Proof That Remote Administration of Volunteer Driver Service Works

RIVERSIDE, Calif., Dec. 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Under a new volunteer driver mileage reimbursement service partnership of the Independent Living Partnership (ILP) and the Los Angeles County Workforce Development Aging and Community Services (WDACS) department three hundred and thirty-two riders have received almost 40,000 free trips provided by volunteer drivers throughout Los Angeles County.

The Independent Living Partnership, located in Riverside County, California, was awarded a competitive New Freedom grant to administer the new WDACS service in 2017. The approach of having a nonprofit administer a volunteer driver mileage reimbursement service for another county was new and previously untested.

According to Richard Smith, ILP CEO, "The unique TRIP model program design, and the software we have developed, makes it possible for ILP to administer volunteer driver, mileage reimbursement services that are located anywhere in the United States in partnership with community organizations located in the service area."

Smith says, "In this example, the mobility manager of transportation services at the Department of Aging and Community Services in Los Angeles, drawing on knowledge of their client base, refers eligible clients to ILP and then we take over from there."  Referred clients are enrolled and set-up in a separate database, they are notified of their enrollment in the service by the WDACS mobility manager, welcome packages are sent to them and they are contacted by ILP staff to answer any questions and help them get started using the service. A 1-800 toll-free number is provided for immediate and ongoing support.

Once enrolled, WDACS clients recruit their own volunteer drivers, make mutually agreeable arrangements and are free to travel as needed under the mileage and purposes of travel allowances for which they are authorized. At the end of each month of travel, clients mail requests for mileage reimbursement to the ILP administrative service in pre-addressed and stamped envelopes. Requests are processed, detailed records are entered in the WDACS database for each reported trip, and mileage reimbursement checks are mailed to the clients for distribution to their volunteer drivers.

ILP reports that, so far, the three hundred and thirty-two WDACS clients, receiving the 40,000 miles of volunteer driver service, have been able to travel 349,000 miles to access medical care, shop for groceries, visit family and friends, attend religious services, and enjoy entertainment in a way that would otherwise not have been possible for them previously.

According to Smith, "The basic TRIP service model was pioneered by ILP, operated successfully for all of Riverside County since 1993, and now has been proven to be an effective and efficient way to provide volunteer driver, mileage reimbursement services for almost any geographical location in the country." Smith says that the remote service model might be appropriate for organizations that do not have the capability or that want to set-up and operate a full TRIP volunteer service themselves.

The Independent Living Partnership, creator of the rider focused TRIP volunteer driver model, is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization. Information about the Independent Living Partnership is available at ILPconnect.org.

CONTACT:   
Richard Smith  
951-653-0740  
[email protected]

SOURCE Independent Living Partnership