110th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 211
To facilitate nationwide availability of 2-1-1 telephone service
for information and referral on human services, volunteer services, and
for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 9, 2007
Mrs. CLINTON (for herself, Mrs. DOLE, Mr. AKAKA, Mr. BAYH, Mr. NELSON of
Florida, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. BURR, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. COLEMAN, Ms.
COLLINS, Mr. HAGEL, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. KERRY, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr.
LEVIN, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. LUGAR, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mrs. MURRAY, Ms. MIKULSKI,
Ms. SNOWE, Mr. VITTER, Mr. CASEY, Mr. BENNETT, and Ms. STABENOW) introduced
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
A BILL
To facilitate nationwide availability of 2-1-1 telephone service
for information and referral on human services, volunteer services, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Calling for 2-1-1 Act of 2007'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The Federal Communications Commission has assigned 2-1-1 as the national
telephone number for telephone service for information and referral on
human services, declaring that 2-1-1 best satisfies the public interest
in allotting the limited resource of this abbreviated number. The Commission
will assess the widespread utilization of the 2-1-1 telephone number and
evaluate whether to continue the assignment of that telephone number for
that service.
(2) The number `2-1-1' is an easy-to-remember telephone number that facilitates
critical connections between individuals and families seeking services,
volunteer opportunities, or both and appropriate human services agencies,
including community-based and faith-based organizations and government
agencies.
(3) There are approximately 1,500,000 nonprofit organizations in the United
States. Individuals and families often find it difficult to navigate through
a complex and ever-growing maze of human services agencies and programs,
spending inordinate amounts of time trying to identify an agency or program
that provides a service that may be immediately or urgently required and
often abandoning the search from frustration or a lack of quality information.
(4) At the Federal, State, and local levels, government funding supports
well-intentioned programs that are not fully utilized because of a lack
of access to and information on such programs by the public. Program administrators
have indicated that there is a need for a simple way to connect those
eligible for programs with available program resources. 2-1-1 telephone
service will reduce the number of inappropriate calls to government offices
by directing consumers to the appropriate human services agency, resulting
in a more effective use of government services.
(5) A national cost benefit analysis conducted by the University of Texas
estimates a net value to society of a national 2-1-1 system approaching
$130,000,000 in the first year alone and a conservative estimate of nearly
$1,100,000,000 over 10 years.
(6) Many families need information on government and not-for-profit services
that provide high quality child care and early childhood education, such
as the Federal Head Start program, after school and summer activities
for children, job training and assistance, housing and hunger assistance,
elder care, help for victims of domestic violence, disaster recovery,
and volunteer opportunities.
(7) Individuals often need support, services, or both when suffering emotional
distress, having suicidal thoughts or behavior, contemplating violence,
or using drugs or alcohol.
(8) Americans desire to volunteer and become involved in their communities.
This desire, together with a desire to donate to organizations which provide
human services, are among the reasons to contact a center which provides
information and referral on volunteer opportunities and human services.
A simple call to 2-1-1 will help a citizen find the volunteer opportunity
they seek.
(9) Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, an estimated
400 telephone hotlines were established in New York, New York, for various
funds and services, creating a confusing network for victims and volunteers
to navigate. A Comptroller General report on charitable aid following
the terrorist attacks found that `families of victims generally believed
they had to navigate a maze of service providers in the early months'
and that `good information about and easy access to available assistance
could help survivors in the recovery process'.
(10) The 107th Congress recognized the importance of 2-1-1 telephone service
in community preparedness and response by including use of that telephone
number for public information as an allowable use of funds under grants
for preparedness and response to bioterrorism and other public health
emergencies under section 319C-1 of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 247d-3a), as added by section 131 of the Public Health Security
and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-188).
(11) While 69 percent of the population has access to 2-1-1 telephone
service from a land line in 41 States, inadequate funding prevents access
to that telephone service throughout each of the States. 2-1-1 telephone
service is currently available statewide only in 18 States.
(12) Rapid deployment nationwide of 2-1-1 telephone service as a means
of access to information about and referral on human services requires
collaboration among State governments, comprehensive and specialized information
and referral centers, including Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies,
human services organizations and service providers, emergency management
and homeland security officials, telephone companies, and other relevant
entities.
(13) 2-1-1 telephone service facilitates the availability of a single
repository where comprehensive data on all community services is collected,
maintained, and updated regularly, reducing costs and duplication of efforts.
The reliable data provided through 2-1-1 telephone service helps to better
assess the needs of our communities and to immediately mobilize resources
toward those needs.
SEC. 3. GRANTS TO FACILITATE NATIONWIDE AVAILABILITY OF 2-1-1 SERVICE
FOR INFORMATION AND REFERRAL ON HUMAN SERVICES.
(a) Grants Required- The Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting
through the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families (referred to in
this Act as the `Secretary'), shall award a grant to each State to carry
out a program for the purpose of making 2-1-1 telephone service available
to all residents of the State with phone service for information and referral
on human services. The grant, and the service provided through the grant,
shall not supplant existing funding streams or services.
(b) Grant To Be Available for Each State- In awarding grants under this
section, the Secretary shall develop a formula for allocating grant amounts
among the States so that a grant may be awarded to each State seeking a
grant.
(c) Requirement on Share of Activities-
(1) REQUIREMENT- A State may not be awarded a grant under this section
unless the State ensures that at least 50 percent of the resources of
the program funded by the grant will be derived from other sources.
(2) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS- The requirement in paragraph (1) may be satisfied
by in-kind contributions of goods or services.
(1) IN GENERAL- A State seeking a grant under this section shall carry
out this section through a lead entity (also known as a `2-1-1 Collaborative')
meeting the requirements of this subsection.
(2) 2-1-1 COLLABORATIVE- An entity shall be treated as the 2-1-1 Collaborative
for a State under this subsection if the entity--
(A) exists for such purpose under State law;
(B) exists for such purpose by order of the State public utility commission;
or
(C) is a collaborative entity established by the State for such purpose
from among representatives of--
(i) an informal existing 2-1-1 statewide collaborative, if any, in
the State;
(iii) community-based organizations;
(iv) faith-based organizations;
(v) not-for-profit organizations;
(vi) comprehensive and specialized information and referral providers,
including current 2-1-1 call centers;
(3) REQUIREMENTS FOR PREEXISTING LEAD ENTITIES- An entity described by
subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (2) may be treated as a lead entity
under this subsection only if such entity collaborates, to the extent
practicable, with the organizations and entities listed in subparagraph
(C) of that paragraph.
(1) IN GENERAL- The lead entity on behalf of each State seeking a grant
under this section shall submit to the Secretary an application in such
form as the Secretary shall require.
(2) INFORMATION- An application on behalf of a State under this subsection
shall contain information as follows:
(A) Information, on the program to be carried out by the lead entity
of the State so that every resident of the State with phone service
may dial the 2-1-1 telephone service at no charge to the caller, describing
how the lead entity plans to make available throughout the State 2-1-1
telephone service for information and referral on human services, including
information on the manner in which the lead entity will develop, sustain,
and evaluate the program.
(B) Information on the sources of resources for the program for purposes
of meeting the requirement in subsection (c).
(C) Information describing how the entity shall provide, to the extent
practicable, a statewide database available to all residents of the
State as well as all human services programs, through the Internet,
that will allow them to search for programs or services that are available
according to the data gathered by the human services programs in the
State.
(D) Any additional information that the Secretary may require for purposes
of this section.
(1) AUTHORITY- In carrying out a program to make 2-1-1 telephone service
available throughout a State at no charge to the caller, the lead entity
of the State may make subgrants to such persons or entities as the lead
entity considers appropriate for purposes of the program, including subgrants
to provide funds--
(A) for the provision of 2-1-1 telephone service;
(B) for the operation and maintenance of 2-1-1 call centers; and
(C) for the collection and display of information for the statewide
database.
(2) CONSIDERATIONS- In awarding a subgrant under this subsection, a lead
entity shall consider--
(A) the ability of the person or entity seeking the subgrant to carry
out activities or provide services consistent with the program;
(B) the extent to which the award of the subgrant will facilitate equitable
geographic distribution of subgrants under this section to ensure that
rural communities have access to 2-1-1 telephone service; and
(C) the extent to which the recipient of the subgrant will establish
and maintain cooperative relationships with specialized information
and referral centers, including Child Care Resource Referral Agencies,
crisis centers, 9-1-1 call centers, and 3-1-1 call centers, if applicable.
(g) Use of Grant and Subgrant Amounts-
(1) IN GENERAL- Amounts awarded as grants or subgrants under this section
shall be used solely to make available 2-1-1 telephone service to all
residents of a State with phone access, for community information and
referral on human services, including telephone connections between families
and individuals seeking such services and the providers of such services.
(2) PARTICULAR MATTERS- In making 2-1-1 telephone service available, the
recipient of a grant or subgrant shall, to the maximum extent practicable--
(A) abide by the Key Standards for 2-1-1 Centers as specified in the
Standards for Professional Information and Referral Requirements for
Alliance of Information Referral Systems (AIRS) Accreditation and Operating
2-1-1 Systems; and
(B) collaborate with human services organizations, whether public or
private, to provide an exhaustive database of services with which to
provide information or referral to individuals utilizing 2-1-1 telephone
service.
(3) USE OF FUNDS- Amounts of a subgrant under subsection (f) may be used
by subgrant recipients for statewide and regional planning, start-up costs
(including costs of software and hardware upgrades and telecommunications
costs), training, accreditation, public awareness, evaluation of activities,
Internet hosting and site development and maintenance for a statewide
database, database integration projects that incorporate data from different
2-1-1 programs into a single statewide database, and the provision of
2-1-1 telephone service.
(h) Requirement on Allocation of Grant Amounts- Of the amounts awarded under
this section, an aggregate of not more than 15 percent shall be allocated
for evaluation, training, and technical assistance, and for management and
administration of subgrants awarded under this section.
(i) Reports- The lead entity of each State awarded a grant under this section
for a fiscal year shall submit to the Secretary, not later than 60 days
after the end of such fiscal year, a report on the program funded by the
grant. Each report shall--
(1) describe the program funded by the grant;
(2) assess the effectiveness of the program in making available, to all
residents of the State with phone service, 2-1-1 telephone service for
information and referral on human services in accordance with the provisions
of this section; and
(3) assess the effectiveness of collaboration with human services resource
and referral entitles and service providers.
(j) Definitions- In this section:
(1) HUMAN SERVICES- The term `human services' means services as follows:
(A) Services that assist individuals in becoming more self-sufficient,
in preventing dependency, and in strengthening family relationships.
(B) Services that support personal and social development.
(C) Services that help ensure the health and well-being of individuals,
families, and communities.
(2) INFORMATION AND REFERRAL CENTER- The term `information and referral
center' means a center that--
(A) maintains a database of providers of human services in a State or
locality;
(B) assists individuals, families, and communities in identifying, understanding,
and accessing the providers of human services and the human services
offered by the providers of such services; and
(C) tracks types of calls referred and received to document the demands
for services.
(3) STATE- The term `State' means the several States, the District of
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands,
Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General- There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
Act, for fiscal years 2008 and 2009, $150,000,000, and for each of fiscal
years 2010 through 2013, $100,000,000.
(b) Availability- Amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of
appropriations in subsection (a) shall remain available until expended.
END
