The purpose of this report is to provide Council with the information needed to address the SV2-1-1 Steering Committee's request for a resolution in support of creating a 2-1-1 information and referral phone number to serve Santa Clara County residents.

The Federal Communications Commission designated 2-1-1 as the national three digit phone number to be used exclusively for giving non-emergency information and referral (I&R) to people wanting to know where to go for health, mental health, housing and social services. The 2-1-1 project's intent is to reduce confusion in connecting people with essential community and public services.

The Federal Communications Commission has designated 2-1-1 as the national three digit phone number to be used exclusively for giving non-emergency information and referral (I&R) to people wanting to know where to go for health, mental health, housing and social services. Under the 2-1-1 concept, trained 2-1-1 operators answer constituent calls and make referrals to appropriate government or nonprofit services. The service will be free and multilingual; it is expected that it will be provided 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In addition, 2-1-1 will be a vehicle for people to give help as well, particularly in post-disaster situations. Over a year ago in Santa Clara County the United Way Silicon Valley convened an inclusive group of representatives from government agencies and nonprofit I&R human services organizations to explore how the federally identified 2-1-1 phone number could be implemented to serve all county residents.

The 2-1-1 project stems from a nationwide effort toward providing a single-source information and referral service for community and public services. Its intent is to reduce confusion in connecting people with essential community and public services.

The California Association of Information and Referral Systems (CAIRS), along with the CA2-1-1 Steering Committee, is coordinating the California movement. Funding for 2-1-1 planning in California has been through grants from The California Endowment, The Community Technology Foundation of California, the Julius Sumner Miller Foundation, the Weingart Foundation and The Walter & Elise Haas Foundation. Additional funders are being sought to help implement 2-1-1 throughout the state.

In Santa Clara County, United Way Silicon Valley has convened stakeholders to determine the best local service delivery method. The county-wide project is being coordinated by a steering committee of stakeholders (the SV2-1-1 Steering Committee) led by Nina Tobin, Loaned Executive to United Way from the City of San Jose.

Advocates for 2-1-1 cite several benefits including: easier access to human services, more cost effective provision of human service information and referral, and a reduction in non-emergency calls to 911. The following additional benefits related to disaster-preparedness are also anticipated, as outlined in Attachment I, 211 Fact Sheet:

• Provides initial support to first responders, e.g., Red Cross;
• Links victims with assistance and provides ongoing assistance in the aftermath;
• Simplifies disaster preparedness plans;
• Multiple phone numbers, addresses, and bulletins can be filtered to the public through 2-1-1;
• EOC staff is buffered from public inquires and offers of assistance;
• Facilitates donation of time, material goods, or money – daily and post disaster;
• 2-1-1 service works with disaster planning agencies, participates in disaster planning meetings and has defined roles and responsibilities;
• Empowers the nation to respond better to large-scale emergencies.

Caution is provided by the Department of Public Safety's 911 center staff who note that Sunnyvale's 911 center rarely, if ever, gets calls asking for 211 assistance. That may be because shelter services and the services of the Desk Officer address these types of calls before they get to the 911 center. DPS notes that since Sunnyvale statistics indicate that our community utilizes the system well it would be faulty to assume that 911 costs or workload would decrease with the implementation of the 211 service, or that funding could be shifted from 911 sources to this source.

Additionally, while easy-to-remember numbers are generally good, we will have:

As a result confusion may occur: 211 may generate more accidental calls to 911; or worst case -- people may call 211 when they should call 911.

The SV 2-1-1 Steering Committee is currently exploring funding sources for implementation. Expected call volume for 2-1-1 in Santa Clara County is estimated at approximately 100,000 per year. As Attachment II, SV2-1-1 Implementation Phases and Milestone Dates indicates, implementation is anticipated in April 2005. Full call volume of approximately 100,000 calls per year is projected for the fourth year of operations.

As indicated in Attachment III, Resolution in Support of Creating a 211 Information and Referral Phone Number to Serve Santa Clara County Residents and Visitors, Council support for the resolution means that the City supports county-wide 2-1-1 in concept, and will offer advice and cooperation to the SV2-1-1 Steering Committee and United Way Silicon Valley in devising a plan to implement 2-1-1 locally in Spring 2005. No funding commitment is implied, expected or stated. Since the cities are primary stakeholders (especially concerning community services and disaster preparedness roles), city input is critical in determining how the system should look in order to best meet constituent needs.

There is no fiscal impact associated with supporting the resolution. When implemented, it is estimated that the annual operational cost would be $1 per capita population. Since this level of cost is not affordable and will not be supported by cities, other funding sources are being explored. Potential options for ongoing funding include a mix of resources (such as surcharges on phone, other utilities, or maybe insurance premiums). Before funding decisions are made, the SV2-1-1 Steering Committee will put together a menu of options for stakeholder and state legislator input, and then will go forward with the strategy that people are most willing to endorse.