Network of Care representative demos statewide resource portal to Pulaski County commissioners

Pamela Frank, representing Network of Care and presenting via Zoom, demonstrated the organization's county-level health and human-services portal to Pulaski County commissioners on July 7, explaining how the platform gathers and standardizes local resource information and makes it searchable, shareable and accessible in multiple languages.

Frank said Network of Care has been operating for about 25 years and that many state and local partners have adopted versions of the site. She showed how users can search plain-language queries (for example, “I’m struggling with addiction”) and receive treatment, housing and recovery resources, along with contact and access options. Frank said roughly one-third of site visitors are searching on behalf of someone else — a family member or caseworker — and highlighted features that allow saving, emailing or texting resource cards and printing agency details for clients.

The platform supports Americans with Disabilities Act–compliant pages, translations into more than 110 languages and a geo-mapping feature to show nearby providers. Frank said the database is maintained with manual review and monthly updates driven by sampled verification; providers are contacted and updates are made within 48 business hours if corrections are reported. She noted licensed content partnerships (for example, Healthwise) provide clinical information and that legislative trackers and clinical-trial lists can be added on request.

Commissioners asked whether any Indiana counties currently use the service; Frank replied the state of Indiana once contracted for a statewide site roughly 15 years ago but that at the moment no Indiana county was using Network of Care individually. Commissioners also asked whether the site supports voice query; Frank said voice search was not yet available on the full site but was on the product roadmap and expected on the mobile version in the last quarter of the year.

Frank offered unlimited publishing for clients, configurable category labels and an agency-rating option. She invited county staff to send follow-up questions and contact information; commissioners indicated they would continue research and that Network of Care had a scheduled presentation for the county council the following Monday.