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Public Policy

You can support 2-1-1

Sample Letter to Representatives (PDF*) | (Word)

The Washington State legislature passed ESHB 1787, a bill supporting creation of a 2-1-1 system in Washington State, on April 15, 2003. The bill was signed by Gov. Locke on May 7, 2003 and went into effect on July 1, 2003. The following outlines key elements of the legislation.

What does Washington’s 2-1-1 Legislation do?

It creates 2-1-1 as the official state number for people to call for information and referral for health and human services and to get information about accessing services after a natural or non-natural disaster.

It directs WIN 211 to study, design, implement, and support a statewide 2-1-1 system.

The law authorizes WIN 211 to select and approve local 2-1-1 service providers based on the following criteria:

The ability of the proposed 2-1-1 service provider to meet the national 2-1-1 standards recommended by the alliance of information and referral systems and adopted by the national 2-1-1 collaborative on May 5, 2000;
The financial stability and health of the proposed 2-1-1 service provider;
The community support for the proposed 2-1-1 service provider;
The relationships with other information and referral services; and
Such other criteria as WIN 211 deems appropriate.

The law also creates a 2-1-1 account in the state budget in case there is ever any state or federal money available to support the 2-1-1 call system in Washington. It states that money in the account can be spent for the following purposes:

Creating a structure for a statewide 2-1-1 resources data base that will meet the alliance for information and referral systems standards for information and referral systems data bases and that will be integrated with local resources data bases maintained by approved 2-1-1 service providers;
Developing a statewide resources database for the 2-1-1 system;
Maintaining public information available from state agencies, departments, and programs that provide health and human services for access by 2-1-1 service providers;
Providing grants to approved 2-1-1 service providers for the design, development, and implementation of 2-1-1 for its 2-1-1 service area;
Providing grants to approved 2-1-1 service providers to enable them to provide 2-1-1 service on an ongoing basis;
Providing grants to approved 2-1-1 service providers to enable the provision of 2-1-1 services on a twenty-four-hour per day seven-day a week basis.

The “findings” or background information section of the law recommends that no funds should be appropriated by the legislature to a 2-1-1 system under this act without receiving documentation that a 2-1-1 system will provide savings to the state.

The law also directs state agencies and departments to consult with WIN 211 about using the 2-1-1 system before creating any new public information telephone line or hotline for accessing health and human services information.

Finally, the law requires that WIN 211 make an annual report on 2-1-1 to the legislature and DSHS beginning in July 1, 2004.

COMPLETE TEXT OF ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1787

The Calling For 2-1-1 Act of 2003

On September 17, 2003 Senators Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY) introduced the S 1630, the “Calling for 2-1-1 Act” to provide ongoing federal funding for 2-1-1. A companion bill, HR 3111, was introduced in the House of Representatives by Representatives Richard Burr (R-NC) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA).

Summary of the Calling for 2-1-1 Act of 2003
The proposed legislation would authorize $200 million annually to assist states with implementing and sustaining 2-1-1 statewide. States would have to provide a 50 percent match to their grant. The match could come from current funding of 2-1-1 in the community, including (but not limited to) United Way and other non-profits, state governments, foundations, and businesses.

Administering the Funds – Federal Level

The funding would be administered by the Department of Commerce, thus having the bill go through the Senate and House Commerce committees. Commerce is the ideal choice, as the Department has jurisdiction over telecommunications and plays a role in building efficiencies into businesses—2-1-1 would build efficiencies into the business of community services. This also addresses a concern raised by some of UWA’s national partners that federal funding dedicated to 2-1-1 should not come from earmarks to existing programs supporting health and human services, such as the Social Services Block Grant, TANF, and the Child Care and Development Block Grant.

Administering the Funds – Local Level

The state would designate a “lead entity” that would develop a plan for statewide coverage for 2-1-1 and would administer grants to call centers to implement the plan. If the state has already designated a lead entity for 2-1-1, either through state law or by order of the Public Service Commission, that entity would automatically be the lead entity for 2-1-1 in the state. If there is no existing entity for 2-1-1, the state would create a collaborative body made up of: a current informal (i.e., not yet recognized by the state) 2-1-1 statewide collaborative if one exists, representatives of community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, not-for-profit organizations, and comprehensive and specialized information and referral providers including current 2-1-1 providers, foundations, and private businesses, to the extent practicable.

Use of Funds

The federal funding may be used for a broad range of 2-1-1 related services including: planning for, implementing, operating, and maintaining 2-1-1; conducting public awareness campaigns for the service; training 2-1-1 staff; increasing 2-1-1 centers’ quality and capacity; technology upgrades; and evaluating the system. To ensure consistency and quality of service, recipients of the grant must abide by National Standards for 2-1-1 Centers, as specified in the Standards for Professional Information and Referral Requirements of Alliance of Information and Referral Systems (AIRS) Accreditation and Operating 2-1-1 Systems.

For more information on the Federal 2-1-1 Authorization visit www.211us.org/legislation.htm.

To find the latest information on S 1630 and HR 3111, go to the Library of Congress' site at www.thomas.loc.gov and search by bill number.

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