Content
- Introduction
- Steps to Inviting a Family to the Foster Family Website
Introduction
This article is meant to guide you through the process of inviting a family to the Foster Family Website. Invitations may be sent to home inquiries, applicants, as well as licensed/certified foster homes.
Inviting a home requires completion of two essential components:
- Your agency sends an email invitation to the home (either manually or automatically).
- The foster home accepts the invitation by clicking an activation link in the mail and following the registration process (selecting a user name and password for one or both parents).
If you have a question not addressed here, you can contact support at support@extendedreach.com.
Steps to Inviting a Family to the Foster Family Website
Step 1. Verify the Foster Home Email Address(es) and Zip Code
Before an invitation can be sent, at least one email address and foster home’s zip code must be entered on the Foster Home screen.
The zip code of the home is used during the registration process to verify that the email was sent to the correct recipient(s).
Image: “Home Email and Zip Code Screen”
To make edits to email address and/or zip code, click on “Edit”. Be sure to “Save” your edits.
Image: “Save Edits Screen”
Step 2. Complete the Welcome Email Template, Post Activation Email Template, and Other Email Templates (as necessary)
If you have not invited other homes to join the foster family website before this, be sure the Welcome Email, Post-Activation Email, and other Family Web email templates within Organization Preferences have been prepared. If these templates are already complete, skip to Step 3.
To access Organization Preferences, you must be an Agency Administrator. Go to “Organization Settings”, click on “Organization Preferences”, and select the “Family Web” tab at the top of the screen and click on “Edit”.
Image: “Family Web Access Screen”
Image: “Family Web Access Screen”
“Setup Invitation E-mail Sent to Homes”
Subject: This is the title of your Invitation E-mail, which will appear in the Subject line of the email you send.
Foster Parent First Name(s): The first name(s) of the foster parents will be automatically pulled from extendedReach and will appear at the beginning of the email you send, so there is no need to include a greeting in the body of the email.
Body: This is your welcome message. Add any information you want your families to receive through this initial contact. This message must include text <ACTIVATION LINK> to indicate where you would like the login link to appear in your letter. If you see: [TYPE AGENCY NAME] you should delete the brackets and text, and replace it your agency’s name.
Image: “Setup Invitation E-mail Sent to Homes Screen”
“Post Activation E-mail Sent to Home User ID”
Subject: This is the title of your Website Activation E-mail, which will appear in the Subject line of the email that is automatically generated.
Foster Parent First Name: The first name(s) of the foster parent(s) will be automatically be added at the beginning of the email, so there is no need to include an additional greeting in the body of the email.
Body: This is your post-activation message. You are confirming activation of User ID. You may want to include further access information to your website and assistance.
Image: “Setup Invitation E-mail Sent to Homes Screen”
Be sure to Save your work.
Image: “Save Screen”
Step 3. Send Invitation
MANUAL INVITATION
Go to the “Family Web” tab within a Home. Click on the Activity tab and click on the "Send Invitation" button.
Image: “Family Web Access Screen”
As invitations are sent, extendedReach will time stamp this history for documentation purposes.
Image: “Family Website Invitation Section”
AUTOMATIC INVITATION
If you prefer that families are automatically invited (instead of clicking the “Send Invitation” to each family individually) you can change your Organization Preferences to “Send Invitations Automatically”. An Agency Administrator begins in Organization Settings, clicks on Organization Preferences, and clicks on Family Web: Access tab. Click on “Edit” and place a check-mark next to “Send Invitations Automatically” under “Options” at the bottom of the screen. Then click “Save”.
Image: “Family Website Automatic Invitation Option”
Step 4. Family Receives Email and Completes Process to Family Portal
This is a sample invitation email which a family will receive:
Image: “Family Website Invitation Email “
The family will click on the access link (blue hyper-link) in the email, and the following web page will appear:
Image: “Family Website Invitation Link”
The family will need to complete the Signup form and click on “Submit”. The “Post Activation” email will be automatically sent by extendedReach.
Image: “Post Activation Email”
This is the family’s view of the Foster Family Website. The layout of the website varies by agency. For more details on configuring the Foster Family Website, see Related Articles.
Image: “Family Website Invitation Link Access”
