Our Daily Bread 2009 Holiday Program

On-Line Referral Form and Instructions

for Referring Agents

On-Line Referral Form Our Deadline for Holiday Assistance Application Has Passed

On behalf of Fairfax County, Our Daily Bread will continue to provide holiday assistance and facilitate placement of needy families with community-based organizations and individual donors for the 2009 holiday season.

Once again this year, we will be using an automated referral system. Under this process, you will be able to make your referrals on-line using a secure and confidential form on our web site. We are confident that this will reduce the potential for errors and duplications and improve turnaround time for matching referrals with donors. 

We have added a new feature this year for returning referring agents.  Previous referrals will be in a secure table unique to each agent so to use a “look up system” for clients that have been referred before.  A check box will be next to each referral which will indicate whether a client has been adopted and by whom.  This feature should be in place by the end of September.   Hopefully you will find this to be helpful in filling out your forms in a more timely manner and eliminate phone calls checking on status.

For new social workers this year, as you add clients, a table will be established for you with the same features.  This should also be up and running by the end of September.  This does not mean that you cannot make referrals, you will just not have the ability to see status until then.

This is all new, and still a work in progress, so we appreciate everyone’s patience! 

Guidelines

To ensure the most efficient service and avoid delivery problems, please note the following important guidelines:

• Please consider carefully the needs of each family before making a referral. Demand for holiday assistance has increased tremendously each year, with a record number of 3,153 served last year alone! We anticipate even greater demand this year due to the state of the economy and loss of jobs. To ensure that we can serve as many families as possible, and to maintain the confidence of our donors in the integrity of the program, please determine to the best of your ability whether a family referred to the Holiday Program is truly in need of help to provide holiday meals and gifts. Thank you for your cooperation!

Completed referral forms will be accepted until November 6th for Thanksgiving assistance and through December 1st  for December holiday assistance.

Referrals will be assigned to donors on a first-come, first-served basis after the deadline. Several donor groups close their lists in October. There is no guarantee that families will receive holiday assistance, but every effort will be made to serve them.

• Many of our donor organizations require gift suggestions and clothing sizes for children for use in angel trees or similar programs. Please include any specific gift recommendations or requests or other pertinent information in the “comments” field. Note that our donors are asked to provide gifts for children under 18 only.

• Some of the community-based organizations which adopt families require those families to pick up assistance at a designated time and place. Other groups make deliveries. Accurate phone numbers, mailing and delivery addresses are vital to successfully receiving assistance. Completion of the referral form indicates families agree to meet the requirements of the contributing groups.

• Upon completing the form on-line, you will receive an email confirmation of your referral. Forms must be filled out in English, include the complete delivery address, English-speaking contact with phone number, if needed, and attending school, if applicable. Please note: forms will not be processed unless all required fields are entered.

• As the primary liaison with this family, you may be contacted to help facilitate assistance. Please include your name, phone number and e-mail address.

• Notify ODB immediately of any changes of address or phone number for the families you referred.  For best results, please do this via email to holiday@ODBfairfax.org. Please DO NOT have the family contact ODB’s office to apply for or receive assistance or to check on their status.

You may track the status of your referrals. ODB will provide an electronic file documenting the referral’s status to the contacts listed below on November 16th for Thanksgiving assistance and December 14th  for December holiday assistance.

Referring Agent	Assigned Contact	Contact Information
School Social Workers	Sue Elman	Sue.Elman@fcps.edu
School Guidance Counselors	Ellissia Price	Ellissia.Price@fcps.edu
CSP	Linda Peterson	Linda.Peterson@fairfaxcounty.gov
CSP	Monica Traylor	Monica.Traylor@fairfaxcounty.gov
Adult-Aging	Kimberly Cauthen	kimberly.cauthen@fairfaxcounty.gov
Community Services Board	Sue Boucher	Sue.Boucher@fairfaxcounty.gov
Family Preservation Services	Cynthia Gilbert	Cynthia.Gilbert@fairfaxcounty.gov
OP3	Swaim Pessaud Dionne Castor	Pessaud, Swaim
Self Sufficiency Division	Sandy Ovuka Andrea Lomrantz	Sandy.Ovuka@fairfaxcounty.gov andrealomrantz@fairfaxcounty.gov
Head Start/Early Childhood	Melanie Dunn-Chadwick	Melanie.Dunnchadwick@fcps.edu
Community Based Services	Cathy Winter	Cathy.Winter@fairfaxcounty.gov
Child Protective Services	Cynthia Gilbert	Cynthia.Gilbert@fairfaxcounty.gov
Institute for Family Centered Services	Jen Bentley	novafcs@ifcsinc.com

 

ODB Holiday Program Contact Information

Laura Vaughn                      Phone: 703-273-8829            Email: holiday@ODBfairfax.org

Heather Webb                     Phone: 709-273-8829              Email: forms@ODBfairfax.org

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