Arkansas 211

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Arkansas 211
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• Access to emergency police and fire services
  through the "911" telephone number is nearly
  universal and an indispensable service. Telephone
  directory assistance available by dialing "411",
  is another service we have come to depend upon.
  However, thousands of individuals and families
  search every day for emergency financial
  assistance, food or shelter

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• Looking for help means finding dozens of phone
  numbers and then searching through a confusing
  maze of agencies and services. For those who want
  to give back to the community through
  volunteerism, donations or civic involvement, the
  situation is only marginally better. Information
  and referral services have known for years that a
  similar universal number, that all IR services
  could use would mitigate this problem.

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• 2-1-1 is the national abbreviated dialing code
  for free access to Health and Human Services
  information and referral (IR).
  
• 2-1-1 is an easy-to-remember and universally
  recognizable number that makes a critical
  connection between individuals and families in
  need and the appropriate community-based
  organizations and government agencies.

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• 2-1-1 makes it possible for people in need to
  navigate the complex and ever-growing maze of
  human services agencies and programs. By making
  services easier to access, 2-1-1 encourages
  prevention and fosters self-sufficiency.

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Goals

• An efficient and accurate database and referral
  system for existing services.
  
• Expanded civic involvement by matching volunteers
  and donors with programs and services.
  
• Improved information for community planning.
• Streamlined access to existing services by
  eliminating confusing and frustrating searches.
  
• Allow those outside our local calling area to
  access the same services as others.
  
• civic involvement by matching Expanded volunteers
  and donors with programs and services for
  clients.
  
• Helping vulnerable people (those who are elderly,
  disabled, non-English speaking, incapacitated by
  crisis, illiterate, new to their communities,
  etc.) to help themselves.
• Improved information for community planning.
• Coordinating resources to maximize the limited
  pool of funds

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• Mission of Arkansas 211
• The mission of Arkansas 211 is to provide
  accurate, timely, effective and comprehensive
  access to information and referral for all
  residents of Arkansas.
• Vision for Arkansas 211
• The Arkansas 211 collaborative is committed to
  the implementation of single points of entry to
  access health and human service information in
  all regions of the state. 2-1-1 telephone
  information and referral is intended to increase
  access in a manner that is consistent with
  Alliance for Information and Referral Systems
  (AIRS) standards, and, in its final stage, be
  accessible and usable by all people in Arkansas.

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• In May 1997, Atlanta, Georgia became the first
  community in the country to implement a 211
  community-wide phone number for IR, similar in
  concept to the 911 emergency services number that
  has proven to be invaluable for the past two
  decades. Connecticut followed this lead in
  January 1999 by implementing the first statewide
  use of a 211 call center and website.
• On July 21, 2000, the Federal Communications
  Commission designated the abbreviated dialing
  code 211 for community information and referral
  nationwide "to be used to provide access to
  community information and referral services".
  This action was in accordance with two years of
  work by a 211 collaborative that had previously
  filed a petition with the FCC in May, 1998.

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• National Need for 211 Services
• Today, response to a personal or family or
  natural disaster is anything but automatic.
  
• One only has to look at the very different
  experiences of Connecticut and New York in the
  aftermath of September 11 t or parts of Florida
  with the hurricanes to realize what a difference
  a coordinated 211 system can make.
• The states of New Jersey and New York were
  inundated with crisis-related calls and more than
  400 social service hotlines sprung up in New York
  alone. Neighboring Connecticut had a single
  existing hotline - 211 - for getting and giving
  information and assistance simply and efficiently

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• Arkansas 211 Collaboration
• With escalating interest in 211 services for
  Arkansas, a collaborative has been formed to
  offer direction for a statewide 211 initiative.
  This collaborative consists of leadership from
  the statewide United Way organizations,
  businesses, along with government and statewide
  service agencies.

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• The Arkansas Collaborative intends that 211 will
  become the access point for any Arkansan
  anywhere, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and
  will have a person who knows their community
  answering the phone, providing assistance and
  guidance through the often complex human service
  system.
• The Collaborative intends that 211 providers will
  be accountable for several key quality standards.
  
  
• Maintaining agreed upon AIRS standards of
  service.
  
• Following generally accepted accounting
  practices.
  
• Wisely stewarding public and private resources.
• Reporting on service delivery and outcomes
  statewide through mutually agreed upon reporting
  procedures policies, processes, and formats.
  
• Identifying gaps in services.
• Advocating for solutions to bridge gaps in
  service.

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• Benefits of a 211 System for Arkansas
• Arkansas 211 Easy Access to Services for
  Arkansas' families
  
• Thousands of individuals and families search
  every day for emergency financial assistance,
  food or shelter. Looking for help means finding
  dozens of phone numbers and searching through a
  confusing maze of agencies and services. These
  are even obstacles for those who want to
  contribute through vo1unteerism, donations or
  civic involvement.
• The creation on one number for all information
  and referral services in Arkansas is the
  solution.
  
• Why is Arkansas 211 needed? Fast, Easy Access for
  Information
  
• Access to emergency police and fire services
  through 911 and telephone directory assistance
  available by dialing 411 are both services
  becoming available nationwide. The ability to
  dial one three-digit number is increasing access
  to services, reducing response time and improving
  service delivery.

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• Examples of Needs addressed by a functional 211
  system
  
• A social worker in a nursing home reports that an
  elderly man has broken his glasses and cannot
  afford a new pair. Where do new glasses come
  from?
• A teenager on drugs. His anxious parents worry
  about what they should do to help their child
  Where do they start?
  
• A young woman with three children under that age
  of five has just been abandoned by her husband He
  has taken the car and the checkbook. What does
  she do?

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• The 211 system is not intended to replace
  existing information and referral services
  providers, such as existing 800 numbers, but will
  make it easier for residents to identify and use
  both those services.

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Summary of Arkansas 211 Community Benefits

• Service for Individual Residents A 211 system in
  Arkansas will offer a wide variety of benefits to
  citizens.
  
• 211 will provide consistency throughout the
  state, which may be particularly helpful to an
  increasing mobile population or for
  
• assisting relatives or loved ones in a distant
  community.
  
• The level of frustration felt by citizens trying
  to use the health and human service system will
  be reduced because each person will have a single
  point of access into the system through 211 and
  that system will be expanded to meet unmet
  needs.
• Individuals will also have time when accessing
  services because less effort will be needed to
  acquire desired information and less effort will
  be spent on dead ends .

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• Providers of Health and Human Services Under the
  current system, health and human service
  providers may receive calls for services that
  would be more appropriately handled by another
  provider. A 211 system will help a caller more
  accurately determine which agency to contact for
  their specific need, saving the time, money, and
  frustration spent on inappropriate calls.
• The availability of this single dialing code
  will also allow organizations and agencies
  delivering services to focus on their service
  mission, rather than spending scarce funds on
  raising their community profile. This system has
  the potential to reduce redundant information and
  referral costs incurred by agencies when IR
  functions are duplicated

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• Effective referral for 911 systems In the wake
  of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, 211
  has also been identified as a highly beneficial
  resource to traffic non-emergency calls away from
  police departments and the 911 system, which has
  been reported to receive 40 to 90 inappropriate
  calls.
• The 911 system has been an invaluable resource
  for the past two decades and a symbiotic
  relationship with a 211 system in Arkansas will
  support and aid 911's vital mission.

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• Resource for planners and funders A statewide
  211 system can provide valuable information to
  nonprofit and public funders, legislators and
  administrators about the health and human service
  system, about the gaps in the system, and about
  the needs felt by the population.
• As the system becomes more widely used by
  citizens in all parts of the state, statistics on
  callers to 211 would tell legislators and
  administrators what services are most requested
  in each area of the state and which of these
  needs are the hardest to meet with currently
  available services .

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• Centralized information point during man-made and
  natural disasters The development of an
  integrated 211 infrastructure has the ability to
  provide invaluable information in response to
  man-made and natural disasters and acts of
  terrorism through careful coordination with and
  local offices of emergency management, the
  Arkansas Office of Homeland Security, 911 and
  other key agencies.
• In Connecticut after September 11 th, 2001, that
  state's 211 system steered families to agency
  resources quickly and effectively. New York
  decided against a coordinated response and
  experienced chaos.

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• Arkansas 211 Funding
• 211 will operate with support from private and
  public sources. 211 is not currently supported by
  a phone surcharge like 911. The Arkansas 211
  collaborative will need to develop funding
  partnerships with stakeholders including
  statewide United Way agencies, state and federal
  government, the business community and charitable
  foundations.

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• . STATUS
• U.S - 214 active Centers providing access to
  about 196 million people, or 65 of U.S.
  population
  
• Canada - 5 Active Centers, providing access to
  about 6 million people, or 25 of CA population
  
• National 2-1-1 Assembly, AIRS Conference 2007