A Novel Approach to Geographically Mapping Effective Family-Based Services: Feasibility and Quality Comparison with 2-1-1.

Abstract

Community social services are often fragmented and difficult to navigate. This presents a barrier to programs, such as health navigation, that focus on connecting individuals to available services. Existing service mapping efforts, such as those generated by 2-1-1, are helpful but limited in the specificity they provide, particularly with regard to whether services are based on evidence-informed principles. This may lead to a distrust of service quality or poor referral match. We developed a novel service mapping protocol to identify local, evidence-informed, family-based services, and compared results to 2-1-1's resource list. Our mapping protocol identified more evidence-informed services than 2-1-1 and collected greater detail related to accessibility. Recommendations for integrating this approach into routine community mapping efforts (e.g., 2-1-1) or as a stand-alone approach are discussed.