Starting an Intake

From PikaDocs

All new intakes begin with an Eligibility Screening. One of the reasons for having a case management system is to help determine whether clients are eligible for services under the regulations which have been set by the Legal Services Corporation (LSC). If the potential client resides outside your organization’s service territory, they must be referred to their local legal services office to complete an intake. If the caller resides within your organization’s service territory, the intake worker should continue with the intake process. When a client request services on a new case, the intake worker should click on “New Eligibility Intake” on the Pika Welcome Screen to begin the eligibility screening.

That will bring up the Eligibility screen. All clients must be screened for financial status eligibility.

On the Eligibility screen, enter the number of children and adults residing in the potential client’s household. Use the “Tab” key to move between boxes. The “# Helped” feature will calculate automatically based upon the number of children and adults that have been entered into the system. If there are no children, enter a “0.” Do not leave the “Children” field blank. Next, enter the client’s immigration status. For the initial eligibility screening, record the applicant’s description of their statu. Clicking on the arrow next to the “Status” box will bring up the pull-down menu with available choices. If the applicant’s status does not seem to fit any of the categories, speak with your supervisor.

Next, enter the type of household income and the appropriate Weekly, Monthly or Annual amount of income. You only need to enter one category (Weekly, Monthly or Annual), and Pika will calculate the other categories automatically. If there is no household income, choose the “No Household Income” option on the pull-down menu and enter a “0” in the Annual income field. If the household has more than one income source, enter each on a separate line.

After all of the income has been entered, Pika will have calculated the “% of Poverty” based upon Federal Poverty Guidelines. Refer to your organization’s eligibility guidelines to determine whether the potential client is eligible for services based on percentage of poverty.

If the potential client is eligible for services based on your organization’s guidelines, continue on to enter the caller’s assets. You must enter information for each of the five asset categories. If the caller does not have any applicable assets (i.e. no Real Property/Real Estate), enter a “0”.

Important: Once all of asset information has been entered, click the “Save” button at the bottom of the screen to continue the intake process. All information that has been entered to this point is saved in the new intake.

Next, click the “Add” button to add a client. Clicking this link will bring up the Client Information screen.

In the Client Information screen, enter the client’s legal name (the one on their driver’s license or other acceptable government identification) whenever possible. In addition, enter the client’s Social Security number, then click “Continue.” This will allow Pika to search the database to see whether the client has been previously entered in the system.

If the same or similar name appears in the Pika database, the next screen will show possible matches.

Use data such as the prospective client’s date of birth, address, and social security number to attempt to determine if any of the potential matches listed are the same person stored in the Pika database. If you determine that the caller is the same person as one of the matches, click on the circular button next to their name and click “OK” to add their name to the intake. If their address or phone number have changed, you can make the changes later on their Client Contact Record.

If you determine that the potential client is not listed in the database, enter his or her information (date of birth, phone, address, etc.) and click “OK” to add his or her name to the Pika database and intake. Pika will return you to the full intake screen.

If changes need to be made on the Client Contact Record, click on the client’s underlined name under Primary Client to bring up the Client Contact Record.

Any changes that need to be made can be entered into the Contact Screen. When you are done adding changes, click on the “Save” button to save the changes and return to the full intake. On the Client Contact Screen you will also see a list of related cases. This list shows whether the client was a “Client” or an “Adverse Party,” and if so, the name of the staff member assigned to the case, when the case was opened and closed, and its status. The list also displays the LSC Problem Code which can help determine whether the client is calling about a new or existing problem.

If applicable, you should next determine the name of the Opposing Party. Click on the arrow next to the box under the “Actions” bar to access the pull-down menu, click on Opposing Party, then click the “Add” button to bring up the “Add Opposing Party” screen.

Enter the opposing party name and social security number (if available) and click “Continue.” Pika will search its database to determine if the opposing party appears has been previously saved.

As with adding a client, check the list to determine whether the opposing party is in the database. If the opposing party is on the list, check the button next to the party’s name and click “OK.” If the Opposing Party is not on the list, simply click “OK.”

Any additional clients, opposing parties, and opposing attorneys can be added to the intake in the same manner as above. Next, click on the “Add Case Notes” link to enter a description of the legal problem.

Type of Activity is usually “Intake” in the case’s early stages. The “Staff” name, “Date” and “Start Time” should appear automatically. Tab through the boxes to the “Notes” section. Type in a description of the legal problem with enough detail that a reviewing advocate will understand the case.

Important: When you are done typing the notes, click on “Save and Close” to enter the case notes in the intake.

Next: Duplicate Intakes