I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 211 

To facilitate nationwide availability of 2–1–1 telephone service for information 

and referral on health and human services, including volunteer services, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 4, 2007 

Ms. ESHOO (for herself, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. UPTON, Mr. PICKERING, Mr. 

TERRY, Mr. MURTHA, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. 

WAXMAN, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. GORDON of Tennessee, Mr. 

PASTOR, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Ms. HOOLEY, Mrs. 

CAPPS, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. ROSS, Mr. RADANOVICH, Mr. ROGERS of Michigan, Mrs. WILSON of New Mexico, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. KING

of New York, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. BOSWELL, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. CHANDLER, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mrs. MCMORRIS RODGERS, Ms. LEE, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. 

MCDERMOTT, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, 

Mr. PLATTS, Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota, Mr. COOPER, Ms. LORETTA

SANCHEZ of California, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. REICHERT, Mr. DICKS, 

Mr. HOLDEN, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California, Mr. WEINER, Mr. 

WEXLER, Mr. MICHAUD, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, and Mr. GERLACH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy 

and Commerce 

A BILL 

To facilitate nationwide availability of 2–1–1 telephone service for information and referral on health and human 

services, including volunteer services, and for other purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Calling for 2–1–1 Act 

5 of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) The Federal Communications Commission 

9 has assigned 2–1–1 as the national telephone num10 ber for telephone service for information and referral 

11 on human services, declaring that 2–1–1 best satis12 fies the public interest in allotting the limited re13 source of this abbreviated number. 

14 (2) The number ‘‘2–1–1’’ is an easy-to-remem15 ber telephone number that facilitates critical connec16 tions between individuals and families seeking serv17 ices, volunteer opportunities, or both and appro18 priate human service agencies, including community19 based and faith-based organizations and government 

20 agencies. 

21 (3) There are approximately 1,500,000 non22 profit organizations in the United States. Individuals 

23 and families often find it difficult to navigate 

24 through a complex and ever-growing maze of human 

25 service agencies and programs, spending inordinate 


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1 amounts of time trying to identify an agency or pro2 gram that provides a service that may be imme3 diately or urgently required and often abandoning 

4 the search from frustration or a lack of quality in5 formation. 

6 (4) At the Federal, State, and local levels, gov7 ernment funding supports well-intentioned programs 

8 that are not fully utilized because of a lack of access 

9 to and information on such programs by the public. 

10 Program administrators have indicated that there is 

11 a need for a simple way to connect those eligible for 

12 programs with available program resources. 2–1–1 

13 telephone service will reduce the number of inappro14 priate calls to government offices by directing con15 sumers to the appropriate human services agency, 

16 resulting in a more effective use of government serv17 ices. 

18 (5) A national cost benefit analysis conducted 

19 by the University of Texas estimates a net value to 

20 society of a national 2–1–1 system approaching 

21 $130,000,000 in the first year alone and a conserv22 ative estimate of nearly $1,100,000,000 over 10 

23 years. 

24 (6) Many families need information on govern25 ment and not-for-profit services that provide high 


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1 quality health care, public health information related 

2 to bioterrorism threats, mental health services, drug 

3 treatment, elder care, help for victims of domestic vi4 olence, disaster recovery, and volunteer opportuni5 ties. 

6 (7) Individuals often need support, services, or 

7 both when suffering emotional distress, having suici8 dal thoughts or behavior, contemplating violence, or 

9 using drugs or alcohol. 

10 (8) Americans desire to volunteer and become 

11 involved in their communities. This desire, together 

12 with a desire to donate to organizations which pro13 vide human services, are among the reasons to con14 tact a center which provides information and referral 

15 on volunteer opportunities and human services. A 

16 simple call to 2–1–1 will help a citizen find the vol17 unteer opportunity they seek. 

18 (9) Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist 

19 attacks, an estimated 400 telephone hotlines were 

20 established in New York, New York, for various 

21 funds and services, creating a confusing network for 

22 victims and volunteers to navigate. A Comptroller 

23 General report on charitable aid following the ter24 rorist attacks found that ‘‘families of victims gen25 erally believed they had to navigate a maze of service 


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1 providers in the early months’’ and that ‘‘good infor2 mation about and easy access to available assistance 

3 could help survivors in the recovery process’’. 

4 (10) During the Hurricane Katrina disaster in 

5 2005, 2–1–1 served as a crucial backup in areas of 

6 the Gulf Coast where 9–1–1 centers went down, pro7 viding access to emergency responders as well as 

8 serving as a source for information about loved ones, 

9 food, shelter, and other vital services. 

10 (11) The 107th Congress recognized the impor11 tance of 2–1–1 telephone service in community pre12 paredness and response by including use of that tele13 phone number for public information as an allowable 

14 use of funds under grants for preparedness and re15 sponse to bioterrorism and other public health emer16 gencies under section 319C–1 of the Public Health 

17 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d–3a), as added by sec18 tion 131 of the Public Health Security and Bioter19 rorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 

20 (Public Law 107–188). 

21 (12) While 69 percent of the population has ac22 cess to 2–1–1 telephone service in 41 States, inad23 equate funding prevents access to that telephone 

24 service throughout each of the States. 2–1–1 teleVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:12 Jan 12, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H211.IH H211

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1 phone service is currently available statewide in only 

2 17 States. 

3 (13) Rapid deployment nationwide of 2–1–1 

4 telephone service as a means of access to informa5 tion about and referral on human services requires 

6 collaboration among State governments, comprehen7 sive and specialized information and referral centers, 

8 including Child Care Resource and Referral Agen9 cies, human service organizations and service pro10 viders, emergency management and homeland secu11 rity officials, telephone companies, and other rel12 evant entities. 

13 (14) 2–1–1 telephone service facilitates the 

14 availability of a single repository where comprehen15 sive data on all community services is collected, 

16 maintained, and updated regularly, reducing costs 

17 and duplication of efforts. The reliable data provided 

18 through 2–1–1 telephone service helps to better as19 sess the needs of our communities and to imme20 diately mobilize resources toward those needs. 

21 SEC. 3. GRANTS TO FACILITATE NATIONWIDE AVAIL22 ABILITY OF 2–1–1 SERVICE FOR INFORMA23 TION AND REFERRAL ON HUMAN SERVICES. 

24 (a) GRANTS REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Health 

25 and Human Services shall award a grant to each State 


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1 to carry out a program for the purpose of making 2–1– 

2 1 telephone service available to all citizens in the State 

3 for information and referral on health and human services, 

4 including volunteer services. These grant dollars shall not 

5 supplant existing funding streams or services. 

6 (b) GRANT TO BE AVAILABLE FOR EACH STATE.— 

7 In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary shall 

8 develop a formula for allocating grant amounts among the 

9 States so that a grant may be awarded to each State seek10 ing a grant. 

11 (c) REQUIREMENT ON SHARE OF ACTIVITIES.— 

12 (1) REQUIREMENT.—A State may not be 

13 awarded a grant under this section unless the State 

14 ensures that at least 50 percent of the resources of 

15 the program funded by the grant will be derived 

16 from other sources. 

17 (2) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—The require18 ment in paragraph (1) may be satisfied by in-kind 

19 contributions of goods or services. 

20 (d) LEAD ENTITY.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State seeking a grant 

22 under this section shall carry out this section 

23 through a lead entity meeting the requirements of 

24 this subsection. 


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1 (2) 2–1–1 COLLABORATIVE.—An entity shall be 

2 treated as the 2–1–1 Collaborative for a State under 

3 this subsection if the entity— 

4 (A) exists for such purpose under State 

5 law; 

6 (B) exists for such purpose by order of the 

7 State public utility commission; or 

8 (C) is a collaborative entity established by 

9 the State for such purpose from among rep10 resentatives of— 

11 (i) an informal existing 2–1–1 state12 wide collaborative, if any, in the State; 

13 (ii) State agencies; 

14 (iii) community-based organizations; 

15 (iv) faith-based organizations; 

16 (v) not-for-profit organizations; 

17 (vi) comprehensive and specialized in18 formation and referral providers, including 

19 current 2–1–1 call centers; 

20 (vii) foundations; and 

21 (viii) businesses. 

22 (3) REQUIREMENTS FOR PREEXISTING LEAD

23 ENTITIES.—An entity described by subparagraph 

24 (A) or (B) of paragraph (2) may be treated as a 

25 lead entity under this subsection only if such entity 


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1 collaborates, to the extent practicable, with the orga2 nizations and entities listed in subparagraph (C) of 

3 that paragraph. 

4 (e) APPLICATION.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The lead entity on behalf of 

6 each State seeking a grant under this section shall 

7 submit to the Secretary an application therefore in 

8 such form as the Secretary shall require. 

9 (2) INFORMATION.—An application on behalf of 

10 a State under this subsection shall contain informa11 tion as follows: 

12 (A) Information on the program to be car13 ried out by the lead entity of the State so that 

14 every citizen with phone service may dial the 2– 

15 1–1 telephone service in order to plan to make 

16 available throughout the State 2–1–1 telephone 

17 service for information and referral on human 

18 services, including information on the manner 

19 in which the lead entity will develop, sustain, 

20 and evaluate the program. 

21 (B) Information on the sources of re22 sources for the program for purposes of meet23 ing the requirement in subsection (c). 

24 (C) There should be a statewide database 

25 available to all citizens as well as all human 


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1 service programs, through the Internet, that 

2 will allow them to search for programs or serv3 ices that are available according to the data 

4 gathered by the 2–1–1 programs in the State. 

5 (D) Any additional information that the 

6 Secretary may require for purposes of this sec7 tion. 

8 (f) SUBGRANTS.— 

9 (1) AUTHORITY.—In carrying out a program to 

10 make 2–1–1 telephone service available throughout a 

11 State at no charge to the caller, the lead entity of 

12 the State may make subgrants to such persons or 

13 entities as the lead entity considers appropriate for 

14 purposes of the program, including subgrants to pro15 vide funds— 

16 (A) for the provision of 2–1–1 telephone 

17 service; 

18 (B) for the operation and maintenance of 

19 2–1–1 call centers; and 

20 (C) for the collection and display of infor21 mation for the statewide database. 

22 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In awarding a subgrant 

23 under this subsection, a lead entity shall consider— 


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1 (A) the ability of the person or entity seek2 ing the subgrant to carry out activities or pro3 vide services consistent with the program; 

4 (B) the extent to which the award of the 

5 subgrant will facilitate equitable geographic dis6 tribution of subgrants under this section to en7 sure that rural communities have access to 2– 

8 1–1 telephone service; and 

9 (C) the extent to which the recipient of the 

10 subgrant will establish and maintain cooperative 

11 relationships with specialized information and 

12 referral centers, including Child Care Resource 

13 Referral Agencies, crisis centers, 9–1–1 call 

14 centers, and 3–1–1 call centers, if applicable. 

15 (g) USE OF GRANT AND SUBGRANT AMOUNTS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts awarded as grants 

17 or subgrants under this section shall be used solely 

18 to make available 2–1–1 telephone service for com19 munity information and referral on human services 

20 to all citizens of the State with phone access, includ21 ing telephone connections between families and indi22 viduals seeking such services and the providers of 

23 such services. 

24 (2) PARTICULAR MATTERS.—In making 2–1–1 

25 telephone service available, the recipient of a grant 


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1 or subgrant shall, to the maximum extent prac2 ticable— 

3 (A) abide by the Key Standards for 2–1– 

4 1 Centers as specified in the Standards for Pro5 fessional Information and Referral Require6 ments for Alliance of Information Referral Sys7 tems (AIRS) Accreditation and Operating 2–1– 

8 1 Systems; and 

9 (B) collaborate with human service organi10 zations, whether public or private, to provide an 

11 exhaustive database of services with which to 

12 provide information or referral to individuals 

13 utilizing 2–1–1 telephone service. 

14 (3) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts of a subgrant 

15 under subsection (f) may be used by grantees for 

16 Statewide and regional planning, start-up costs (in17 cluding costs of software and hardware upgrades 

18 and telecommunications costs), training, accredita19 tion, public awareness, evaluation of activities, Inter20 net hosting and site development and maintenance 

21 for a statewide database, database integration 

22 projects that incorporate data from different 2–1–1 

23 programs to a single statewide database, and the 

24 provision of 2–1–1 telephone service. 


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1 (h) REQUIREMENT ON ALLOCATION OF GRANT

2 AMOUNTS.—Of the amounts awarded under this section, 

3 an aggregate of not more than 15 percent shall be allo4 cated for evaluation, training, and technical assistance, 

5 and for management and administration of subgrants 

6 awarded under this section. 

7 (i) REPORTS.—The lead entity of each State awarded 

8 a grant under this section for a fiscal year shall submit 

9 to the Secretary, not later than 60 days after the end of 

10 such fiscal year, a report on the program funded by the 

11 grant. Each report shall— 

12 (1) describe the program funding by the grant; 

13 (2) assess the effectiveness of the program in 

14 making available to all citizens with phone service 

15 State 2–1–1 telephone service for information and 

16 referral on human services in accordance with the 

17 provisions of this section; and 

18 (3) assess the effectiveness of collaboration with 

19 human service resource and referral entitles and 

20 service providers. 

21 (j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) HUMAN SERVICES.—The term ‘‘human 

23 services’’ means services as follows: 

24 (A) Services that assist individuals in be25 coming more self-sufficient, in preventing deVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:12 Jan 12, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H211.IH H211

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1 pendency, and in strengthening family relation2 ships. 

3 (B) Services that support personal and so4 cial development. 

5 (C) Services that help ensure the health 

6 and well-being of individuals, families, and com7 munities. 

8 (2) INFORMATION AND REFERRAL CENTER.— 

9 The term ‘‘information and referral center’’ means 

10 a center that— 

11 (A) maintains a database of providers of 

12 human services in a State or locality; 

13 (B) assists individuals, families, and com14 munities in identifying, understanding, and ac15 cessing the providers of human services and the 

16 human services offered by the providers of such 

17 services; and 

18 (C) tracks types of calls referred and re19 ceived to document the demands for services. 

20 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the sev21 eral States, the District of Columbia, the Common22 wealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, 

23 American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the 

24 Northern Mariana Islands. 


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1 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro3 priated to carry out this Act, for each of fiscal years 2008 

4 and 2009, $150,000,000, and for each of fiscal years 2010 

5 through 2013, $100,000,000. 

6 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pursuant 

7 to the authorization of appropriations in subsection (a) 

8 shall remain available until expended. 

Æ 


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