Search Help

The database of community services can be searched in a number of different ways.

Name of Agency/Organization

If you know the name of the agency, organization, program, or service you are looking for, you can type it in the "Agency/Name" space and then click "submit" or <enter>. Even if you type in only part of the name, the search will return any matches it finds.

Keyword Search

You can also search by keyword. Keywords are words that help describe the issue or service you may be dealing with or looking for. For instance, you could type in "diabetes" or "counselling". You may want to narrow the search by typing in more than one word; for instance, "marriage counselling". The system will return matches for services that are attached to the keyword "marriage counselling". It will not return matches for both "marriage" AND "counselling"; it will not search for two different keywords at once.

If a keyword does not give you any results, try a different form of the word. If you entered "museum", try the plural "museums"; instead of "parent" try "parents" or "parenting"; if you tried "children" try "child".

You can also try putting a keyword into the "Agency/Name" space and see if an appropriate service is listed using a keyword as part of its name. For instance, if an organization does outreach around prevention of family violence, the services will be categorized as "family violence prevention" because that is the issue being dealt with. The service may be named "community outreach". So if you are looking for outreach, you may find it by putting the word "outreach" into the agency/name space. But be aware that the search results would also show outreach programs that deal with any number of issues.

Filters

You can filter your search by several other factors, e.g., fee type, target audience, or location. Target audience should be used with caution. If you are looking for a service for children, for instance, and you check the "children" checkbox in "target audience", you will see only those programs/services that indicated to us that "children" is their exclusive target. It will not include programs/services that serve men, women, AND children.

Alphabetical Search

Lists agencies alphabetically. Click on the letter that the agency's name starts with and scroll through to find it. This search method does not list program names, only agency names.

By Category*

The categories are in a hierarchical list of terms which are used to index the services contained in the database, much like a Subject Index. The hierarchy goes to five levels, starting with the most broad terms at Level 1, and each succeeding level becoming more specific.

You may want to browse through the categories to become familiar with the kinds of subject matter contained in the database. It will give you an idea of the wording used in the index. It can be used as an alternate search method. If you only know the broad area you're looking for, you can use the category search as a way to narrow down your search.

After clicking on "By Category" you are presented with the Level 1 terms of the index, the eleven broad areas that are used to categorize the thousands of services in the database. You can "walk" your way through the terms by clicking on a term. It will take you to the next level of terms and also show you any services that are categorized by that term.

You will also note there is a "Definition" beside each category term. If you click on the word "definition", it will show you what the definition is for that particular term.

If you are still having trouble finding the information you want, please click here for ways to contact us and get further help.

This database is a work in progress and we are hard at work to improve and expand it. We would like to hear from you if you have ideas to make it more useable for you.

*The category indexing system in use here is called "A Taxonomy of Human Services: A Conceptual Framework with Standardized Terminology and Definitions for the Field" and was developed by INFO LINE of Los Angeles. 

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If you would like to subscribe to the taxonomy or have questions regarding a taxonomy subscription, please visit the link below.

AIRS/211 LA County Taxonomy