A reliable community services database separates organization, location, service, and service-at-location records, pairs each service with explicit eligibility, catchment, referral, and schedule fields, and tracks a re-verification date and verifier contact for every entry. Using a structured community support directory template prevents participants and directory assistance volunteers from acting on outdated opening hours, unclear referral rules, or unverified contact details.
Use this field specification alongside how to keep a community support directory reliable and our wider resources guides when designing or auditing a local signposting table.
Why flat spreadsheets fail and how open standards structure a community services database
User research by the UK OpenCommunity project found that directory data custodians sometimes have to go back and forth 6 to 8 times with service providers to correct improperly filled Excel sheets, while many voluntary-sector services operate on short-term one to five year contracts and rolling timetables (such as ‘Every second Monday there is a benefits drop in session at the library’) that some directories cannot record.
The UK OpenCommunity Discovery research (commissioned by Adur & Worthing Councils, Devon County Council, and Buckinghamshire County Council under the MHCLG Local Digital Fund) estimated that a common community service data standard could deliver £7m in adult social care savings nationally per year, up to £11.69m per year in national direct cost savings, and up to £73,096 per year across a typical upper-tier geographic area, with 45% of local authorities seeing a community data standard as extremely useful.
Open Referral HSDS and Open Referral UK
The Human Services Data Specification (HSDS, version 3.0.1) is an open exchange format for publishing machine-readable data about health, human, and social services, their locations, and the organizations that provide them.
HSDS designates four core objects to model human service directory concepts: organization, service, location, and service_at_location.
Every object in HSDS has an id property containing a Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) as specified by RFC 4122, which acts as a primary key and foreign key in Tabular Datapackage serializations and is dereferenced for JSON publication.
Since HSDS version 3.0, the canonical format is JSON defined by JSON Schema files, while Tabular Data Package serialization publishes a series of CSV files (one per object) accompanied by a package descriptor named datapackage.json.
Inform USA (formerly AIRS) endorsed the Open Referral Initiative’s open-source Human Services Database Specification (HSDS) in 2018 to enable interoperability among resource databases via export/import or API.
In GOV.UK Open Standards for Government guidance (updated 29 January 2026), the UK Government’s Open Standards Board endorses the Open Referral UK data standard for local authorities to collect public services directory information once, share it across local councils, government organisations, and voluntary bodies, support link workers including social prescribers, and exchange data without vendor lock-in.
The Local Government Association (LGA) Service Directory schema at schemas.opendata.esd.org.uk/ServiceDirectory is now the official Open Referral UK standard, resulting from the LGA’s Loneliness Project and the LocalDigital OpenCommunity project as a formal extension of the international Open Referral standard, superseding the 2017 CSV schema.
Inform USA hierarchy and organization-level fields
The Inform USA Standards and Quality Indicators for Professional Community Navigation (formerly AIRS, first published in 1973 and in its 10th edition, Version 10.1, released in July 2024 and updated October 2025) contain five sections and 25 Standards updated every three years.
Under Inform USA Standard 8 (Quality Indicators 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, and 8.5), a resource database organizes records hierarchically across organization/agency, location/site, and service/program levels, includes administrative data elements (Unique ID numbers, record ownership, date of last annual verification, record status), matches the open-source HSDS schema when shared across platforms, and populates non-relevant mandatory fields with ‘not applicable’ or ‘none’.
In the HSDS organization object (organizations.csv), the required fields are id (UUID), name (the official or public name of the organization), and description (a brief summary about the organization).
In HSDS, an organization identifier consists of two parts: a register prefix stored in organization_identifier/identifier_scheme (such as GB-COH for the UK Companies House) and the registration number stored in organization_identifier/identifier (such as 09506232).
Eligibility, geographic catchment and referral scope fields
In the Inform USA Section 2 Resource Database Appendix, mandatory Service/Program level data elements include Name, AKA (Also Known As) Names, Phone Number(s) and Types, Description, Days/Hours of Operation, Eligibility, Geographic Area Served, Documents Required, Application/Intake Process, Fees/Payment Options, and Classification System/Taxonomy Term(s) for Services/Targets.
Under Inform USA Quality Indicator 5.6, when an online resource database is offered, consideration is given to characteristics that promote human-centered design, including available at no cost, easy to navigate, and mobile-friendly, with search methods for names, taxonomy terms, and geographic location, plus filters for hours, eligibility, location, and proximity mapping.
Service status, eligibility criteria and taxonomy discipline
In the HSDS service object, the required fields are id, name, and status (plus organization_id in tabular representation), where status represents the current status of the service as active, inactive, defunct, or temporarily closed.
The HSDS service object captures participant eligibility using eligibility_description (a free text description of the type of person for whom this service is intended), minimum_age (number), and maximum_age (number).
Under Inform USA Quality Indicators 9.1 and 9.5 (Standard 9: Classification/Taxonomy System), a resource database taxonomy must align with the 211HSIS taxonomy (formerly 211 LA County Taxonomy) or a non-proprietary open taxonomy such as LOINC, must index only primary services while avoiding secondary services, ancillary services, phantom services, and indirect services, and must avoid double indexing.
Intake process, fees, languages and required documents
The HSDS service object records intake and cost details in application_process (steps needed to access this service), fees_description (any charges for service users), and interpretation_services, while marking legacy wait_time and fees fields as DEPRECATED.
The HSDS cost_option object is an LGA Extension providing a structured version of service fees at certain points in time using valid_from, valid_to, option (conditions), a 3-letter currency code (expected to be gbp by Open Referral UK), amount, and amount_description.
The HSDS language object records languages spoken at locations, services, or phones using an ISO 639-1 or ISO 639-3 code in the code field, excluding languages which can only be used with interpretation.
The HSDS required_document object (required_documents.csv) records any documents required to access or use a service (service_id), storing a free text description in document and a web link in uri.
Physical location, accessibility and geographic service area
In the HSDS location object, the required fields are id and location_type (which may be physical, postal, or virtual), and geographic coordinates are stored in latitude and longitude expressed in decimal degrees in the WGS84 datum.
The HSDS location object supports third-party property identifiers via external_identifier and external_identifier_type (such as a UK UPRN), as well as a transportation field describing access to public or private transportation.
The HSDS accessibility object records arrangements for access to locations (location_id) for people with disabilities via description (assistance or infrastructure that facilitates access), details, and url.
When checking venue access details for local events, pair these location fields with our community event accessibility checklist.
The HSDS service_at_location object (service_at_location.csv) links a service (service_id) and a specific location (location_id) to capture location-specific descriptions, service_areas, contacts, phones, and schedules.
The HSDS service_area object defines the geographic area for which a service is available using name, description, extent (polygon defining the area), extent_type (populated from an enum of geojson, topojson, kml, and text), and uri.
Clinical and community referral scope
In HL7 FHIR Release 4 (v4.0.1, Section 8.8), the HealthcareService resource describes healthcare or social support services offered by an Organization at a physical or virtual Location, including structured elements for active (0..1 boolean), coverageArea (0..* Location), serviceProvisionCode (0..), eligibility (0.. BackboneElement with code and comment), referralMethod (0..*), and appointmentRequired (0..1 boolean).
According to the NHS page ‘How to access mental health services’ (Page last reviewed: 5 May 2026; Next review due: 5 May 2029), mental health services are free on the NHS in England and are reached through four referral routes: GP referral, direct self-referral (for talking therapies and drug or alcohol problems), employer referral to occupational health for stress at work, or school/college referral for children and young people.
Under the NHS Choice Framework in England, patients have a legal right to choose their mental health service provider and clinical team for their first appointment (with consultant-led services covered by the 18-week maximum waiting-time commitment), except when needing urgent, emergency, or crisis treatment, receiving an onward referral, detained in prison or prescribed accommodation, serving in the armed forces, or held in hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983.
Closed-loop referral software tracks the full referral journey (Need identified -> Referral created -> Referral sent -> Referral received -> Referral accepted -> Service scheduled -> Service delivered -> Outcome recorded -> Referring team notified -> Referral closed) to prevent referral leakage, distinguishing surface-level one-way integration from bidirectional status integration and full outcome integration via FHIR and HL7 standards.
Model operating hours, rolling drop-ins and closures
The HSDS schedule object models when a service or location is open using RFC 5545 RRULES, with valid_from and valid_to dates in ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD) and opens_at and closes_at times in HH:MM format including timezone information (suffix Z for UTC or a UTC offset such as 09:00-05:00).
In the HSDS schedule object, iCal recurrence rules use freq (WEEKLY or MONTHLY), interval (such as an Interval of 2 for WEEKLY to represent fortnightly), and byday (comma-separated days where MONTHLY occurrences can use integers such as 2MO for the second Monday or -1FR for the last Friday).
In HL7 FHIR R4, HealthcareService models operating hours and closures via availableTime (with daysOfWeek mon | tue | wed | thu | fri | sat | sun, allDay boolean, availableStartTime, and availableEndTime), notAvailable (with mandatory description and optional during Period), and availabilityExceptions.
Track re-verification dates, inclusion rules and record status
The HSDS service object tracks verification and currency using assured_date (the date that the information about the service was last checked), assurer_email (the contact e-mail address for the person or organization which last assured the service), alert (short term alerts), and last_modified (datetime with millisecond accuracy).
The HSDS service_capacity object tracks service capacities with required fields id, unit, available (number of units available as of the last update), and updated (datetime with millisecond accuracy), plus optional maximum and description.
The HSDS metadata object (metadata.csv) maintains provenance audit trails with required fields id, last_action_date, last_action_type, field_name, previous_value, replacement_value, and updated_by (plus resource_id and resource_type in tabular representation).
Inform USA administrative elements and curator benchmarks
In the Inform USA Resource Database Appendix, Administrative Data Elements used by Database Curators are Unique ID Number (Mandatory), Record Ownership Code (Mandatory at Organization/Agency level), Date of Last Annual Verification (Mandatory at Organization/Agency level, Recommended at Location and Service levels), Date of Last Interim Change, Contact for Last Change, Resource Database Curator for Last Change, Record Status (Active/Inactive) (Mandatory), and Record Inclusion.
Under Inform USA Standard 10 (Quality Indicators 10.2 and 10.5), Database Curators review all updates prior to publication, maintain a process for gathering interim changes between annual verification and utilizing alternate methods (calling staff, visiting the website, site visits) when organizations do not respond after multiple direct attempts, and follow a style guide with respectful, person-first terminology that distinguishes the organization’s location from programs/services’ coverage areas.
For guidance on person-first wording in public descriptions, see respectful language for mental health conversations.
In the Inform USA Section 5 Appendix, benchmark KPIs for Resource Database Management and Database Curators include an Annual verification percentage (for example, a 95% verification rate within a 12-month cycle), Database Curator responsiveness to implement verified changes (for example, 2-4 working days), and internal quality audits of random resource updates (for example, 85%-100%).
Directory assistance scale and inclusion governance
According to United Way Worldwide, 211 operates in 99% of the U.S. and across Canada as a free, confidential 24/7 service in 180+ languages, curating a standardized dataset of nearly 1.7M local programs and services, making 45,000 referrals daily, and fielding 19 million requests for help in the U.S. in 2025.
According to 211.org, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) designated 211 as the 3-digit number for information and referrals to social services in 2000, and the service is provided by more than 200 local organizations across the United States responding to more than 13 million requests every year (and more than 19 million connections in 2025).
Under Inform USA Standard 7 (Quality Indicators 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.7, and 7.8), a Community Navigation service documents and publicly publishes its inclusion criteria, does not charge a fee for inclusion in its public resource database, verifies a new organization’s resource record before publishing, and includes an appeal process.
Under the Texas Information and Referral Network (TIRN) Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria, service organizations seeking inclusion in the 2-1-1 Database must have provided those programs for six (6) consecutive months prior to consideration, must participate in an annual review and regular updates to prevent removal, and have thirty (30) days to file a written appeal of an exclusion determination (with a decision issued within two weeks after the monthly Resource Managers meeting and a final 30-day appeal to the TIRN Program Manager).
Under the NJ 211 Database Inclusion Policy (Revised 2022.11.09), NJ 211 receives no payment from any organization to be listed, deactivates an agency and its programs within the database while an official review is undertaken if a serious complaint is brought to its attention, excludes private practitioners, non-entry-level services, and newsletters/promotional-only services, and removes listings when a provider fails to verify information upon request.
Monthly verification for small community and workplace signposting sheets
Under Walk and Talk Notes’ community support directory method (Last checked: 15 October 2026), each directory entry records the organisation’s name as on its own page, the area it covers, what the page says it offers with a link, the date the page was opened, and who on the team is due to open it again, rechecked on a practical once-a-month schedule, while never listing a community walk or meeting as counselling or a crisis service and never adding participant names, stories, or photos.
Under Walk and Talk Notes’ workplace Mental Health First Aid governance standard, a workplace MHFA coordinator audits the internal signposting sheet on the first working day of every month (30-day recheck cycle) across five mandatory fields (1. Official Organisation Name, 2. Exact Geographic and Workforce Coverage, 3. Specific Service Offer and Operating Hours, 4. Direct Official Source URL, and 5. Date Last Checked and Named Reviewer) and pairs signposting with a three-step warm handoff including a single 10-minute bridge check-in 3 to 5 working days later.
For the full workplace peer-support workflow, see mental health first aid at work boundaries.
Copy this community support directory template worksheet
Copy the prompts below into your community support directory template before publishing or updating any local service entry.
- Organization identity
- Official organization name; alternate or known-as name; organization description; register prefix and registration identifier; direct official web page.
- Location and physical access
- Location type; street or virtual access details; geographic coordinates; property identifier; public or private transport description; disability access arrangements.
- Service status and primary taxonomy
- Service name; linked organization and location identifiers; current record status; primary service classification term.
- Eligibility and catchment area
- Intended participant description; minimum and maximum age boundaries; geographic service area description or boundary polygon; explicit non-applicable entry when no restriction applies.
- Referral scope, documents and fees
- Intake and application steps; accepted referral pathways; whether an appointment is required; required documents and link; fee conditions and currency; staff-spoken languages and interpretation availability.
- Operating hours and recurrence
- Valid start and end dates; opening and closing times with timezone; weekly or monthly recurrence frequency and day pattern; scheduled holiday or temporary closure dates.
- Verification and audit record
- Date the official source page was last checked; verifier contact or named team reviewer; last action type and field changed; next scheduled re-verification date.
Review your completed records against the baseline principles in how to keep a community support directory reliable and browse our resources guides for related community planning checklists.
Sources
- Open Referral — Human Services Data Specification (HSDS) 3.0.1 Overview
- Open Referral — HSDS 3.0.1 Identifiers Reference
- Open Referral — HSDS 3.0.1 Serialization and Publication Formats
- Open Referral — HSDS 3.0.1 Schema Reference
- Inform USA — Standards and Quality Indicators for Professional Community Navigation (Version 10.1)
- Cabinet Office / CDDO — Record and share information about public services in local authorities (GOV.UK)
- Local Government Association (LGA) — LG Inform Plus Service Directory / Open Referral UK
- OpenCommunity — Setting the open standard for community data (UK Local Digital Discovery)
- HL7 International — FHIR R4 (v4.0.1) Section 8.8 Resource HealthcareService
- NHS — How to access mental health services
- United Way Worldwide — 211 Connecting People to Local Resources
- United Way 211 — About Us (211.org)
- Texas Information and Referral Network (TIRN) — Texas 2-1-1 Database Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria
- NJ 2-1-1 Partnership — Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria for NJ 2-1-1 Partnership Database
- SocialRoots.ai — Closed-Loop Referral Software in 2026: Comparison Guide
- Walk and Talk Notes — How to keep a community support directory reliable
- Walk and Talk Notes — Mental Health First Aid at Work: Peer Support Boundaries, Confidentiality, and Referral Routing
