Quarterly Report.

Q3 was the first full quarter with the commissioned caregiver cohort in the field, and the numbers reflect it. Eighty-four people were in active care at quarter's end, up from seventy-two, while average time from request to first human contact fell to 6.2 hours. The care ministry is now reaching more people, faster, than at any point since this engagement began.

The pressure has moved rather than disappeared. Coordination — not compassion, and not volunteers — is now the binding constraint. Two of the three recommendations below address that directly, and both are modest enough to act on at the November meeting.

Twelve lay caregivers were commissioned in July and carried their first cases by the second week of August. The effect on response time was immediate: requests that previously waited for a staff member now reach a trained volunteer the same day. The grief cohort ran to capacity for the first time, and a second cohort has a waiting list of nine.

Referrals out rose to eleven, all warm handoffs, all with a caregiver still in relationship afterward. Caregiver burnout scores fell from 2.9 to 2.1 on the ten-point self-report — encouraging, though four caregivers have now served without a break for eighteen months, which is the risk this report most wants the board to see.

One thing did not change: coordination still runs through a single part-time role. Every gain above depends on that one person's calendar, and that is not a durable arrangement heading into Advent.

1. Fund a second part-time care coordinator before Advent.

   Ask: $18,400 through June 2027

   Active care grew 17% this quarter against flat coordination capacity. Without a second coordinator, the response-time gain reverses by Q1.

2. Formalize written agreements with two clinical partners.

   Ask: board authorization to sign

   All eleven referrals this quarter went out on relationships, not agreements. Written intake terms protect both the family and the church.

3. Adopt a sabbatical cycle for lay caregivers.

   Ask: policy adoption at the November meeting

   Six weeks off after twelve months of service. Burnout scores fell this quarter, but four caregivers have now served eighteen months without a break.