Transcript Taking the Test

Taking the Test
Sharon DonerFeldman
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Study Tips
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Practice Questions
President
TRAINING FOR YOU
You Are Almost There
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You are a professional
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Together we are going to put
the icing on your preparation
……..and just remember…….
I’M SAFE
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I – I will not let myself get sick over this
Me - Taking care of me .. exercise, good night sleep,
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Stress – I’m not going to pick a fight with a family
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etc
member the night before the test
Achiever - I have achieved many other things in my life
 Feel Good – I know that I know “my stuff”
 Eating – I will not decide to start my diet the day before
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the test
Composition of AIRS Certification Tests
For CIRS Examination:
 I&R Systems/Services
 I&R Process
 Special Interventions
 Special Populations/Scenarios
10% of exam (approx.)
45% of exam (approx.)
10% of exam (approx.)
35% of exam (approx.)
For CIRS-A Examination:
 I&R Systems/Services
 I&R Process
 Special Interventions
 Special Populations
 Aging Specific Information/Scenarios
10% of exam (approx.)
40% of exam (approx.)
10% of exam (approx.)
10% of exam (approx.)
30% of exam (approx.)
For CRS Examination:
 Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria
 Record Structure/Data Elements
 Indexing Principles
 Classification System/Taxonomy
 Database Maintenance
 Service-Specific Questions
 Indexing/Proofing Scenarios
10% of exam (approx.)
25% of exam (approx.)
25% of exam (approx.)
10% of exam (approx.)
10% of exam (approx.)
15% of exam (approx.)
5% of exam (approx.)
What do the Exams cover?
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Competencies - knowledge for doing our
jobs
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Tenets – Bill of Rights & Philosophy
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Standards- understanding and following our
professional standards
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ABCs of I&R- recognizing values,
perceptions and the specialist/inquirer
relationship
What do the Exams cover?
(continued)
Crisis response knowledge - trained to
handle difficult people, drug and alcohol and
mental illness issues
Special Populations - sensitive to the needs
of special population groups such as older
adults, people with disabilities, teens, and
military personnel
Specialized Knowledge – regarding older
adults or database management (CIRS-A and
CRS)
AIRS Professional Standards
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Addresses all aspects of an I&R service’s
operations from answering the phone to
working cooperatively within a system of
service delivery
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Establish reference points that define best
practices
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Indicators of service quality & effectiveness
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Certification based upon fulfillment of AIRS
standards
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Foundation for AIRS Accreditation
Tenets of I&R
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I&R Bill of Rights
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Philosophy of I&R
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Main Functions of an I&R Service
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Services for Individuals
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Services for Communities
Tenets of CIRS-A
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Know the Older American’s Act
Information and Referral
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Slightly different in each section
Example: AIRS supports practices that
respect the older adult & his/her
caregiver’s right to
• Be empowered to the extent possible
• An appropriate level of support in obtaining
services
I&R Bill of Rights
AIRS supports practices that respect everyone’s right to:
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Anonymous and/or confidential access to information
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Be empowered to the extent possible
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Assistance based on the inquirer’s personal value system
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Treatment based on respect and sensitivity to cultural,
generational and age/disability related differences
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Self-determination and the opportunity to access and choose
the most appropriate I&R service available in the system
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Accurate and comprehensive information about services
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An appropriate level of support in obtaining services
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A grievance procedure if they feel they have not received
satisfactory service from the I&R specialist
To Remember the Bill of
 Use acronyms Rights
Example: To remember the Bill of Rights – use
AARCIE’S (the opposite of Archie Bunker’s Bill of
Rights)
– A for Access
– A for Assistance
– R for Respect
– C for Choice
– I
for Information
– E for Empowerment
– S for Support
And when not satisfied, then you file a
Philosophy of
Information & Referral
1.
Attempt to understand and listen to each
inquirer’s situation including the origins of the
difficulty, the feelings inquirers have about their
circumstances, the personal resources inquirers
may bring to bear on the issue, and the barriers to
resolution of the problem
2.
Offer immediate and appropriate response and
support when the individual is experiencing a
crisis or other emergency situation
3.
Be available, not to solve inquirers’ problems for
them, but to empower inquirers to understand and
solve their own problems
4.
Help inquirers prioritize their needs and build an
action plan
Philosophy of I&R cont…
5.
Help inquirers identify resources that can meet
their needs
6.
Be careful not to overwhelm inquirers with a
myriad of options or provide them with too few to
allow them an informed choice
7.
Advocate on behalf of the inquirers who require
extra support to access necessary services either
because they don’t have the appropriate skills or
because the service is difficult for the person to
access.
8.
Follow up on all cases involving endangerment
and situations in which the specialist believes the
inquirer does not have the necessary capacity to
follow through and resolve their own problem.
To Remember Philosophy
Philosophy of I & R (We are SPECIAL
people)
– S support – offer information & caring
– P prioritize needs
– E empower – not to solve
– C careful not to overwhelm with options
– I identify resources
– A advocate when necessary
– L listen to understand
And we always FOLLOW UP our actions!
6 Main Categories-with 28 Standards
1. Service Delivery (6 standards)
(Information, Referral,
Advocacy/Intervention, Crisis & Follow-Up)
2. Resource Database (6 standards)
(Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria, Data
Elements/ Classification System (Taxonomy),
Indexing the Resource Database/Search
Methods, Database Maintenance)
3. Reports & Measures (2 standards)
(Inquirer Data Collection, Data Analysis &
Reporting)
6 Main Categories with 27 Standards
4. Cooperative Relationships (2 standards)
(Within the Local I&R System, Within the Local Service
Delivery System, Among Local, State, Regional,
National and International I&R Providers)
5. Organizational Requirements (5 standards)
(Governance, Personnel Administration, Staff Training,
Promotion and Outreach)
6. Disaster Preparedness (7 standards)
(Emergency Operations & Business Contingency Plan,
Formal Relationships with Gov’t. and other Relief
Agencies, Pre & Post Disaster Database, Inquirer
Reports, Technology Requirements, Training and
Exercise)
Examples of
Standards and Criteria
Service Delivery
Standard 1: Information Provision
Provide information to an inquirer in response to
a direct request for such information
Criteria:
1) Information shall be accurate and pertinent
2) I & R specialist shall encourage recontact
Ways to Remember Standards
Think logically!!
Example: Service Delivery
• We need to have information about
resources
• We assess and give referrals
• We advocate to make sure that people get
what they need
• We follow up to make our customers had
their needs met.
It’s what we do every day!!
Another Example of
Standards
Resource Database
Standard 8: Data Elements
The standardized entry must contain all
required data elements.
Criteria: Agency/Main Site
Unique ID number
Record Ownership Code
Agency Name
AKA
Street/Physical Address
Mailing Address
Web Site
Email address
Phone numbers
Agency Description
Main Site Description
Hours of Operation
Legal Status
Date of Last Complete Update
Date of Last Partial Update
Contact for Updating Purposes
Skills Needs for Standards
Under Referral Provision
How do you do your job as an I & R Specialist?
Rapport
Non-judgmental
Assessment
Various approaches
Inquirer’s own resources
Use resource information system
Provide no more than 3 referrals
Suggest ways inquirer
can advocate for themselves
Refer to an advocacy org
Encourage callers to call back
Follow up
Accurately record phone calls.
ABCs© of I &R- Competencies
A to Z for Information and Referral
Building Blocks of I & R
How do we do I & R
3 C’s of Communication
(Contact, Clarification and Closure)
Resource File Management – how do we
organize our resources (inclusion,
exclusion, data elements, indexing,
taxonomy, updating resources)
More Competencies
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Special Challenges
– assisting difficult callers, chronic consumers,
alcohol and drug abusers, mental disabilities
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Populations with Special Needs
– older adults, hearing impaired, youth
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Professional and Personal Growth &
Development
– values, perceptions, self-awareness,
professionalism, stress and time management
And More
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Managing an I & R Program
– boards, policies and procedures, data
collection and analysis, managing change
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Staying Afloat
– selling your data, maximizing collaborative
efforts, grantsmanship, directories,
strategic planning
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I & R in Times of Disaster
– specialists in preparing
CIRS-A Exam
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What is SSI, SSDI, Medicare, Medicaid
 Elder Abuse
 Older Americans Act
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Specific services for older adults
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Alcoholism and drug addictions
Effects of addictions on families
Referral options for people with addictions
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Definitions of “older” and “elderly”
 The aging process
 Overcoming barriers to communications
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Specialized Competencies
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CIRS, CRS and CIRS-A each have their own
competencies. However, everyone needs to know the
scope and variety of comprehensive and specialized I
& R services:
– Comprehensive serving the entire community
– Older adults
– People with disabilities
– Victims of crimes
– People in military and their dependents
– Children and youth
– Other targeted populations
– Hotlines and helplines
– Crisis intervention programs
– Volunteer clearinghouses
2-1-1
A National Initiative to Link People
with Community Services
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National abbreviated dialing code for free access to health
and human services information and referral (I&R).
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Makes a critical connection between individuals and
families in need and the appropriate community-based
organizations and government agencies.
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In 2008, 2-1-1 services in the U.S. answered more than
14 million calls!
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As of April 2009, 2-1-1 serves over 240 million Americans
(more than 80% of the entire population) covering all or
part of 46 states (including 33 states with 90%+ coverage)
plus Washington DC and Puerto Rico. The remaining
states are all in various stages of planning and
implementation
.
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As of September 2008, more than 9,300,000 Canadians -more than 28% of the population -- have access to 2-1-1
Canadian services.
The Best Way to Learn
Discussing our questions and
teaching each other.
No question is too small or insignificant –
let’s ask them all.
What is the Test?
100 Multiple choice questions
Four answers to choose from
 No All of the Above or None of
the Above
Questions are straightforward but
need to pay attention to what the
questions are asking.
Tips on Taking
Multiple-Choice
Look over the test and pace yourself.
 Take a few breaks during the exam in your seat.
 Read the question and try to answer it BEFORE
looking at the answers.
 But make sure you look at all the answers before
choosing.
 Do not spend too much time on any one question.
 If the question asks you something you do not know,
see if you can cross out any of the wrong answers
before you guess
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More Tips on Taking Tests
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Strategies to help narrow the answers
to one answer
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does the answer you’re considering completely address the
question
“trick questions” are only tricky because they’re not taken
at face values – don’t read too much into the question
"All of the above" answers are often correct. If you know
two of three options are correct, "all of the above" is a
strong possibility.
Reread all questions and look out for
all, some, none, most always, usually,
seldom or never.
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This will help you eliminate those answers that are not
appropriate
And Yet More Tips
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Resist changing your answer.
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Don’t skip around – answer in order – flag
it to come back if you absolutely can’t
answer it
“You need to practice answering
questions that someone else has written.”
Example Questions
1.
A person may be suicidal if he or she:
a. Gives away prized possessions
b Refuses to share her lottery winnings
c. Is very cautious
d. Likes to play practical jokes
2.
When speaking with an elderly client, you
should use the word
a. Senile
b. Forgetful
c. Stupid
d. Archaic
More Examples
3.
When would it be appropriate for you to actively
advocate for a client?
a. When you feel very benevolent
b. The client is not moving fast enough for you
c. A client offers you a home baked cake to speak for
her
d. The client doesn’t speak English and the agency
referred to doesn’t have an Spanish interpreter
4.
Active listening is focusing your attention on what the
client is
a.
b.
c.
d.
expressing both verbally and non-verbally
expressing verbally
using sign language
expressing non-verbally
Study Main Points and Questions
ABC’s Guide
Handouts
each chapter has main points
Questions
each chapter has questions and
answers
Study them very carefully!!
Anything You Wanted to Know About I&R
But Were Afraid to Ask?
Glossary
 Competencies
 Standards
 Crisis Intervention
 Difficult Clients
 Knowledge of Government and
Community Systems
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We Are Not in this Work for the Bucks!!
You have a desire to help
and to enable others to
help themselves.