. Each template type has subforms designed for its specific purpose, with Outcomes being a common subform across most templates.

  • Service Delivery General: For one-time or irregular services (like fuel benefits or home visits)
    • Subforms: Expenditures, Funding, Referrals, Outcomes
  • Multi-Select Participant Service: Allows selection of specific participants from enrolled groups
    • Subforms: Outcomes, Referrals, Funding, Expenditures
  • Counseling: For tracking counseling sessions (like job or budget counseling)
    • Subforms: Sessions, Outcomes
  • Financial: For tracking ongoing financial transactions (like rental subsidies)
    • Subforms: Transactions, Outcomes
  • Attendance: For tracking daily participation in regular events or classes
    • Note: Has different structure from other templates, covered in separate documentation
  • Non-Program Service: For services not tied to program enrollment (like referrals or phone calls)
    • Note: Functions differently from other templates, covered in separate documentation

Template Structure

A service template consists of two main sections and several specialized tabs:

Main Sections:

  • Basic Info (Left) - Contains unchangeable standard fields used in all forms. These fields cannot be changed.
  • Service Descriptions (Right) - Customized fields created to capture info specific to this program. These fields are created & edited by an Administrator.

Top Tabs:

  • Outcomes (All forms) - This page allows you to select from a list of program outcomes. Outcomes are chosen by an Administrator.
  • Referrals (Service Delivery General, Multi-Select Participant  & Non-Program Services) - For creating internal and external referrals
  • Expenditure (Service Delivery General, Multi-Select Participant & Non-Program Services) - For recording benefit amounts and payments. Payments made directly from empowOR may be set up on this page.
  • Funding (Service Delivery General, Multi-Select Participant, Non-Program Services & Non-Program Services) - For tracking funding sources and balances
  • Sessions (Counseling only) - For recording counseling session details, including number of minutes, purpose, etc.
  • Transactions (Financial only) - For tracking financial transactions and balances

Service Delivery General 

Designed to track one-time or irregular services. It requires basic information on both sides of the form:

  • Left side: Basic Information (required fields) 
  • Right side: Service Descriptions

Common examples of services tracked with this template include:

  • Annual energy benefits
  • Occasional home visits
  • Homeless benefits

Basic Information Fields:

  • Enrollment Service: Choose "Service Delivery General" (defaults if only one service form is set up).
  • Date of Service: Defaults to today’s date but can be changed.
  • Add End Date: Optional; allows entry of an end date different from the Enrollment end date.
  • Amount / Units: Optional; enter dollar amount of benefit or quantity of materials received (e.g., emergency food).
  • # People Served: Optional; defaults to all household members but can be adjusted.
  • Follow-Up Date: Optional; enter a future date for follow-up.
  • Staff Assignment: Defaults to the staff entering the service but can be changed if another staff member is responsible for follow-up.
  • Time with Participant (min): Optional; record time spent with participant(s) in minutes.
  • More Service Info: Optional; add additional details about the service.
  • Case Notes: Provides access to add or view case notes without leaving the Service Template.

Service Descriptions 

Customized fields added to the Service Template to meet specific program needs. Located on the right side of the page, they include Service Groups, which capture additional service details required by funders or the agency. Multiple Service Groups can be included, with a scroll bar appearing if needed.

After adding a Service and clicking SAVE, four tabs populate at the top of the page.

Expenditures

To record money benefits received, navigate to the Expenditure tab in the Service Delivery General form. This opens the Expenditure page, where a new expenditure record can be created. Once all required and optional fields are completed, click SAVE AND SHOW LIST to view all expenditures linked to the service. Multiple expenditures can be attached to a single service but must be entered individually.

Key Fields in the Expenditure Form:

  • Amount – Defaults to the amount entered in the basic information page.
  • Service Expenditure Type – Selected from a customized dropdown list.
  • Associated Utility Record – Optional; dropdown of vendors linked to the household.
  • Vendor/Client – Indicates if payment is to a vendor or household/client.
  • Vendor – Optional; dropdown of approved vendors.
  • Account #/HH Street Address – Optional; account number for utility payments or household address for direct payments.
  • Billing Name – Optional; pre-filled if linked to a utility record.
  • Check Number – Optional; automatically or manually entered if check writing is used.
  • Other Notes – Space for additional expenditure details.
  • Funder Allotment – Dropdown of funding sources linked to the program.
  • Addition/Subtraction Indicator – Specifies if the expenditure adjusts the Funder Allotment.
  • Account Number (GL) – Optional; GL code for finance tracking.
  • Service Group/Service Item – Optional; links to service descriptions.
  • Check Status – Defaults to Pending; used for check writing.
  • Authorized Date, Check Date, Payment Start/End Date – Optional fields for tracking payment details.
  • Description – Optional; space for additional expenditure-related information.

Once saved, expenditures appear in a list, providing an overview of all payments linked to the service.

Referrals

Referrals can be made to other staff, programs, or external agencies from the Service Delivery General record when creating a service. To initiate a referral, navigate to the Referrals tab, which opens the Create Referral for Household page.

Key Steps:

  1. Enter Referral Information
    • Referral Date: Defaults to the current date.
    • Participants for Referral: Select relevant participants (not necessarily all in the current service).
    • Refer To: Choose from three options:
      • Program (select from available programs)
      • Internal Staff (select staff enabled for referrals)
      • External Organization (choose from external agencies)
  2. Additional Fields:
    • Referral Status: Defaults to “Referral Created.”
    • Initial Contact Date: Optional field to track first contact.
    • Received Service, Response Info, and Domain Tags: Optional fields for tracking referral outcomes.

Funding

The FUNDING feature in empowOR helps agencies track funding sources for expenditures, maintaining a running balance as benefits are disbursed. This can be managed through the Expenditure tab or the Funding page if expenditures are not set up in empowOR.

Key Fields:

  • Funding Source – Selected from Admin > Funding Sources Set Up and linked during program setup.
  • Allotments – Also set up in Admin and linked to programs.
  • Service Group/Service Item – Optional, based on choices from the Basic Info page.
  • Amount – Specifies the expenditure deducted from the selected funding source.

Outcomes

All service templates come with a list of outcomes that have been entered in EmpowOR saved and selected for the program.

Multiple Outcomes may be listed on one form; they appear in the lower part of the Service Delivery form.

Key Fields:

  • Date Achieved – Date outcome achieved. Defaults to current day but can be changed.
  • # Unit/Amount– Optional. May reflect an amount of savings, number of goals achieved, etc.
  • Outcome – Dropdown list of Outcomes entered by Administrator at Program Type (Admin -> Program Info -> Outcomes)
  • Notes – Optional

Multi-Select Service Forms

Designed for one-time or infrequent services, primarily used in programs where the entire household is enrolled (e.g., Whole Family Programs), but only specific members receive services. The primary difference between Service Delivery General Basic info and Multi-Select Participant Service Basic Info is the ability to select the Participants for Service.

Key Fields:

  • Enrollment Service: Specifies the service form used (here, "Multi-Select Participant Service").
  • Date of Service: When the service was provided (defaults to today's date).
  • Add End Date: Optionally sets a specific end date for the service.
  • Participants for Service: Allows selection of individual household members receiving the service.
  • Amount: Records the amount of a benefit or the quantity of materials received.
  • Type: Specifies the unit of measure for the "Amount" field.
  • # People Served: Automatically populates with the number of participants selected.
  • Follow-Up Date: Sets a date for future follow-up.
  • Staff Assignment: Indicates the staff member responsible for the service (defaults to the user entering the record).
  • Time with Participant (min): Records the time spent with the participants during service delivery.
  • More Service Info: Provides a space for additional service-related details.
  • Case Notes: Allows for the addition or viewing of case notes related to the service.

Service Descriptions

Customized fields added to the Service Template and are specific to the program’s needs. The Service Descriptions section is located on the right side of the page. The specialized fields are called Service Groups. They capture additional service information that is required by the funder or the agency.

Outcomes

The outcomes page for this template works the same as on Service Delivery General template. Assigning outcomes is crucial for data entry and compliance with funders like CSBG.

Funding:

This page has the same functionality as the same page using the Service Delivery General template.

Counseling Service

Used to record counseling sessions (e.g., job coaching meetings, goal planning meetings, financial capability sessions, etc.). Multiple sessions may be recorded on the service record.

BASIC INFORMATION – Fill in the fields in Basic Information (upper left quadrant)

Fields marked with * are required.

Key Fields: 

  • Enrollment Service: Specifies that the "Counseling" service form is being used.
  • More Service Info: Allows for the entry of additional details about the counseling service provided.
  • Date Counseling Began: Records the start date of counseling for the household or participant.
  • Termination Reason: Optionally records the reason for the termination of counseling services (options are managed within the EmpowOR system).
  • Description: Provides a space to describe the overall purpose or focus of the counseling sessions.
  • Follow-Up Date: Sets a date for future follow-up (defaults to the staff member entering the service record).

Service Descriptions

Customized fields added to the Service Template and are specific to the program’s needs. The Service Descriptions section is located on the right side of the page. The specialized fields are called Service Groups. They capture additional service information that is required by the funder or the agency.

An Administrator sets up the Service Groups and attaches them to the Program Type during program setup.

Once the Service is added, click SAVE, two tabs populate in the ribbon at the top of the page. 

Sessions

Click the Sessions tab at the top of the Counseling form to record each new counseling session that takes place.

Fields marked with * are required.

Multiple sessions are listed on one form; they appear in the lower part of the Counseling form. 

Key Fields:

  • Date: Date and start time of the session.
  • Duration: Length of the session in minutes.
  • Session Type: (Optional) Type of counseling session (e.g., individual, group).
  • Counselor: Select the counselor who conducted the session.
  • Counseling Focus: The primary focus of the counseling session.
  • Participant Fee: The amount paid by the participant.
  • Session Cost: The total cost of the session.
  • Funding Source: Specifies the funding source used to cover session costs.
  • Allotment: Identifies the specific funding allotment used.
  • Amount: The amount covered by the specified funding source and allotment.
  • Counselor Only Notes: Allows for the entry of private notes by the counselor.

Outcomes

The outcomes page for this template works the same as on the Service Delivery General template. Assigning outcomes is crucial for data entry and compliance with funders like CSBG.

Financial Services

Designed to track financial transactions over time. One form is created for the enrollment period, and individual transactions are recorded within the record over time.

BASIC INFORMATION – Fill in the fields in Basic Information (left quadrant)

Key Fields:

  • Enrollment Service: Specifies that the "Financial Services" form is being used.
  • Date Account Opened: The start date of the financial service.
  • Vendor: (Optional) The name of the financial service provider.
  • Account Number: (Optional) The account number associated with the service.
  • Beginning Balance: The initial balance of the account (often $0.00).

Service Descriptions

Customized fields added to the Service Template and are specific to the program’s needs. The Service Descriptions section is located on the right side of the page. The specialized fields are called Service Groups. They capture additional service information that is required by the funder or the agency.

Financial Balances

Summary balances resulting from all transactions entered. Usually the beginning balance starts at zero but can be changed. The Current Balance increases/decreases with additions and deductions added on the Transactions page. 

Transactions

Page is where individual deposits (Additions)  or withdrawals (Deductions) are recorded on the date(s) they occur. Multiple transactions are listed on the financial form; they appear in the lower part of the form. 

Key Fields:

  • Date of Service: The date the transaction occurred.
  • Amount: The amount of the transaction.
  • Service Transaction Type: The type of transaction (e.g., deposit, withdrawal, interest).
  • Radial Indicators:
    • Funding Source: Indicates the transaction is funded by a designated program source.
    • Other Source: Indicates the transaction originates from a source other than program funding.
    • Participant Paid: Indicates the transaction was paid by the participant.

Outcomes

The outcomes page for this template works the same as on the Service Delivery General template. Assigning outcomes is crucial for data entry and compliance with funders like CSBG.

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