In 2020, The Children’s Friend Volunteer Army was tasked with researching and making recommendations for the design of a centralized intake process and structure at Children’s Friend. As part of our Agency Vision, we seek to ensure that Children’s Friend is the go-to for children’s services in the urban core: well-known, well-respected, and easy-to-access. This will allow Children’s Friend to become a more efficient, cohesive, and seamless agency in our work with each other and with clients. Our hope is that a more streamlined intake process will lead to a better client experience with more clients engaging, which will have ripple effects in the long term. Simply put, we will be able to serve more clients, and serve clients better.
I am now thrilled to report that we have made great progress and have begun to secure the resources to staff this initiative and have launched a pilot, operationalizing multiple programs in a centralized intake process. As an evolving Agency, we continue to build the infrastructure to impact the safety and security of Rhode Island’s most vulnerable young children through effective assessment and connection to an appropriate level of services and supports.
