The optional AWARDS Waiting List functionality - turned on by request for each database - enables agencies to create customized waiting lists with specific requirements and to assign source and destination programs for those lists. Waiting lists can be used for a single program or group of programs, within one agency or across agencies in a multi-agency database. For example, if your transitional housing program is full, clients can be placed on a waiting list configured for that program until a bed opens up. For HMIS purposes, waiting lists can be used as an easy way to implement Coordinated Entry.
Administrators with permission to the Waiting List Configuration component of the Waiting Lists functionality can use it to create, edit, and manage waiting lists, as well as to run reports related to waiting lists. These waiting lists are then used elsewhere in AWARDS for data entry purposes.
Once created, users can place clients from a source program onto a waiting list if they meet the set criteria, and from a waiting list clients can then be placed into destination programs. These tasks can be performed from a variety of locations in the Intake/Admission and Profile modules. For more information on that aspect of the Waiting Lists functionality, click here.
Required Permissions
The Waiting List Configuration feature is available to users with the following permissions:
- Waiting List Configuration
Permissions are assigned using the Permissions Maintenance feature. If you do not have access to that feature and need a permission listed here, please contact your supervisor or your local Help Desk for assistance.
Configuring Waiting Lists
To add, edit, view, or delete a waiting lists configuration, complete the following steps from the AWARDS Home screen:
- Click Administration from the left-hand menu, and then click Builders & Tools. The Builders & Tools fly-out menu is displayed.
- Click Waiting List Configuration. The Waiting List Configuration index page is displayed.
When working on the index page, waiting list records are easily accessible using the following tools and navigation features:
- "Show Records" display options - By default the index includes all active waiting lists. To limit the display to Inactive, All, or Unused lists, click the corresponding radio button under "Show Records" in the left-hand menu.
- Sorting options - By default records in the index are sorted alphabetically by waiting list name. Click a column header in the data table to sort the index by a different type of data. Click the heading again to reverse the sort.
- Navigation options - 10 records are displayed on the page by default. To access records on subsequent pages of the index (when applicable), click the arrows in the bottom-right corner of the table. To display 25 or 50 records at a time, click the Show drop-down to the left of the record count, also in the bottom-right corner, and make a selection.
Once you select records on the index, a count of how many total records are selected is displayed in the action bar. Selections are maintained while moving from one page of the index to the next; meaning, you can select records on the first page (showing records 1-10 by default) and move to the next page (displaying records 11-20) without losing the selections made on the first page. Links for Show all selected records and Uncheck All are available beneath the index table for easy navigation.
- Search and filtering options - A Search field is available on the action bar along with a corresponding Filter by drop-down list. To search the contents of the index (including those records not currently displayed on the page), enter a value in the Search field. The index is automatically updated as you type. To further narrow your search, use the Filter by selection to indicate whether the search should look at data in "All Columns" (the default) or a specific column.
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Related features access - Links to the following relates pieces of functionality are available in the left-hand menu:
- Waiting List Configurations ReportBuilder - Provides access to the ReportBuilder for this feature. For instructions, click here.
- Waiting List Clients ReportBuilder - Provides access to an additional ReportBuilder that can be used to generate customized reports of clients who are currently on a waiting list and those who were on a waiting list at any point during a specified date range. For instructions, click here.
- At this time, complete one or more of the following tasks as needed:
Add a new waiting list configuration - Click the add new icon from the action bar above the waiting lists table. A new data entry page is displayed. Configure the fields and options on this page as necessary, and then click Save. The waiting list is saved and a confirmation page is displayed. Next, add list requirements (those criteria a client must meet before they can be placed onto this list); to do so, click the edit icon 
to the right of "Requirements & Sorting Options" on this page. A new options page is displayed. Select the requirements, click CONTINUE, and then proceed to set sorting options on the following page. Once configuration on that page is complete, click Save Waiting List Requirements. A Save Report Format dialog box is displayed. Click Save Report Format, and then Return to Waiting List. The waiting list is saved and a confirmation page is displayed, containing the new requirements and sorting options.
For more information on the waiting list configuration fields and options, see Waiting List Configuration Fields / Options.
Update an existing waiting list configuration - Click the waiting list to be updated, or click the checkbox to the left of the waiting list and then click the edit icon from the action bar above the waiting lists table. A data entry page is displayed. Make changes to the information on this page as necessary, and/or click the edit icon to the right of "Requirements & Sorting Options" to edit the requirements and sorting for this list. Click Save (or Return to Waiting List if requirements were updated) to apply your changes. The waiting list is saved, and a confirmation page is displayed.
For more information on the waiting list configuration fields and options, see Waiting List Configuration Fields / Options.
View or print an existing waiting list configuration - Click the checkbox to the left of the waiting list to be viewed or printed, and then click the view icon from the action bar above the waiting lists table. A read-only version of the configuration record is displayed and can be printed as needed using your browser's print option.
Delete an existing waiting list configuration - Click the checkbox(es) to the left of the waiting list(s) to be deleted, and then click the delete icon from the action bar above the waiting lists table. A confirmation message is displayed. Click OK to proceed with the deletion. The selected waiting list(s) are deleted and the updated Index is displayed.
IMPORTANT! You may want to consider closing waiting lists rather than deleting them so they are no longer available to receive more clients or to have clients removed from them. Doing so maintains the historical record of the waiting list instead of having it removed from AWARDS entirely, and also gives you the option to re-open the list again in the future if needed. To close out a waiting list, follow the "Update" process above, change the Status of the list to "Inactive," and click Save to apply the change. Once you've done so the list will no longer be available for use, but can be made "Active" again if/when the time comes to make the list available once more.
Return to the waiting list configuration index - To do so, click the To Index icon from the action bar while working in a configuration record to return to the index page. You can also return to the index page at any time by clicking Waiting List Configuration from the breadcrumbs trail below the AWARDS navigation bar.
This index page lists records alphabetically by waiting list configuration name. As a result, a newly added or renamed list may not be visible when the index is displayed after your data entry. Click the arrows below the bottom-right corner of the table to navigate between pages.
The process of configuring waiting lists is now complete.
Waiting List Configuration Fields / Options
Below is an alphabetical list of the fields and options located on the Waiting List Configuration data entry page. To jump directly to the information for a specific field or option, press <Ctrl+F> to access your browser's search field and enter the name of the field/option in question.
Destination Programs
Click the checkbox next to each program eligible to receive clients from the waiting list.
Name
In this field, type or make changes to the name of the waiting list. This name will be used throughout the AWARDS system when adding clients to or placing clients from the list, and serves as the list's main identifier.
Remove From Waiting List on Referral Creation
Click this checkbox if the client should be removed from the waiting list as soon as a referral is created for him/her under Intake/Admission. If this box is NOT checked, the client will be removed from the waiting list once the admission is processed from within Intake/Admission.
This option is only available when at least one multi-step intake program is selected as a Destination Program; however, it is NOT displayed if there is only one selected Source Program and one selected Destination Program that is the same as the Source.
Requirements & Sorting Options
To set the requirements and sort order for the waiting list being configured, complete the following steps:
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Click the edit icon
to the right of "Requirements & Sorting Options." The Waiting List Requirements Options page is displayed. 
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Click the checkbox next to each data variable for which a requirement is to be set for this waiting list. (For example, if clients need to be at least 18 years old, select "Age," and if they need to be a specific gender, select "Gender.")
Some additional field options can be added to this page, such as fields located in a FormBuilder form set to display on the Demographics ReportBuilder. Contact the Help Desk to request that additional fields be added.
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Click CONTINUE. The Waiting List Requirements Options page is displayed.
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Configure the options in the "Filter Options" portion of the page as necessary to set the requirements of the waiting list. (For example, in the example above setting filters for Age is greater than or equal to 18, and Gender equals Female.) Clients will have to match the requirements set here in order to be eligible to be added to the waiting list.
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Configure the options in the "Show Individual Detail" portion of the page as necessary to set way in which clients will be sorted (weighted) on the list.
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Once configuration is complete, click Save Waiting List Requirements. A Save Report Format dialog box is displayed.
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Click Save Report Format.
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Click Return to Waiting List. The waiting list configuration is saved, and a confirmation page is displayed, including the requirements and sorting options set.
The process of setting requirements and sorting options is now complete.
Source Programs
Click the checkbox next to each program eligible to add clients to the waiting list.
Status
Click this drop-down arrow and select one of the following:
- Active - When selected, the waiting list will be listed as available for source programs to add clients to, and destination programs to place clients from.
- Inactive - When selected, the waiting list will be hidden from view during the client waiting list placement process. Source programs cannot add clients to inactive lists, and destination programs cannot place clients off of them.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why is my new waiting list not displaying in the Waiting List ReportBuilder or when I try to add clients to it?
Check to make sure the requirements have been set for your waiting list configuration using the details provided under Configuring Waiting Lists.
In particular, in step 3, be sure you have clicked the edit icon 
to the right of "Requirements & Sorting Options" or "No requirements have been set. Please click the icon to add requirements." This step is necessary even if your waiting list doesn't have requirements. The waiting list is a ReportBuilder and this step actually builds the report. The fields you pick are the fields which will display and the filter options create criteria if you need them. Not every waiting list has criteria, but you still need to pick fields and save the report format in order to use this waiting list.
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