Family Barriers page

The “Family Barriers” page of the informal assessment asks questions about issues that are facing the participant’s family, including whether the participant or anyone else in their family has applied for or received SSI/SSDI. More information about barriers faced by the participant is gather on the “Participant Barriers” page.

You will notice that the “Family Barriers” page is divided into two sections: “SSI/SSDI” and “Family Needs”. Together, the information collected in these sections can help you determine what follow up steps to take with the participant. You can track these action items using the "Action Needed app". As with each page of the informal assessment, there is a space at the bottom of the page where you can capture any other information that you feel will be helpful for case management.

Below, you can find information on the following topics related to the “Family Barriers” page.

SSI/SSDI

The “SSI/SSDI” section of the “Family Barriers” page gathers information about Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Income (SSDI).

This section includes questions about:

  1. The participant - not displayed if you have the TMJ Worker or TJ Worker security profile
  2. The participant's family

You will notice that the questions in the “SSI/SSDI” section are dynamic.

  • If you indicate that the participant has applied for SSI or SSDI, you will see several follow up questions to gather additional information. If not, there will be no need to enter any additional information. Regardless of whether the participant has applied for SSI or SSDI in the past, you will be prompted to indicate whether they are interested in learning more about the application process.
  • If you indicate that someone in the participant’s family has applied for SSI or SSDI, you will see relevant follow up questions. Otherwise, follow up questions on this topic will be hidden.

This will allow you to gather detailed information about SSI/SSDI when needed, without answering questions that aren’t relevant.

Additional resources that may been helpful:

Family Needs

The “Family Needs” section of the “Family Barriers” page includes questions to help you identify issues that the participant’s family is facing in order to help you determine what services the family may need.

This section includes a link to the “Need to Care for Disabled Family Member” form, which will allow W-2 workers to easily access this form, if it is needed based on the information gathered.

For some participants, you may see some read-only data from CWW to help you answer the questions in this section more easily. The following data is included for each child:

  • Child's Name
  • Date of Birth
  • Learnfare Status

Most questions in this section will prompt you to select “Yes” or “No” with “Details” required when “Yes” is selected.

If you indicate that the participant has caretaking responsibilities for a family member due to health problems or other special needs, you will need to enter detailed information about that person. You can also add multiple family members in this section. Once you have saved the page, you will be required to enter a delete reason in order to remove a family member from the list, however, family members deleted from this list can still be viewed using through history on the “Informal Assessment Summary”.

Other questions in this section attempt to determine whether anyone in the household engages in risky behaviors or if children in the household have behavior problems. Another question allows you to indicate whether other issues in the family may affect participation.

Action Needed app

Use the “Action Needed app” to track tasks related to the “Family Barriers” page for either you or the participant. You will see some suggested tasks listed on the page:

  • Provide “Need to Care for Disabled Family Member” form
  • Assess for SSI/SSDI Advocacy
  • Refer to Parenting Resources
  • Refer for Family Planning Services
  • Refer to External Agency

As always, there is an “Other” option where you can record a task that is not listed above. See the "Action Needed app" page for more details.

Notes

At the bottom of each page of the informal assessment, there is a “Notes” field. This is where you can record any additional information about “Family Barriers” that you feel will be relevant for case management, including information that doesn’t directly relate to any of the questions asked earlier on the page. General information about the participant or family should still be captured using “PIN comments” or “Case Comments”.

Each time you visit the “Family Barriers” page, you will see whatever information was entered in the “Notes” field the last time the page was saved.

  • If you see information that is no longer relevant, you can delete it or – if needed – replace it with new information. Previously saved “Notes” will still be accessible through the history for the "Family Barriers" page.
  • If the information you see is still relevant, you can leave the existing text in the “Notes” field and – if needed – add additional information.

To get a sense of when “Notes” were originally entered and updated, you can access history for the "Family Barriers" page via the "Informal Assessment Summary".

Keeping Protected Information Safe

The “Family Barriers” page includes an extra layer of security, so it’s okay to enter personal health information (PHI) about the participant and/or their family on this page. Personal health information can include details about medical conditions that may affect the participant and their family, if relevant for case management.

Remember, the “Family Barriers” page is one of only a handful of places in WWP where it’s okay to enter personal health information. The others include the “Participant Barriers” page and contacts with the “Treatment/Assessment Provider” title. All of these pages include the extra security needed to protect sensitive information about the participant and their family.

Help for Individuals with Read-only Access

If you have read-only access to the “Family Barriers” page, you will able to see the response selected for each question. However, in cases where the question included a list of options, it may be helpful to see the full list of choices. Below is a list of questions like this on the “Family Barriers” page, including all the potential responses:

Within the “SSI/SSDI” section:

  • What is the status of the application?
    • Not yet submitted
    • Applied – Decision Pending
    • Appeal – Request for Reconsideration
    • Appeal – Administrative Law Judge Hearing
    • Appeal – Appeals Council Review
    • Appeal – Federal Court Review

Within the “Family Needs” section:

  • Relationship
    • Adult Child
    • Minor Child
    • Spouse
    • Co-parent
    • Other
  • When deleting a family member, the following “Delete Reasons” are available:
    • Family member no longer needs the care
    • Family member moved out of household
    • Family member is deceased
    • Other person providing care to family member
    • Entered in error

See Also: