Introduction to Making Referrals

This article is for the current interface. For the new Clarity interface article, see Introduction to Making Referrals (New Clarity Interface).

Overview

The ability to refer clients to programs with or without eligibility criteria, match and prioritize those referrals based on specific criteria, and manage referrals across multiple programs is a key functionality of Clarity Human Services and an essential component of Coordinated Entry process management.

Referring Clients

Clarity Human Services offers the following methods for making program referrals:

Type of referral	Where to make the referral
Refer the client directly to a specific program regardless of eligibility criteria	Client-level REFERRALS tab
Refer the client directly to a program based on eligibility criteria	Client-level ASSESSMENTS tab or Program-level Assessments tab
For clients on a Community Queue, referrals will be reviewed for program eligibility and prioritization by a designated staff member, and can be reassigned to a program (and a Unit/Bed, if the community is using INVENTORY)	Community Queue
Refer the client directly to a specific Unit/Bed based on Unit eligibility criteria and Unit availability (If the community is using INVENTORY and has enabled the Unit Queue)	Unit Queue

Agency and Program Configurations for Referring to Programs

When referring a client to a program using the method explained above, certain agency and program configurations must be in place for a program to show up as a referral option:

Continuum of Care: The Continuum of Care selection in the Agency Overview must be the same for the referring and referred-to agency (the system does not look at the Continuum of Care field for the program). Refer to the Introduction to Creating and Maintaining Agencies article for more details.
Program Visibility: There are three Program Visibility settings available in a program’s setup that may impact program referrals. Refer to the How to Set Up a Program: Detailed Instructions and Program Setup: Program Visibility for more details.

Eligibility: Eligibility must be toggled on for programs that are basing referrals on eligibility criteria (requirements added in the program's Program Eligibility section will determine if clients display as eligible for that program. For more information, refer to the Program Eligibility article.)
Sharing: Service/Programs/Assessments Placed must be set to "Basic Shared" or "Full Shared" for the program being referred to. Sharing visibility for the Assessment impacts referral methods that require an assessment.

Additional Resources

Refer to the System Administration series of articles on Referrals and the Community Queue for details on system configuration options and requirements for coordinated entry and for making referrals to a community queue.

The following articles provide details on end-user referral workflows:

Updated: 06/16/2026