|
Church Care Indy serves Indy’s Christian churches and
Indy’s Christian churches serve the city’s legitimate
needy.
Church Care Indy is a clearing house. It has no need
for a public presence. The public presence must be Indy’s
Christian churches - come alive to serve the legitimate
poor. Matthew 25: 35-41
Church Care Indy provides no direct care to the poor.
Church Care Indy has no funds of its own. Church Care
Indy does the administrative work needed to assure that
the church’s time, talent, and treasure intended to serve
the needy actually serves the needy. Our purpose and function
is to help the Christian churches in Marion County and
immediate surrounds provide do-able care to people that
truly need the Church’s care. These are people with a
“need now” situation with no way to help themselves and
nowhere to turn except to the Church. Church Care Indy
provides the assurance that churches are not supporting
requests that, under investigation, do not meet the test
of genuine need.
Financial Help
- Someone is asking a participating church for money.
- The participating church refers them to Church Care
for an intake interview. (Church Care provides a specific
"Referral Processing Sheet" - a script to
help the church’s office staff know what to say and
how to instruct those they refer to the Clearing house
office.)
- The persons referred must call Church Care. Church
Care takes all the required information - then verifies
all information given - i.e. screens the request for
truth, compliance, and possibility. Is the need real?
What does the person really need? Will the money requested
be a help or will it aid and abet a chronic user or
abuser of church and agency resources?
- Church Care e-mails an e-report form detailing the
situation to the referring church. (See samples of e-reports
(PDF 78k) involving requests for money.)
- Church Care always sends the e-report to the church
that referred the person/s. If the information given
has been verified as truth and the money requested deemed
right, helpful, and necessary, and the amount reasonable
and do-able, the e-report will ask if the church is
able and willing to provide the money requested.
- If the e-report e-mailed back to the church is
marked “positive”, it means simply that Church Care
will seek help from other churches in the network
should it be necessary to satisfy the whole amount
requested.
- It the e-report e-mailed back to the church is
marked “negative”, it means that Church Care will
not seek participatory help from other network churches.
Every e-report marked “negative” will contain the
following statement:
Negative means:
The Referring network church is free to respond
however they wish to the $$ requests made of them.
CHURCH CARE does not advise referring churches to
respond or not respond to situations referred for
screening, but we are providing, in this narrative
e-report, the sensible reasons why CHURCH CARE will
not refer the request out to other churches in the
network for their possible cooperative participation.
We do ask the churches, however, to let us know,
for our records, if service was provided and how
much.
- Example: The church receiving back a e-report
marked “positive” may be able to provide all or
sometimes only a part of the amount requested and
sometimes the answer is none. If the referring church
is unable to cover the entire amount, Church Care
sends the e-report to other churches in the network
asking for a part of the amount requested until
the whole amount is covered. (read Love
Stories) While the e-report may be e-mailed
to other network churches asking for their participatory
help, the name of the network church that referred
the person/s to the clearing is not revealed nor
are the names of the churches that are asked to
participate. (see Confidentiality
- Church Care Policy)
*Please note: Church Care does not take calls from the
street, and we do not accept referrals for need situations
involving rents and utilities from agencies or from churches
not in the church network.
Hands-On Help
- The Indianapolis Help Line or a case worker from an
agency refers a caller or a client to Church Care. (Church
Care has a specific "Referral Processing Sheet"
to help the agencies to know what to say and how to
instruct those they refer.)
*Church Care does not take calls from the street. Church
Care accepts calls only if referred by an agency or
by a participating church.*
- Church Care works cooperatively with helping agencies
to analyze the need. We screen them for truth, compliance,
and possibility. Is the need real? What does the person
really need? Is it something volunteers can manage?
- Church Care writes a help request detailing the situation.
See sample help request form
(PDF 64k).
- Church Care sends the help request to one or more
church volunteers in the the Service Pool database asking
if they are able to help.
- The Church Care office makes appropriate follow up
to make certain the helping experience has fully achieved
its goal.
Read some examples of how this process works: Love
Stories
Home | How We Help Churches | About Us | How You Can Help
© 2006 Church Care Indianapolis
|
