Community Resource Navigators link community members to the local landscape of service providers to improve their access to housing, healthcare and other resources. Navigators listen, advocate, and act on behalf of everyone in the communities that they support. Navigators also support nonprofits by guiding clients/potential clients through documentation gathering and applications, making time spent with local agencies more effective.
United Way of Kaw Valley’s Community Resource Navigation program is sponsored by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas and UWKV donors.
UNITED WAY ANNOUNCES COMMUNITY RESOURCE NAVIGATION EXPANSION
A Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas grant will support an enhanced program with navigators in Douglas and Shawnee Counties
Topeka, KS—United Way of Kaw Valley (UWKV) and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas (BCBSKS) announced a new partnership today that will expand community resource navigation services and help connect community members to resources to help them thrive and live healthy lives.
“We know that health is more than health care,” said Virginia Barnes, Director of Blue Health Initiatives with BCBSKS. “By increasing access to community resources through navigation, we can help ensure that Kansas communities build resilient networks to improve the health of Kansans who may not easily navigate the complex health and social systems on their own."
Through a Trailblazers grant from BCBSKS, UWKV will employ a program director and two Community Resource Navigators, one serving primarily Lawrence and the other serving Shawnee County. United Way will continue to fund a rural Community Resource Navigator in Douglas County, expanding that coverage to include Baldwin City and Lecompton as well as Eudora.
These positions will help people access a complex system of social service programs and serve as a key point of contact and source of support for community members in crisis. Navigators will help improve communication between clients and agencies, facilitate the often-complicated application process for receiving services, and provide help in a way that honors every client’s culture and lived experience.
United Way has already hired a Director of Community Resource Navigation, Heather Coates of Lawrence. Applications are open for the three initial navigator positions.
UWKV CEO Jessica Lehnherr said she is proud that the groundwork for the program was laid in both the early navigation work in Douglas County and the closed-loop referral network effort in Shawnee County. “This feels like the synergy we knew was possible when we merged with United Way of Douglas County,” she said. “The time was absolutely right to build upon the years of collaboration that our Vice President of Community Impact, Brett Martin, had put in with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas.”
For more information about UWKV’s Community Resource Navigation program, please visit www.uwkawvalley.org/community-resource-navigation.
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Highlighted Quotes:
“Expanding community health worker and navigator services is an intersecting strategy throughout our Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP). United Way of Kaw Valley’s involvement in this work reflects a shared commitment to improving access to essential services like primary and prenatal care, behavioral health, childcare, food assistance and housing. Efforts to expand Douglas County’s community health work and navigation services not only help individuals navigate complex systems of care, but these efforts also foster collaboration among community partners. By implementing a coordinated network of support, we strengthen our collective ability to improve the health of our community.” – Johnathan Smith, UWKV Board Member and Executive Director of Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health
“We are grateful for the progressive vision of BCBS that recognizes the health and wellbeing impact of connecting people with necessary social services. This grant to support a systemic approach to community care coordination will be a significant difference maker across our urban and rural communities while integrating across all service providers.” – Beth Llewellyn, UWKV Board Chair
Project Description:
The Community Resource Navigators will support community members in need of support and resources. By helping them navigate complex systems, the Community Resource Navigator will be a key point of contact and source of support for community members in crisis. This program aims to be a link between the health and social services sectors and the community. The goal is to facilitate access to services and improve both the quality and cultural competence of service delivery.
This program will not only improve access to services but also improve the experience of community members navigating complex systems and can result in cost and resource savings.
This intervention will support and leverage closed loop referral networks across our communities, serving as a critical link between service providers and programs.
Vision:
Community members are connected to resources that provide the opportunity to thrive and live healthy lives.
Theory of Change:
If we implement a robust community resource navigation program that intersects existing navigation programs and systems, we will build capacity in our human services ecosystem and individuals and families will more easily and effectively access the resources they need to thrive.
Overview:
United Way of Kaw Valley will develop a Community Resource Navigation program across Shawnee and Douglas Counties that:
- Ties to Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) priorities in each community;
- Is developed according to best practice models in the state;
- Provides training and certification to navigators;
- Creates and maintains workflows for both high-need and general populations;
- Works collaboratively with existing navigation/Community Health Worker (CHW) programs in the communities;
- Uses existing referral networks and systems to receive clients and to refer clients to services or work with partners to develop those systems;
- Creates and maintains branding materials to distribute at key locations across the communities to build name recognition and awareness of services;
- Builds capacity in the human services sector;
- Is innovative, nimble, and open to key and strategic partnerships;
- Measures meaningful outputs and outcomes that drive improved community health outcomes.
The essential functions of the navigators:
- Carry out work in a client-centered approach with dignity, respect, and cultural competence
- Be onsite in strategic locations throughout the community to build relationships and trust with community members, including being out in the community 65%-70% of the time
- Complete all telephone and face to face contacts with community members in a timely and professional manner
- Assist in completion of enrollment forms and other needed documentation and document in approved format in a timely manner
- Complete referrals through closed-loop referral system (where available)
- Help with medical, behavioral health, and social service referrals to ensure client access and follow through
- Ensure client access to interpreters and translators for medical and social services appointments
- Assist clients in obtaining necessary medications through patient assistance programs and other reduced cost programs
- Complete all required documentation and data tracking in a detailed and timely manner
- Attend and actively participate in project related training and project meetings
- Understand community needs, resources, and local and national best practice strategies