Post by chrismccainuw on Mar 27, 2020 12:52:08 GMT -8
Many teams are moving towards predominantly phone contacts with clients but, as we all know, clients don't always have access to their own phones. There have been a number of solutions put forth so far, including:
On a call with some teams in WA state, some questions were brought up about phone use that would be great for other teams to weigh in on:
- Going through the team's caseload, and categorizing everyone's level of phone access (i.e., has functioning personal cell phone or landline, no personal phone but reachable via natural supports, has a phone but no minutes/plan, does not own a phone, etc.)
- Asking your agency to allow for spending to purchase minutes for clients who need them
- Purchasing disposable cell phones for client use (the cheapest in WA state at least cost $45 and include 1 month of unlimited talk/text)
- Teaching clients phone skills to address other barriers (texting, using video chatting, and, especially, how to check and delete voicemails)
On a call with some teams in WA state, some questions were brought up about phone use that would be great for other teams to weigh in on:
- How did teams go about securing funding for use on phone-related purchases? (For example, one WA state team talked about presenting it to the agency as the only way to comply with an agency decision to shut down face to face contacts and still deliver services; a NY team talked about receiving additional funding at the state level for phone purchasing)
- Where are teams finding cheap phones to buy? Many places stores are shut down or low in stock, and some delivery seems disrupted.
