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EAP Policy Manual FFY24 Chapter 7 Assurance 16 Page 7 All Service Providers are required to perform Informational and Accessibility Outreach activities. In addition, Service Providers must conduct Energy Self-Sufficiency activities to the best of their ability. Service Providers should, at minimum, make efforts to conduct the Referral and Advocacy activities outlined in the Responsive Energy Self-Sufficiency Activities section below. Service Providers should contact the Commerce’s A16 Coordinator to discuss exceptions to this guidance. Energy Self-Sufficiency Activities Energy Self-Sufficiency Activities must contribute in some way to reducing household energy need and enabling energy security (refer to the four energy need reduction strategies noted above). Similar activities, however, might fall under either Responsive or Proactive Activity sub- categories. Service Providers may conduct Responsive activities without submitting a plan to Commerce. A plan must be submitted to and approved by Commerce, however, prior to incurring costs for Proactive activities (see the Proactive Energy Self-Sufficiency Plans section below for more information). Service Providers should contact the A16 Coordinator with questions and/or requests for clarification regarding whether activities are Responsive or Proactive. In general, Service Providers should consider the activities Responsive Energy Self-Sufficiency activities whenever they are conducted with an approach that is reactive, reflexive, spontaneous, occasional, short-term, and/or not intensive (see above for an explanation of the difference between Responsive vs. Proactive Energy Self-Sufficiency approaches). Specific activities included under the Responsive Energy Self-Sufficiency activity sub-category are listed below. Responsive Energy Self-Sufficiency Activities Referral and Advocacy Activities Referral involves collaborating or coordinating services with appropriate community programs or other resources (including energy vendors) to strengthen or improve household energy security, build self-sufficiency skills, or stabilize a household’s situation. Service Provider staff performing referrals should be knowledgeable about available community resources and advocate on behalf of the client for appropriate services. The Service Provider staff responsible for Referral and Advocacy activities should maintain collaborative contacts with social work or other related professionals, make appropriate referrals, and advocate as needed. When carrying out Referral and Advocacy activities, Service Provider staff must comply with the data privacy requirements outlined in Chapter 1 of the EAP Policy Manual. The following are the basic referral and advocacy activities Service Providers may perform without a Proactive Energy Self-Sufficiency Plan when they are done in a Responsive manner and contribute toward reducing household energy: