2-1-1 Texas

1
2-1-1 Texass Role in Assisting People During
Disasters
2
This is How it Began.

• In 1997, the 75th Legislature passed House Bill
  2596 establishing the Texas Information and
  Referral Network as the single point of
  coordination for statewide health and human
  services information and referral in Texas.
• Since the initial legislation in 1997, several
  additional legislative actions have expanded and
  refined the 2-1-1 Texas Information Referral
  Network scope of work.
• Senate Bill 397 (76th Session, 1999) required
  agencies receiving state funding to provide
  resource information to 2-1-1.House Bill 2641
  (76th Session, 1999) required transportation
  information to be included in 2-1-1.
• House Resolution (77th Session, 2001) affirmed
  the importance of the 2-1-1 Texas Information
  Referral Network.

3
Enabling Legislation Cont.

• House Bill 2048 (79th Session, 2005) was passed,
  instructing HHSC to expand the www.211texas.org
  site to include information about early childhood
  programs that are overseen by the Texas Education
  Agency..
• RP 57 (Directive issued by Governor Rick
  Perry, 2006) relating to implementing
  recommendations from the Governors Task Force on
  Evacuation, Transportation, and logistics.
  Created the system now known as the
  Transportation Assistance Registry (TAR). The
  2-1-1 Texas Information Referral Network is
  assigned the role of data entry for the TAR.
• Senate Bill 1058 Senate Bill 1058 (80th
  Session, 2007) required 2-1-1 to provide
  referrals for reintegration services to military
  service members and their families.
• House Bill 2558 (81st Session, 2009) required
  home and community support health care providers
  to register clients and their families with the
  emergency Transportation Assistance Registry
  available by dialing 2-1-1.
• House Bill 1831 (81st Session, 2009) requires
  Assistive Living Centers and Nursing Homes to
  register as entities and to explain to their
  patients and their guardians the process of
  registration with the Transportation Assistance
  Registry.

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2-1-1s Role in the Texas Hurricane Response Plan

• 2-1-1 Texas Information and Referral Network
  (TIRN) seated at the SOC will coordinate
  dissemination of disaster-related public
  information to the 2-1-1 Area Information Centers
  in order to provide an information and assistance
  conduit for the public.
• Provide disaster-related Information and Referral
  for all phases of the event.
• Register callers in the State Transportation
  Assistance Registry. TIRN representative at the
  SOC will monitor activity of Transportation
  Assistance Registry and provide reports as
  scheduled or requested.
•  
• Receive and document calls and forward
  information and reports to appropriate State
  agencies or non-governmental organizations. Calls
  include, but are not limited to, shelters needs,
  medical concerns, transportation issues, lack of
  fuel, lack of essentials items such as food,
  water, and ice, the presence or lack of shelter
  space, spontaneous shelters and other pertinent
  concerns.

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9. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 3.9 MAINTAIN EFFECTIVE
WAYS TO ALERT LOCAL LEADERS AND THE PUBLIC ABOUT
ALL HAZARDS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES. a. The Texas
Health and Human Service Commission (HHSC) has
leveraged statewide assets to build and operate
the 2-1-1 system. The completed system offers an
effective and unique solution to
providing information and referral services to
the people of Texas while simultaneously
providing a critical support and workload-sharing
role in cooperation with a large number of state
and local government and community based
entities. Across the State, 2-1-1 Area
Information Centers have been established
to collect and maintain a database of local
resource information. 2-1-1 is positioned to play
a critical role during an emergency event. It can
also be positioned as a critical support role to
these government entities by operating as the
statewide resource available to take calls from
the general public, inform and instruct them in
relation to the emergency event, and to refer
them to the appropriate response and recovery
resource, if necessary. State and local
governments will be encouraged to use this system
to the fullest extent possible to keep the public
informed. b. Providing warning to special needs
populations is vitally important and often a
challenge. Local governments should work with
public health professionals and other resources
to maintain a list of individuals within their
jurisdictions that require special notification
during emergency events, as well as facilities in
their jurisdictions that care for individuals
with special needs, including nursing homes and
hospitals. All special needs facilities must
maintain emergency evacuation and transportation
plans. In addition, they should maintain a
working relationship with all commercial, city,
and county facilities where special needs
populations reside to ensure the facility
managers have established an emergency management
plan to respond to emergency events. Local
emergency responders should be aware of the needs
for these individuals in order to facilitate care
during events. PRIORITY ACTIONS 3.9.1. Leverage
the Texas Fusion Center and the statewide
intelligence capability to alert local leaders of
hazards in their communities 3.9.2. Leverage the
2-1-1 information and referral system to provide
hazard and emergency information to the
public. 3.9.3. Ensure Texans with special needs
receive emergency information, and facilities
that care for individuals with special needs
maintain evacuation and transportation
plans. 3.9.4. Establish a reverse telephone
public alert system for hazard information. 48
9. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 3.9 MAINTAIN EFFECTIVE
WAYS TO ALERT LOCAL LEADERS AND THE PUBLIC ABOUT
ALL HAZARDS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES. a. The Texas
Health and Human Service Commission (HHSC) has
leveraged statewide assets to build and operate
the 2-1-1 system. The completed system offers an
effective and unique solution to
providing information and referral services to
the people of Texas while simultaneously
providing a critical support and workload-sharing
role in cooperation with a large number of state
and local government and community based
entities. Across the State, 2-1-1 Area
Information Centers have been established
to collect and maintain a database of local
resource information. 2-1-1 is positioned to play
a critical role during an emergency event. It can
also be positioned as a critical support role to
these government entities by operating as the
statewide resource available to take calls from
the general public, inform and instruct them in
relation to the emergency event, and to refer
them to the appropriate response and recovery
resource, if necessary. State and local
governments will be encouraged to use this system
to the fullest extent possible to keep the public
informed. b. Providing warning to special needs
populations is vitally important and often a
challenge. Local governments should work with
public health professionals and other resources
to maintain a list of individuals within their
jurisdictions that require special notification
during emergency events, as well as facilities in
their jurisdictions that care for individuals
with special needs, including nursing homes and
hospitals. All special needs facilities must
maintain emergency evacuation and transportation
plans. In addition, they should maintain a
working relationship with all commercial, city,
and county facilities where special needs
populations reside to ensure the facility
managers have established an emergency management
plan to respond to emergency events. Local
emergency responders should be aware of the needs
for these individuals in order to facilitate care
during events. PRIORITY ACTIONS 3.9.1. Leverage
the Texas Fusion Center and the statewide
intelligence capability to alert local leaders of
hazards in their communities 3.9.2. Leverage the
2-1-1 information and referral system to provide
hazard and emergency information to the
public. 3.9.3. Ensure Texans with special needs
receive emergency information, and facilities
that care for individuals with special needs
maintain evacuation and transportation
plans. 3.9.4. Establish a reverse telephone
public alert system for hazard information. 48
2-1-1 Roles
1) Help disaster victims and/or shelter
population in understanding what recovery
programs may be available to them and assist in
the application process. 2) Assist in the
identification and provision of appropriate
services to individuals with special needs. 3)
Assist individuals to register in the
Transportation Assistance Registry. 4) Provide
information on needs-based programs including the
Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program
(SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program.
6
Dallam
Sherman
Ochiltree
Hansford
Lipscomb
North Central Texas Fort Worth Region
Hartley
Moore
Hutchinson
Roberts
Hemphill
North Texas Region
North Central Texas Dallas Region
Oldham
Potter
Gray
Carson
Wheeler
Panhandle Region
Randall
Deaf Smith
Armstrong
Donley
Collingsworth
Swisher
Parmer
Castro
Hall
Briscoe
Childress
Texoma Region
Hardeman
Hale
Motley
Floyd
Cottle
Wilbarger
Bailey
Lamb
Wichita
Foard
North East Texas Region
South Plains Region
Clay
Montague
Lamar
Cooke
Crosby
Dickens
King
Baylor
Archer
Grayson
Red River
Hockley
Cochran
Lubbock
Knox
Fannin
Bowie
Delta
West Central Texas Region
Jack
Wise
Denton
Titus
Lynn
Kent
Garza
Stonewall
Haskell
Young
Collin
Yoakum
Terry
Franklin
Hopkins
Morris
Hunt
Cass
Throckmorton
Camp
Concho Valley Region
Rockwall
Rains
Marion
Parker
Dallas
Tarrant
Wood
Scurry
Borden
Palo Pinto
Dawson
Fisher
Jones
Shackelford
Upshur
Gaines
Kaufman
Stephens
Van Zandt
Permian Basin Region
Harrison
Gregg
Hood
East Texas Region
Johnson
Smith
Nolan
Ellis
Howard
Eastland
Martin
Mitchell
Taylor
Callahan
Andrews
Erath
Somervell
Henderson
Panola
Rusk
Navarro
Cherokee
Hill
Comanche
Bosque
Sterling
Coke
Anderson
Shelby
Loving
Winkler
Midland
Glasscock
Runnels
El Paso
Ector
Coleman
Brown
Nacogdoches
Heart of Texas Region
Hamilton
Freestone
McLennan
Limestone
Ward
Mills
San Augustine
Culberson
Hudspeth
Crane
Tom Green
Upton
Reagan
Coryell
Concho
Angelina
Central Texas Region
Reeves
Irion
Houston
Leon
Sabine
Falls
McCulloch
Lampasas
San Saba
Trinity
Bell
Robertson
Deep East Texas Region
Madison
Rio Grande Region
Schleicher
Menard
Jasper
Newton
Pecos
Burnet
Milam
Polk
Tyler
Walker
Jeff Davis
Crockett
Mason
Llano
Brazos
Williamson
San Jacinto
Bryan/ College Station
Grimes
Sutton
Kimble
Burleson
Gillespie
Travis
Hardin
Lee
Montgomery
Blanco
South Central Texas Region
Terrell
Washington
Orange
Bastrop
Liberty
Kerr
Hays
Presidio
Edwards
Waller
Brewster
Austin
Kendall
Val Verde
Jefferson
Fayette
Caldwell
Harris
Real
Chambers
Gulf Coast Region
Comal
Bandera
Colorado
Guadalupe
Fort Bend
Bexar
Gonzales
Alamo Region
Southeast Texas Region
Lavaca
Uvalde
Medina
Kinney
Galveston
Wharton
Wilson
Brazoria
De Witt
Jackson
Karnes
Atascosa
Zavala
Frio
Middle Rio Grande Region
Maverick
Matagorda
Victoria
Golden Crescent Region
Goliad
Calhoun
Dimmit
Bee
McMullen
Live Oak
La Salle
Refugio
Aransas
San Patricio
Jim Wells
Webb
Coastal Bend Region
25 AIC Partners for Statewide Coverage
Nueces
Duval
South Texas Region
Kleberg
Jim Hogg
Brooks
Zapata
Kenedy
Starr
Willacy
Hidalgo
Tip of Texas Region
Cameron
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What the Community Expected from 2-1-1

• Good Information
• Accurate and up to date
• A place to call for help and to give help
• To be able to talk to a live person who was
  willing to listen

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Things That Work Well

• Technology
• Ability to work as a single network (calls went
  to first available agent anywhere in the state)
• Communications and Support
• Direct connection to State Operation Center
• Debriefing Sessions
• Resource Information
• Sharing information about regional resources
  throughout the network
• Special Needs
• Support from Department of State Health Services
  and TIRN Staff
• Volunteers
• Caring, dedicated and committed

9
Contributions

• Expanded the capacity to respond to the high
  volume of calls
• Provided critically needed management of
  information about availability of services
• Identified unmet and emerging needs, helping
  direct resources to high priority areas
• Provided critically needed telephone reassurance
  for callers

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Planning for this Hurricane Season Special Needs
Registry
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Contact Information

• David Jobe, LMSW, CIRS
• United Way of Greater Houston
• 713 685-2309
• djobe_at_unitedwayhouston.org