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Creating a Care Request

Last updated on 
A Create Care Request form outline listing Person, Due Date, Type, Assign To, and Place beside Care Provider and Group.
One form captures who needs care, by when, and who is responsible.

When someone in your congregation needs care, whether it is a hospital visit, a meal sign-up, or a follow-up call after a hard week, a care request is how your team tracks it from "someone should look into this" all the way to "done." Getting the details right up front keeps needs from slipping through the cracks.

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Watch: creating your first care request.

What is a care request?

A care request is a documented care need tied to a specific person. It moves through a few states as your team works it:

Entered → Assigned → Accepted → In Progress → Closed

A request can also be Rejected if the person it is assigned to declines it. This guide covers entering one by hand.

Create a care request as an administrator

  1. Set the Due Date. It starts seven days out, and you can pick any date that fits the need.
  2. Choose a Type, such as Follow-up or Hospital Visit. The + button adds a new type on the spot.
  3. Optionally, use Assign To to hand the request off right away (see the next section). Leave it blank and the request is saved as Entered, ready for someone to pick up.
  4. Write the Care Request Description. The editor supports formatting, links, and attachments.
  5. Click Create to save, Create & create another to save and start a new one, or Cancel to back out.

Choose the Place if the person is at a hospital, hospice, or facility. The place travels with the request to whoever takes it. If your description names one of your team's places, a line appears that says "Looks like this mentions" the place and asks whether to attach it. Click Attach to fill the Place field, or Dismiss to ignore it. Use the + beside Place to add a new one.

A suggestion to attach a place named in the description, with Attach and Dismiss buttons, above the Place field
The suggestion only appears when your description names one of your team's places.

Add Tags to help your team search and filter later. Tab, space, comma, and Enter all end a tag, so typing "hospital visit" makes two tags, "hospital" and "visit."

Two tags typed as hospital visit and needs rides, each split into two tags
Each word becomes its own tag, so 'hospital visit' shows as two tags.

If this is long-running care like counseling, ongoing prayer, or weekly check-ins, tick Mark this care request as Ongoing. This box only appears if your team allows ongoing requests. Ongoing requests are never flagged Overdue, send no due-soon or overdue reminders, and show "Ongoing" instead of a deadline until you close them.

The Ongoing checkbox ticked on the create form
The helper text under the checkbox explains that ongoing requests are never flagged Overdue.

Choose the Person. Start typing a name, email, or phone number. This is the same person search used across CareNote, and results read Name (email) - phone. If the person is not in CareNote yet, click the + button beside the field to add them without leaving the form.

The Person field with a search open and matching people listed
Results show the name, email, and phone so you can pick the right person.

Click Care in the sidebar, then click Create Care Request at the top of the list. The page that opens is titled "Create Care Requests."

The Care Requests list with the Create Care Request button at the top right
Look for the amber Create Care Request button in the page header.
A completed create form with a Care Provider chosen and the Additional Care Providers field beside it
A finished form: person, type, due date, Care Provider, and the Additional Care Providers field.

Assigning while you create

Under Assign To, choose one of two paths. For the full story on routing, reassigning, and what each person sees, see the Assigning a Care Request guide.

  • Care Provider reveals a required Care Provider list, shown as Name – Role. Once you have chosen a Person, the list respects your campus settings, so it may not show every team member. Choosing someone moves the request to Assigned right away.
  • Additional Care Providers sits beside it on CareNote Plus teams. These people see the request in their lists and can file care reports, but only the Care Provider accepts it. Teams without Plus see a short upgrade hint instead.
  • Care Group reveals a required Care Group list. On Plus teams you can switch on Send acceptance request to group members, and the first member to accept is assigned automatically.
The Care Group branch with the Send acceptance request to group members toggle
The toggle's helper text says the first member to accept will be assigned automatically.

A request routed to a group with no provider yet shows an indigo Assigned to group badge, with the group's name below the due date. Behind the scenes it is still in the Entered state until someone accepts it.

A care request card with the Assigned to group badge
The badge shows the group's name so you can tell who holds the request.

If your team uses automatic assignment

Some teams set up automation so a request's Type decides who gets it. The form is then titled Care Request Intake Form, and there is no Assign To on the main card. Instead, the right side shows an Automation Info card and an Assignment Settings card. Assignment happens right after you save.

Need to pick someone yourself? Switch on Override Automated Assignment. Assign To appears, with the same Care Provider and Care Group choices described above.

The automated form with Automation Info and Assignment Settings cards
The right column explains that the request will be assigned based on its category.

If you are a Team Member

Team Members create requests from their own dashboard, and the form is simpler: Person, Care Request Due Date, Category, Care Request Description, and Place. There is no Assign To, Tags, or Ongoing option. The Team Member list also has no Create button, so start from the create page your administrator links you to. Afterward, use the Assign to Group Member row action to route a request.

The Team Member create form with Person, Due Date, Category, Description, and Place
Team Members see fewer fields than administrators: no Assign To, Tags, or Ongoing.

You can also start a request from a logged interaction. Open the interaction's Actions menu and choose Create Care Request. It is created for the same person and assigned to you.

What next

Once a request is saved, open it and use the Actions menu to add more help. Add Care Needs organizes practical help like rides and yard work, and Add a Care Table sets up a meal sign-up. See the Care Needs and Care Table guides.

Frequently asked questions

Who can create a care request? Administrators and Team Members can. Administrators see the full form. Team Members get a shorter one, described above.

Do I have to assign the request when I create it? No. Leave Assign To blank and the request is created as Entered. Someone can claim or assign it later.

Why can't I see the Ongoing checkbox? Your team has to allow ongoing requests first. If you do not see it, ask an administrator.

Why did my tag turn into two? Space ends a tag, as do comma, Tab, and Enter. Stick to one word per tag.

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