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EAP Policy Manual FFY24 Chapter 7 Assurance 16 Page 8 • Providing client with specific referrals. This activity includes providing specific referrals to households based on a responsive, and generally minimal, needs assessment. It includes advocating for the household to make sure services can be accessed. This task may also include: • Needs assessment. This task includes time spent interviewing the client to understand their situation and identify immediate needs and appropriate, specific referrals • Accessing services: This involves helping the household to access services the household cannot access alone. Activities might include making calls on the household’s behalf, helping the household complete an application for non-EAP services or resources, helping the household manage a series of actions needed to access services, etc • Stabilizing household situation: This activity includes helping the household manage a series of crises that have the potential to spin out of control. This is a case management activity for households in crisis. The crisis must have an energy component to qualify for A16 funding. It does not include administering Primary Heat, Crisis or ERR benefits. • Resolving energy emergency: This activity includes working with the energy vendor and the household to get fuel delivered, service reconnected, or repairing or replacing non-functioning mechanical heating systems when Primary Heat, Crisis or ERR funds have already been exhausted. It does not include administering Primary Heat, Crisis or ERR benefits. • Providing applicants with a list of referral agencies. This activity includes the time and cost for developing and distributing a list of resources that could help a household reduce their energy need. Referral and Advocacy Preparation Activities • Building network of local resources. This activity involves developing knowledge of locally-available resources for referral of EAP applicants, including identifying and organizing a list or database of such resources (It does not include the costs for any database software). It also includes occasional time spent building relationships with the staff of organizations that provide identified resources (e.g., networking). • Familiarizing staff with local and government resources. This activity involves organized events, meetings, or other formal means for familiarizing staff with local and government resources, including distributing information and training staff on how to most effectively make referrals to specific referral resources. • Training staff to elicit client needs. This task includes planned, formal activities to train staff on eliciting, or identifying with the client, immediate client needs (e.g., via a needs assessment), including research, preparation, presentation and follow-up.