February 15, 2007

Contact: Lucinda Nord
Indiana 211 Partnership, Inc.
317-502-8504 or lucindanord@in211.org

Indiana 211 Partnership Urges Congress to Pass 2-1-1 Legislation

Indiana 211 Partnership joins thousands of organizations calling on Congress to support H.R. 211 and S. 211, the Calling for 2-1-1-Act which would authorize $700 million over 6 years to ensure 2-1-1 service nationwide.

Recognizing the value for Hoosiers, Senators Lugar and Bayh are original co-sponsors of S.211., among 31 senators and nearly 100 representatives.

In Indiana, over 80% of financial support for
2-1-1 comes from private, philanthropic funding, such as United Ways, community foundations, grants and donations. State and federal funding are needed to complete the system. 2-1-1 must become a real public-private partnership in order to become a human service that all Hoosiers can count on, day and day out.

2-1-1 is an easy-to-remember number--like 911, but for non-emergencies. 2-1-1 is a cost-effective number to help Indiana residents navigate the complex and ever-changing maze of human services. It provides quick answers to health and human services questions, encourages prevention and fosters self-sufficiency.

2-1-1 benefits communities, businesses and governments by:

• Serving as an essential planning tool for communities by allowing them to be in a better position to anticipate demand for services and mobilize resources to meet changing needs;
• Helping employees address personal or family problems before they grow into a crisis that takes them away from work;
• Making disaster response more effective and efficient by using 2-1-1 as the secondary response line for food, shelter, volunteers, donations and more;
• Reducing the costs of competing, duplicative 1-800 services operated by some governments;
• Reducing advertising costs by governments to inform citizens how to access programs and services with a simple, easy-to-remember number; and
• Reducing staff costs associated with responding to misdirected or inappropriate calls seeking services.

Today 85 % of Hoosiers can access human services information by calling 2-1-1 to find answers. The 2-1-1 service will eventually be available statewide, but is now operational in fourteen centers serving 64 counties. (See www.in211.org for coverage.)

#30

TAKE ACTION!
Call 1-888-PASS-211

Related Documents

Call for 2-1-1 Act
Fact Sheet
Cost Savings
2-1-1 and Disaster
2-1-1 and EITC

Links of Interest
Indiana 211
National 211
United Way of America