# Family Communication Template (v0.1 DRAFT)

**Use:** Standard format for case manager → family communications during active engagements, especially crisis events. Companion to the `Avina_Incident_Report_EW_2026-05-01.pdf` format Kelly already drafted.

---

## When this template fires

Three classes of family communication require formal written records:

1. **Crisis events** — welfare checks, hospital admissions, psych holds, attempted self-harm. Use the `Incident Report` format (already templated by Kelly).
2. **Weekly status updates** — sent every Monday, mirrors the client weekly status report (with PHI redacted as required by ROI scope).
3. **Plan changes** — any material change to milestones, consequences, treatment plan, housing arrangement, financial arrangement.

Never communicate with family on substantive matters via voice without a follow-up written record sent within 4 hours.

---

## Template — Weekly Status to Family

```
Subject: [Client First Name] — Weekly Update — [Week N] — [Date]

Dear [Family Member Name],

This is the [N]-week status update for [Client First Name] under our case management engagement.

WHERE WE ARE
- Current milestone: [milestone description]
- Status: [on track / at risk / missed]

WHAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK
- [Bullet 1: significant events, sessions, decisions]
- [Bullet 2]
- [Bullet 3]

WHAT'S PLANNED THIS WEEK
- [Task 1 with owner and due date]
- [Task 2]

ANY CONCERNS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT
- [If clinical state has changed]
- [If compliance is slipping]
- [If financial / legal / housing situation has shifted]
- If "none", state "None this week."

NEXT TOUCHPOINT
- [Day, time, format — call / email / in-person]

This update is shared with you per the Release of Information [Client] signed on [date]. If you have questions, please respond to this email or call [phone] between [hours].

Regards,
Kelly Mortazavi
Case Manager, Avina Wellness
[Contact details]
```

## Template — Crisis Event (modeled on Kelly's Erin incident report format)

```
Subject: URGENT — [Client First Name] — Crisis Incident Report — [Date]

Dear [Family Member Name],

This is a written record of a crisis incident involving [Client First Name] today. I am providing this to you because the situation is material and you are listed on the [Client]'s ROI for crisis events.

WHAT HAPPENED (factual only, no speculation)
[Chronological description of the event, names of all parties involved, locations, times. Include: trigger, escalation, intervention, current state.]

WHO IS INVOLVED
- [Client name and current location]
- [Hospital / law enforcement / other]
- [Case manager]
- [Other family / friends present]

ACTION TAKEN
- [What I did, in order]
- [Recordings made (if any)]
- [Documents filed]

WHERE THE CLIENT IS NOW
- [Location: hospital, treatment program, home, etc.]
- [Status of admission / release / hold]
- [When I will next have contact]

WHAT YOU CAN DO IF YOU WANT TO HELP
- [Concrete action items, e.g. visiting hours, what to bring, what NOT to do]
- [Things that would harm the situation if attempted, e.g. trying to release client AMA against treatment team advice]

WHAT I WILL DO NEXT
- [Next 24 hours of case manager actions]
- [When the next written update will land]

This is a documented record. A copy is retained in [Client]'s case file at Avina. You may share this with [other family members listed on ROI] but it should not be shared more broadly without [Client]'s consent or her case manager's authorisation.

Regards,
Kelly Mortazavi
Case Manager, Avina Wellness
[Direct line + after-hours contact]
```

## Template — Plan Change Notice

```
Subject: [Client First Name] — Plan Update — [Date]

Dear [Family Member Name],

The case management plan for [Client First Name] has changed. Here is the summary:

WHAT WAS THE OLD PLAN
- [Original milestone/timeline]

WHAT IS THE NEW PLAN
- [New milestone/timeline]

WHY IT CHANGED
- [Concrete reason — client preference, clinical reason, missed milestone, opportunity, etc.]

CONSEQUENCES OF THIS CHANGE
- For client: [what changes for her]
- For family: [what changes for you, especially financial]
- For the engagement: [does Avina's scope/fee change]

SIGN-OFF NEEDED FROM YOU
- [If yes: what specifically you need to confirm, deadline, how to confirm]
- [If no: state "no sign-off needed, this is informational"]

Regards,
Kelly Mortazavi
```

---

## Tone and language rules (lifted from Fabian's debrief-call architecture)

1. **Factual only on crisis communications.** No speculation. No emotion. No interpretation. The family will form their own emotional response — Avina's job is to deliver clean facts.
2. **No professional opinions outside Avina's scope.** Where a clinical question comes up, attribute it to the treating provider (hospital, psychiatrist, treatment program) — not Avina.
3. **Always concrete.** Times, dates, locations, names. No "around the time" or "shortly after" — pick a specific time and own it.
4. **Pre-state what action is needed.** Never assume the family will infer "you should do X" — say it.
5. **Document the documentation.** Every email sent under this template is logged in the case file with timestamp and recipient.

## Pre-flight checklist before sending

- [ ] ROI on file covers this category of communication
- [ ] No PHI included that exceeds ROI scope
- [ ] Subject line follows template prefix conventions
- [ ] Sent from `kelly@avinawellness.com`, BCC to case file inbox
- [ ] Saved to client folder as `[date]-[client-id]-[type].pdf`

---

## Revision log

- v0.1 — 2026-05-02 — Initial draft from Erin case + debrief-call architecture