Tennessee 211

2-1-1 In the News

The City Paper
April 03, 2006

2-1-1 line soon to be state wide
By: Judith R. Tackett

The Tennessee Regulatory Authority (TRA) last month approved a petition to invest $400,000 in start-up cost for a statewide 2-1-1 help line.

Doug Fluegel, 2-1-1 manager for United Way of Metropolitan Nashville, said he hopes that the community help line will be available throughout the state by July.

“I hope that we’re before that, but we also want to have a stealth period where we’re able to run it without too much call volume to make sure it’s working correctly,” Fluegel said.

Currently, 68 percent of Tennessee’s population covering 36 counties has access to 2-1-1 through five 2-1-1 centers in Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga, Knoxville and Kingsport.

The Tennessee Alliance of Information & Referral Systems (TNAIRS), which submitted the petition to cover all 95 counties, named United Way of Metropolitan Nashville as the agent for the grant.

“The reason United Way is involved is that TNAIRS is really just a membership organization with no staff,” Fluegel said. “So they really couldn’t handle a grant of that size, and the United Way is acting as the fiscal agent and also as the organizing agent to get all of these groups together to work on the 2-1-1 issue statewide.”

United Way of Nashville is working on a $700,000 operating budget, which includes the equivalent of 7.5 full-time positions of social workers who answer the calls directly. United Way of Nashville, in addition to handling Middle Tennessee, also answers calls for Knoxville and surrounding counties.

Fluegel said 2-1-1 Nashville will eventually handle calls from 53 counties. But funding for the operation of the statewide system is not in place yet at this time.

The hope is to get some federal contribution through the Calling for 2-1-1 Act (S211/HR896), which is sponsored by Senators Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.).

The proposal was introduced at the beginning of last year and is pending committee hearings in both chambers. If passed into law, the proposal would authorize $150 million for the first two years and $100 million for years three through five.

At the state level, Rep. Sherry Jones (D-Nashville) sponsored a bill in 2004 to allow the expansion of the 2-1-1 system.

“I’m so pleased that the state has approved funding for this very worthwhile initiative,” Jones said. “It will be a great assistance to Tennesseans as they try to navigate our system of community services and information.”

The Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources at the University of Texas developed a cost benefits analysis in 2004 to estimate the net value of a national 2-1-1 information and referral system.

The study found that a national 2-1-1 system would, among other things, save time, volunteer recruitment, tax assistance and recovery, 24/7 service, a reduction in the number of 1-800 numbers, and a reduction in non-emergency calls to 9-1-1.

The net value to society could be as much as $130 million in the first year and $1.1 billion over a decade. .

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	2-1-1 In the News The City Paper April 03, 2006 2-1-1 line soon to be state wide By: Judith R. Tackett The Tennessee Regulatory Authority (TRA) last month approved a petition to invest $400,000 in start-up cost for a statewide 2-1-1 help line. Doug Fluegel, 2-1-1 manager for United Way of Metropolitan Nashville, said he hopes that the community help line will be available throughout the state by July. “I hope that we’re before that, but we also want to have a stealth period where we’re able to run it without too much call volume to make sure it’s working correctly,” Fluegel said. Currently, 68 percent of Tennessee’s population covering 36 counties has access to 2-1-1 through five 2-1-1 centers in Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga, Knoxville and Kingsport. The Tennessee Alliance of Information & Referral Systems (TNAIRS), which submitted the petition to cover all 95 counties, named United Way of Metropolitan Nashville as the agent for the grant. “The reason United Way is involved is that TNAIRS is really just a membership organization with no staff,” Fluegel said. “So they really couldn’t handle a grant of that size, and the United Way is acting as the fiscal agent and also as the organizing agent to get all of these groups together to work on the 2-1-1 issue statewide.” United Way of Nashville is working on a $700,000 operating budget, which includes the equivalent of 7.5 full-time positions of social workers who answer the calls directly. United Way of Nashville, in addition to handling Middle Tennessee, also answers calls for Knoxville and surrounding counties. Fluegel said 2-1-1 Nashville will eventually handle calls from 53 counties. But funding for the operation of the statewide system is not in place yet at this time. The hope is to get some federal contribution through the Calling for 2-1-1 Act (S211/HR896), which is sponsored by Senators Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.). The proposal was introduced at the beginning of last year and is pending committee hearings in both chambers. If passed into law, the proposal would authorize $150 million for the first two years and $100 million for years three through five. At the state level, Rep. Sherry Jones (D-Nashville) sponsored a bill in 2004 to allow the expansion of the 2-1-1 system. “I’m so pleased that the state has approved funding for this very worthwhile initiative,” Jones said. “It will be a great assistance to Tennesseans as they try to navigate our system of community services and information.” The Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources at the University of Texas developed a cost benefits analysis in 2004 to estimate the net value of a national 2-1-1 information and referral system. The study found that a national 2-1-1 system would, among other things, save time, volunteer recruitment, tax assistance and recovery, 24/7 service, a reduction in the number of 1-800 numbers, and a reduction in non-emergency calls to 9-1-1. The net value to society could be as much as $130 million in the first year and $1.1 billion over a decade. . top