Article Last Updated: Thursday, March 11, 2004 - 5:48:56 AM PST

Counties try for 2-1-1 service line

Supporters say it will take a burden off 9-1-1 dispatchers

By Tamara Grippi, STAFF WRITER

Nonprofit groups in Alameda and Contra Costa counties hope to set up a toll-free referral service advising residents where to get help with job training, health care, day care, support groups and just about every imaginable need.

The Contra Costa Crisis Center and Eden I&R (information and referral) of Alameda County are both preparing to launch 2-1-1 service -- a nationwide number for referrals designated by the Federal Communications Commission in 2000.

The two nonprofit groups have received approval form the California Public Utilities Commission to serve as the 2-1-1 providers in both counties.

The only thing standing in their way is lack of funding. Contra Costa Crisis Center estimates it will cost $1 million a year to provide the service, while Eden I&R puts its annual price tag at $1.4 million.

"We're pursuing any and all sources," said John Bateson, executive director of the crisis center. "It's questionable whether we'll be able to find the funding to launch the service."

Supporters of the program say it will take a burden off the 9-1-1 dispatchers, allowing them to focus their efforts entirely on emergency calls.

More than half the calls received by 9-1-1 dispatchers are for non-emergencies, Bateson said.

Barbara Bernstein, executive director of Eden I&R, argued that the2-1-1 service will save communities money in the long run.

"People need to know where to go for service," she said. "If they don't get the services they need, the issues become larger. If a person has health problems and can't find a free clinic, they could wind up in the emergency room," costing the taxpayers.

Several other California communities are interested in setting up 2-1-1 service. Los Angeles County was the first region to receive 2-1-1 approval from the California Public Utilities Commission.

San Francisco, Orange, Riverside and Ventura counties have applications pending before the commission.

Bateson argued that the service becomes even more valuable during a dis- aster when many people seek non-emergency assistance. After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Connecticut's 2-1-1 system handled 95 percent of the calls seeking information about counseling, volunteering and other non-crisis information.

New York, by contrast, had to set up 400 hot lines to serve the public, Bateson said.

The nonprofit groups are keeping a close watch on a piece of federal legislation, cosponsored by Sens. Hilary Clinton and Elizabeth Dole, that would provide $200 million of federal funding for the 2-1-1 service. The bill would require local matching funds.

In the meantime, the groups are looking to foundations, individuals and corporations willing to contribute.

With extensive databases already in place, both organizations are prepared to launch the service. Contra Costa Crisis Center, which provides 24-hour hot lines for homelessness, grief, suicide prevention and other crisis services, maintains an online database of 2,500 resources that is updated daily, Bateson said.

The bulk of the costs to run the new service consists in hiring employees to staff the 2-1-1 lines 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

In an age when callers are often greeted by automated phone systems, the 2-1-1 service promises a live person to answer questions or refer callers to a resource to answer their questions on everything from housing to healthcare.

Bateson pointed to studies showing that people make an average of seven or eight calls before finding the service they're seeking.

The 2-1-1 service is designed to be one-stop shopping -- for free.

"The way 2-1-1 was conceived, in the worst-case scenario, it would be the second-to-last call the person has to make," Bateson said. "In the best-case scenario it would be the last call you make."

For more information about Contra Costa Crisis Center, call (925) 939-1933; to contact Eden I&R in Alameda County, call (510) 537-2710.