Inform USA Standards - Version 10.0

The Inform USA Standards Version 10.0 is now available! 

The Inform USA Standards are the guideposts for our industry. As such, the Standards Committee worked diligently to make revisions that honored the wide range of agencies and professionals in the field. This document retains the heart of high-quality Information and Referral (I&R) best practices while broadening requirements around taxonomy systems and clarifying language to be easily understood. 

Here is a summary of high-level changes you will see in this edition: 

1. The Quality Indicators (QI) within each standard are now grouped by the roles within an organization that is responsible for its implementation. There are three groupings: 
   • Organizational indicators (Policies/Procedures)
   • Supervisors (Called Oversight)
   • Frontline Staff (Staff/Volunteer Expectations)
     
     
2. New language within the Standard for Classification/Taxonomy System provides an opportunity for organizations to utilize the classification system that meets their needs. The Inform USA Standards need to speak to all segments of the Inform USA membership in their various capacities. Please note that if you are currently using the 211HSIS, this change would have no impact on your work. Agencies that have previously been unable to pursue Inform USA Accreditation due to the requirement to use 211HSIS can now revisit their eligibility. 
   
   
3. In this version, there are 25 Standards. Grouping similar topics made it possible to combine the following: 
   • Database Quality Assurance was combined with the other Quality Assurance topics in the Organizational Effectiveness section. 
   • Disaster Training and Exercise quality indicators were integrated into the most appropriate other Standards within the Disaster section.
     
     
4. The titles of some Standards were renamed to more accurately and concisely reflect the work, including:
   • “Information, Assessment and Referral Provision”... became... “Information and Referral/Assistance Provision”
   • “Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria” became... “Inclusion Criteria” 
   • “Emergency Operations and Continuity of Operations Plan” became... “Disaster Planning”
     
     
5. A new numbering system was utilized, with each Standard being linked to its subsequent Quality Indicator via an extended numbering system (i.e. Standard 5, Quality Indicator 1 is now referenced with the shorter version “5.1”).
   
   
6. When necessary, an appendix for each section of the Standards was added, allowing for the movement of large charts/graphs to the end of the document for ease of reading.
   
   
7. Each Standard was edited for clarity of focus and the use of plain language.
   

View or Download Standards 10.0