DCFS offices receive a variety of calls for services to children and families. Calls include, but are not limited to, requests for names and addresses of day care providers from parents looking for day care, requests for shelter, financial assistance and live-in housekeepers as well as reports of alleged child abuse or neglect and referrals for child welfare services. Department staff receiving incoming calls need to be aware of services available from other state and local agencies in order to be of assistance in directing the caller to a resource which can meet their needs. Refer to AP#5, Child Welfare Case Record Organization and Uniform Recording Requirements for assessment documentation.
Department staff shall ensure that information and referral services are accessible to hearing impaired and limited/non-English speaking clients through the use of TDD's, interpreters or other auxiliary aids or devices. Accommodation shall be made for the communication needs of persons with other disabilities such as persons with visual impairments who may need written materials read to them or provided in braille.
Additionally, Department service staff must be aware of other resources to which clients receiving child welfare services can be referred for services other than those which the Department provides. Such resources include, but are not limited to: the Departments of Public Aid, Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities, Rehabilitation Services, Veterans' Affairs, and Aging; the University of Illinois Division of Services for Crippled Children; Legal Assistance Foundation; local mental health centers; local Centers for Independent Living (See Appendix L); Job Service; local health clinics, the Chicago Hearing Society, the Illinois Relay Center (for hearing impaired clients), the Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind, and the Social Security Administration. See Procedures 351, Federal Benefits and Other Public Funds, for a description of some of these resources.
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