About This Resource

This resource was created for our CA:RISE program and is now available to the field!

Purpose

The purpose of this toolkit is to guide employment social enterprises (ESEs) as they develop an intake process for new participant employees. This toolkit provides an overview of the purpose of the intake process, best practices for implementation, and a sample intake form that the ESE can customize to best fit its focus population.

INTRODUCTION

As you consider your intake process, think of it like the front door to your new participant’s experience. At Homeboy Industries, the greeter at the front door makes an impression. A Homeboy participant once said, “They welcomed me like they had been waiting for me.” Consider how to blend the business of completing intake paperwork with an introduction to the unique culture of your organization.

Intake refers to the initial process of gathering information from a new ESE program participant. These meetings often involve asking a series of questions and collecting documentation and serve as the foundation for creating an individualized service plan.

Through the intake process, ESEs typically aim to:

• Gather personal and demographic information relevant to the program
• Understand the participant’s current situation, such as their employment status, skills, and barriers to work.
• Identify specific needs, such as housing, transportation, language skills, or mental health support.
• Collect baseline data related to program outcomes for the ESE.
• Assess goals and readiness for employment or training programs.
• Create an individualized service plan tailored to the participant’s unique challenges and aspirations.

Download the guide here:

About Flying Whale Strategies

Flying Whale Strategies is supporting a new wave of nonprofit leaders who design definitive solutions to age-old problems. These leaders are working on deeply rooted challenges that have no foreseeable solution: hunger, the education system, criminal justice reform, the climate crisis, the refugee crisis, to name a few. And yet despite the enormity of these challenges, we believe nonprofit leaders could begin with the question, “Why can’t we?” They offer consulting and training in: culture, leadership, development, and operations.