Information and Referral is about much more than providing the “I” (Information) and the “R” (Referral). It is about empowering people to help themselves both now and in future situations; while it is sometimes also about advocating for people who are not currently able to help themselves.

Empowerment and advocacy are fundamental principles of I&R. 

This interactive course is for Information & Referral (I&R) Specialists who handle human service inquiries from the public and the supervisors who oversee this essential work. The course describes the nature of empowerment (helping people to help themselves) and advocacy (when people really need additional support) within the context of I&R.

The course was written by AIRS staff member, Clive Jones, a former President of InformCanada, who is responsible for the AIRS Certification Program, in addition to assisting with training and standards development. It was adapted from material within The ABCs of I&R (copyright AIRS).

This course may not be applicable to human service professionals engaged in case management activities.

AIRS is the nonprofit Alliance of Information and Referral Systems at www.airs.org.

Learning Objectives

When you have successfully completed this course, you will be able to:

1. Define the concept of empowerment within an I&R environment.
2. Describe the meaning of advocacy in I&R and identify situations in which advocacy is necessary.

Recognize the difference between individual and system advocacy and     examples of each.

Every day, Information and Referral (I&R) Specialists answer calls from vulnerable people in difficult situations. With experience, they get to handling these calls quite adeptly. This course is about those other calls. An I&R specialist must have the skills to meet the needs of all types of people in all types of situations, including people who are angry, hostile, manipulative, call frequently with the same problem, or are otherwise difficult to serve. This interactive course describes the range of “challenging” calls generally encountered within an I&R program, techniques for diffusing situations, setting boundaries, and if necessary, terminating calls. This training was written by AIRS staff member, Clive Jones, a former President of InformCanada, who is responsible for the AIRS Certification Program, in addition to assisting with training and standards development. It was adapted from material within The ABCs of I&R (copyright AIRS). AIRS is the nonprofit Alliance of Information and Referral Systems at www.airs.org.

This course is primarily for Community Resource Specialists.

When you have successfully completed this course, you will be able to:

• Describe the range of clients who may be described as “challenging” for reasons other than the nature of the call. 
• Outline techniques to defuse hostility and cope with challenging clients. 
• Identify when your own feelings are being “triggered” and you are at risk of losing control of the inquiry. 

Learning Concepts and Objectives:

• To describe the role of I&R in a crisis situation
• To outline the types of crises that are encountered in an I&R service
• To assess the nature of a crisis
• To identify techniques for defusing and handling a crisis
• To describe the components of a crisis intervention model
• To define the basis elements of a suicide risk assessment

This package consists of 5 courses essential to providing a foundation of success for Community Resource Specialists. 

First Course: Introduction to Information & Referral

Service Delivery: The Information and Referral Process

Service Delivery: Anatomy of a Good Call

Service Delivery: Confidentiality in Information and Referral Services

Service Delivery: Information and Referral Customer Service

The core of your job is to help people – to “serve” them – to provide I&R customer service.

A Community Resource Specialist may answer 100 calls in a busy day. But each of those calls is the most important call of the day for the person who makes it. The challenge is to respond to each of those 100 calls as it if was also the most important call of your day.

Depending on organizational preferences and background, the people who contact I&R services may be referred to internally as “clients”, “inquirers”, “callers” or “customers”.

This course is primarily for Community Resource Specialists.

When you have successfully completed this course, you will be able to:

• Describe the nature of “I&R customer service” and why it is important.
• Define the pivotal role attitude plays in the provision of quality I&R.
• Identify positive communication strategies.
• Outline the elements involved in opening and closing a call.
• Describe the importance of a continued commitment to improvement through ongoing training and regular supervisory feedback.

Information and Referral (I&R) is not a crisis service. Yet I&R practitioners have always and will always need to occasionally handle crisis situations, including suicide calls. This course addresses the skills required to do so. This course covers all aspects of crisis intervention within an I&R environment. Topics discussed within an interactive format include defining the nature of crisis, the search for coping mechanisms, and the types of crisis generally encountered within I&R. It includes a crisis intervention model and the elements of a suicide risk assessment. The material is primarily geared for front-line staff at I&R services that are responsible for the provision of services delivery to the public. It is not appropriate for crisis specialists but may be a practical primer for other professionals within health and human services. The course was written by AIRS staff member, Clive Jones, a former President of InformCanada, who is responsible for the AIRS Certification Program, in addition to assisting with training and standards development. It was adapted from material within The ABCs of I&R (copyright AIRS). AIRS is the nonprofit Alliance of Information and Referral Systems at www.airs.org.

This package consists of 5 courses essential to providing a foundation of success for Community Resource Specialists - Database Curators.

First Course: Introduction to Information & Referral

Resource Database: An Overview for Resource Specialists

Resource Database: Style

Resource Database: Introduction to Taxonomy and Indexing

Resource Database: Maintenance

This includes an introduction to the AIRS Standards and an overview of the various ways in which I&R services operate (it is appropriate for experienced I&R practitioners). The course was written by AIRS staff member, Clive Jones, a former President of InformCanada, who is responsible for the AIRS Certification Program, in addition to assisting with training and standards development. It was adapted from material within The ABCs of I&R (copyright AIRS). AIRS is the nonprofit Alliance of Information and Referral Systems at www.airs.org.

This course is designed for anyone filling any role in any I&R organization!

When you have successfully completed this course, you will be able to:

• Explain the nature of I&R
• Identify the variety of roles performed by an I&R for individuals, families and communities
• Describe the importance of the AIRS Standards

Database Curators in Information and Referral (I&R) programs create and maintain community databases that detail the information that helps bring people and services together. 

This interactive course is for new staff at Information & Referral (I&R) organizations who will be responsible for the maintenance of resource databases. The course provides an overview of the activities of a Database Curator and an insight into some of the challenges of their position. Although they sometimes have different titles in different agencies, there are two main categories of staff within I&R organizations: Community Resources Specialists who work directly with clients, and Database Curators who provide the information needed by the Community Resources Specialists and other community partners. 

The course was written by AIRS staff member, Clive Jones, a former President of InformCanada, who is responsible for the AIRS Certification Program, in addition to assisting with training and standards development. It was adapted from material within The AIRS I&R Training Manual (copyright AIRS). AIRS is the nonprofit Alliance of Information and Referral Systems at www.airs.org.

Course Objectives

When you have successfully completed this course, you will be able to:

• Identify the functions and purposes of an I&R resource database.
• Demonstrate how the AIRS Standards outline the processes and methods for ensuring database quality.
• Describe the primary activities and skills of an I&R Database Curator.

Despite increased awareness, there remains a stigma about mental health disorders and a lack of understanding about mental health. This interactive course provides general, introductory information on the nature and types of mental health disorders, the services that are available to individuals and their families.caregivers, and how to best communicate to those clients with empathy and confidence. This course is for Community Resource Specialists and is relevant to those who are new to this role, as well as experienced team members who need a refresher. 

This package consists of 5 courses essential to providing a foundation of success for Community Resource Specialists. 

First Course: Introduction to Information & Referral

Service Delivery: The Information and Referral Process

Service Delivery: Anatomy of a Good Call

Service Delivery: Confidentiality in Information and Referral Services

Service Delivery: Information and Referral Customer Service

This package consists of 5 courses essential to providing a foundation of success for Community Resource Specialists - Database Curators.

First Course: Introduction to Information & Referral

Resource Database: An Overview for Resource Specialists

Resource Database: Style

Resource Database: Introduction to Taxonomy and Indexing

Resource Database: Maintenance

This practice test for AIRS Certification as a Community Resource Specialist - Aging/Disabilities (CRS-A/D) examination consists of 63 questions while the full exam contains 100 questions. However, the questions are in the same format and weighted in the same proportion in subject area as the full exam. Success in the practice exam certainly does not guarantee success in the full exam, but it will provide you with some realistic preparation for the actual experience. Finally, please note that some of the questions within this practice exam might be using the "old" designation of an "I&R/A Specialist" or a "CIRS-A/D."

This practice test for AIRS Certification as a Community Resource Specialist (CRS) examination consists of 50 questions while the full exam contains 100 questions. However, the questions are in the same format and weighted in the same proportion in subject area as the full exam. Success in the practice exam certainly does not guarantee success in the full exam, but it will provide you with some realistic preparation for the actual experience. In addition, although this practice exam contains no questions specific to I&R within Aging and Disabilities, because of the overlap of questions between the CRS and CRS-A/D examinations, this is also a useful preparation for CRS-A/D candidates. Finally, please note that some of the questions within this practice exam might be using the "old" designation of an "Information and Referral Specialist" or a "CIRS."

This practice test for the AIRS Certification as a Community Resource Specialist - Database Curator (CRS-DC) examination consists of 50 questions while the full exam contains 100 questions. However, the questions are in the same format and weighted in the same proportion in subject area as the full exam. Success in the practice exam certainly does not guarantee success in the full exam, but it will provide you with some realistic preparation for the actual experience. Finally, please note that some of the questions within this practice exam might use the "old" designation of a "CRS."