Concrete assistance (Family Preservation)
A concrete assistance item records financial or material support your agency provides to a Family Preservation family — rent, utilities, food, transportation, and the like. You record one item per expenditure and attach a photo of the receipt.
Staff members on the Family Preservation referral create and edit these items; the author's supervisor or a Practice Manager approves them. This is a Family Preservation feature — it isn't available on other service lines.
Most money figures in FCR are hidden from staff members, but concrete assistance is different: because you physically handle the receipts and funds, you enter and see the dollar amounts on these items.
Step 1 — Record the expenditure
Open the Family Preservation referral and choose New concrete assistance item. Enter what the support was for, the category, and the amount.
Step 2 — Attach the receipt
Attach a photo or scan of the receipt. FCR checks the file type and size when you upload it.
You can't submit a concrete assistance item without its receipt attached — the receipt is the documentation that the expenditure happened. Drafts without a receipt can be saved but not submitted.
Step 3 — Submit for approval
Submit the item to your supervisor or Practice Manager. They'll approve it, request revision, or deny it if the expenditure shouldn't be recorded.
Frequently asked questions
Why can I see dollar amounts here but not elsewhere? Because you handle the receipts and money directly. Concrete assistance is the one place staff members work with amounts; rates and billing figures elsewhere stay hidden.
Can I add an item without a receipt? You can save a draft, but you can't submit it until a receipt is attached.
This isn't an FP case — where are my concrete assistance items? Concrete assistance is specific to Family Preservation referrals; it won't appear on other service lines.
Need help with something this guide didn't cover? Contact support and we'll walk you through it.