2-1-1 is an easy to remember telephone number that, where available, connects people with important community services and volunteer opportunities. The implementation of 2-1-1 is being spearheaded by United Ways and comprehensive and specialized information and referral agencies in states and local communities. United Way of America (UWA) and the Alliance for Information and Referral Systems (AIRS) strongly support federal funding so that every American has access to this essential service. Every hour of every day, someone in the United States needs essential services - from finding an after-school program to securing adequate care for a child or an aging parent. Faced with a dramatic increase in the number of agencies and help-lines, people often don't know where to turn. In many cases, people end up going without these necessary services because they do not know where to start. 2-1-1 helps people find and give help.
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July is the five-year anniversary of the FCC's designation of 2-1-1 for the purpose of community, volunteer, and human service information and referral. To help build support for 2-1-1 in Congress, please call the toll-free number 888-PASS-211 to call your Members of Congress and ask them to cosponsor The Calling for 2-1-1 Act (S 211 / HR 896) today! You can also send an email to your Members of Congress by clicking here. A nationwide 2-1-1 system will not happen without the partnership of the federal government.
The Calling for 2-1-1 Act (S 211 / House bill soon to be reintroduced), lead by Senators Elizabeth Dole (R-NC), Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), and Richard Burr (R-NC), and Representatives Michael Bilirakis (R-FL-9) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA-14), enjoys broad bi-partisan support and would authorize $150 million to assist states with implementing and sustaining 2-1-1 statewide. States would have to provide a 50 percent match to the grant, which could come from current 2-1-1 funding in the community, such as United Way funding, funding through other non-profits, state and local government, foundations and businesses. Funding would be administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Act closed the 108th Congress with 182 bi-partisan congressional cosponsors. | back to Public Policy page |
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