1.This Act may be cited as the Calling
for 2–1–1 Act of 2007
.
2.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.
3.Grants to
facilitate nationwide availability of 2–1–1 service for information and
referral on human services
(a)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 StateIn 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)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)The requirement in paragraph (1) may be satisfied
by in-kind contributions of goods or services.
(d)
(1)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)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;
(ii)State
agencies;
(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;
(vii)foundations;
and
(viii)businesses.
(3)Requirements
for preexisting lead entitiesAn 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.
(e)
(1)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)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.
(f)
(1)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)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)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)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)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 AmountsOf 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)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)In
this section:
(1)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 centerThe 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)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.
4.Authorization of
appropriations
(a)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)Amounts
appropriated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations in subsection (a)
shall remain available until expended.