II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 211

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

and referral on human services, volunteer services, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 31, 2005

Mrs. CLINTON (for herself, Mrs. DOLE, Mr. NELSON of Nebraska, Mr. BURR, 

Ms. STABENOW, Mr. HAGEL, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. LUGAR, Mr. NELSON

of Florida, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. LEVIN, Ms. 

LANDRIEU, Mrs. MURRAY, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. BAYH, Mr. INOUYE, and 

Mr. BENNETT) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL

To facilitate nationwide availability of 2–1–1 telephone service for information and referral on human services, volunteer services, and for other purposes.

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 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 
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1 (1) The Federal Communications Commission 

2 has assigned 2–1–1 as the national telephone num3 ber for telephone service for information and referral 

4 on human services, declaring that 2–1–1 best satis5 fies the public interest in allotting the limited re6 source of this abbreviated number. In 2005, the 

7 Commission will assess the widespread utilization of 

8 the 2–1–1 telephone number and evaluate whether 

9 to continue the assignment of that telephone number 

10 for that service. 

11 (2) The number ‘‘2–1–1’’ is an easy-to-remem12 ber telephone number that facilitates critical connec13 tions between individuals and families seeking serv14 ices, volunteer opportunities, or both and appro15 priate human service agencies, including community16 based and faith-based organizations and government 

17 agencies. 

18 (3) There are approximately 1,500,000 non19 profit organizations in the United States. Individuals 

20 and families often find it difficult to navigate 

21 through a complex and ever-growing maze of human 

22 service agencies and programs, spending inordinate 

23 amounts of time trying to identify an agency or pro24 gram that provides a service that may be imme25 diately or urgently required and often abandoning 
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1 the search from frustration or a lack of quality in2 formation. 

3 (4) At the Federal, State, and local levels, gov4 ernment funding supports well-intentioned programs 

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

6 to and information on such programs by the public. 

7 Program administrators have indicated that there is 

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

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

10 telephone service will reduce the number of inappro11 priate calls to government offices by directing con12 sumers to the appropriate human services agency, 

13 resulting in a more effective use of government serv14 ices. 

15 (5) A national cost benefit analysis conducted 

16 by the University of Texas estimates a net value to 

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

18 $130,000,000 in the first year alone and a conserv19 ative estimate of nearly $1,100,000,000 over 10 

20 years. 

21 (6) Many families need information on govern22 ment and not-for-profit services that provide high 

23 quality child care and early childhood education, 

24 such as the Federal Head Start program, after 

25 school and summer activities for children, job train-
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1 ing and assistance, housing and hunger assistance, 

2 elder care, help for victims of domestic violence, dis3 aster recovery, and volunteer opportunities. 

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

5 both when suffering emotional distress, having suici6 dal thoughts or behavior, contemplating violence, or 

7 using drugs or alcohol. 

8 (8) Americans desire to volunteer and become 

9 involved in their communities. This desire, together 

10 with a desire to donate to organizations which pro11 vide human services, are among the reasons to con12 tact a center which provides information and referral 

13 on volunteer opportunities and human services. A 

14 simple call to 2–1–1 will help a citizen find the vol15 unteer opportunity they seek. 

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

17 attacks, an estimated 400 telephone hotlines were 

18 established in New York, New York, for various 

19 funds and services, creating a confusing network for 

20 victims and volunteers to navigate. A Comptroller 

21 General report on charitable aid following the ter22 rorist attacks found that ‘‘families of victims gen23 erally believed they had to navigate a maze of service 

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

2 could help survivors in the recovery process’’.

3 (10) The 107th Congress recognized the impor4 tance of 2–1–1 telephone service in community pre5 paredness and response by including use of that tele6 phone number for public information as an allowable 

7 use of funds under grants for preparedness and re8 sponse to bioterrorism and other public health emer9 gencies under section 319C–1 of the Public Health 

10 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d–3a), as added by sec11 tion 131 of the Public Health Security and Bioter12 rorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 

13 (Public Law 107–188). 

14 (11) While 37 percent of the population has ac15 cess to 2–1–1 telephone service in 29 States, inad16 equate funding prevents access to that telephone 

17 service throughout each of the States. 2–1–1 tele18 phone service is currently available statewide only in 

19 9 States. 

20 (12) Rapid deployment nationwide of 2–1–1 

21 telephone service as a means of access to informa22 tion about and referral on human services requires 

23 collaboration among State governments, comprehen24 sive and specialized information and referral centers, 

25 including Child Care Resource and Referral Agen-
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1 cies, human service organizations and service pro2 viders, emergency management and homeland secu3 rity officials, telephone companies, and other rel4 evant entities. 

5 (13) 2–1–1 telephone service facilitates the 

6 availability of a single repository where comprehen7 sive data on all community services is collected, 

8 maintained, and updated regularly, reducing costs 

9 and duplication of efforts. The reliable data provided 

10 through 2–1–1 telephone service helps to better as11 sess the needs of our communities and to imme12 diately mobilize resources toward those needs.

13 SEC. 3. GRANTS TO FACILITATE NATIONWIDE AVAIL14 ABILITY OF 2–1–1 SERVICE FOR INFORMA15 TION AND REFERRAL ON HUMAN SERVICES. 

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

17 and Human Services shall award a grant to each State 

18 to carry out a program in the Administration on Children 

19 and Families for the purpose of making 2–1–1 telephone 

20 service available to all citizens in the State for information 

21 and referral on human services. These grant dollars shall 

22 not supplant existing funding streams or services. 

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

24 In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary shall 

25 develop a formula for allocating grant amounts among the 
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1 States so that a grant may be awarded to each State seek2 ing a grant. 

3 (c) REQUIREMENT ON SHARE OF ACTIVITIES.—

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

5 awarded a grant under this section unless the State 

6 ensures that at least 50 percent of the resources of 

7 the program funded by the grant will be derived 

8 from other sources. 

9 (2) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—The require10 ment in paragraph (1) may be satisfied by in-kind 

11 contributions of goods or services. 

12 (d) LEAD ENTITY.—

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

14 under this section shall carry out this section 

15 through a lead entity meeting the requirements of 

16 this subsection. 

17 (2) 2–1–1 COLLABORATIVE.—An entity shall be 

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

19 this subsection if the entity—

20 (A) exists for such purpose under State 

21 law; 

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

23 State public utility commission; or 
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1 (C) is a collaborative entity established by 

2 the State for such purpose from among rep3 resentatives of—

4 (i) an informal existing 2–1–1 state5 wide collaborative, if any, in the State; 

6 (ii) State agencies; 

7 (iii) community-based organizations; 

8 (iv) faith-based organizations; 

9 (v) not-for-profit organizations; 

10 (vi) comprehensive and specialized in11 formation and referral providers, including 

12 current 2–1–1 call centers; 

13 (vii) foundations; and 

14 (viii) businesses. 

15 (3) REQUIREMENTS FOR PREEXISTING LEAD

16 ENTITIES.—An entity described by subparagraph 

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

18 lead entity under this subsection only if such entity 

19 collaborates, to the extent practicable, with the orga20 nizations and entities listed in subparagraph (C) of 

21 that paragraph. 

22 (e) APPLICATION.—

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

24 each State seeking a grant under this section shall 
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1 submit to the Secretary an application therefore in 

2 such form as the Secretary shall require. 

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

4 a State under this subsection shall contain informa5 tion as follows: 

6 (A) Information on the program to be car7 ried out by the lead entity of the State so that 

8 every citizen with phone service may dial the 2–

9 1–1 telephone service in order to plan to make 

10 available throughout the State 2–1–1 telephone 

11 service for information and referral on human 

12 services, including information on the manner 

13 in which the lead entity will develop, sustain, 

14 and evaluate the program. 

15 (B) Information on the sources of re16 sources for the program for purposes of meet17 ing the requirement in subsection (c). 

18 (C) There should be a statewide database 

19 available to all citizens as well as all human 

20 service programs, through the Internet, that 

21 will allow them to search for programs or serv22 ices that are available according to the data 

23 gathered by the 2–1–1 programs in the State. 
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1 (D) Any additional information that the 

2 Secretary may require for purposes of this sec3 tion. 

4 (f) SUBGRANTS.—

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

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

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

8 the State may make subgrants to such persons or 

9 entities as the lead entity considers appropriate for 

10 purposes of the program, including subgrants to pro11 vide funds—

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

13 service; 

14 (B) for the operation and maintenance of 

15 2–1–1 call centers; and 

16 (C) for the collection and display of infor17 mation for the statewide database. 

18 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In awarding a subgrant 

19 under this subsection, a lead entity shall consider—

20 (A) the ability of the person or entity seek21 ing the subgrant to carry out activities or pro22 vide services consistent with the program;

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

24 subgrant will facilitate equitable geographic dis25 tribution of subgrants under this section to en-
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1 sure that rural communities have access to 2–

2 1–1 telephone service; and 

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

4 subgrant will establish and maintain cooperative 

5 relationships with specialized information and 

6 referral centers, including Child Care Resource 

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

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

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

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

11 or subgrants under this section shall be used solely 

12 to make available 2–1–1 telephone service for com13 munity information and referral on human services 

14 to all citizens of the State with phone access, includ15 ing telephone connections between families and indi16 viduals seeking such services and the providers of 

17 such services. 

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

19 telephone service available, the recipient of a grant 

20 or subgrant shall, to the maximum extent prac21 ticable—

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

23 1 Centers as specified in the Standards for Pro24 fessional Information and Referral Require25 ments for Alliance of Information Referral Sys-
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1 tems (AIRS) Accreditation and Operating 2–1–

2 1 Systems; and 

3 (B) collaborate with human service organi4 zations, whether public or private, to provide an 

5 exhaustive database of services with which to 

6 provide information or referral to individuals 

7 utilizing 2–1–1 telephone service. 

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

9 under subsection (e) may be used by grantees for 

10 Statewide and regional planning, start-up costs (in11 cluding costs of software and hardware upgrades 

12 and telecommunications costs), training, accredita13 tion, public awareness, evaluation of activities, Inter14 net hosting and site development and maintenance 

15 for a statewide database, database integration 

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

17 programs to a single statewide database, and the 

18 provision of 2–1–1 telephone service. 

19 (h) REQUIREMENT ON ALLOCATION OF GRANT

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

21 an aggregate of not more than 15 percent shall be allo22 cated for evaluation, training, and technical assistance, 

23 and for management and administration of subgrants 

24 awarded under this section. 
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1 (i) REPORTS.—The lead entity of each State awarded 

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

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

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

5 grant. Each report shall—

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

7 (2) assess the effectiveness of the program in 

8 making available to all citizens with phone service 

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

10 referral on human services in accordance with the 

11 provisions of this section; and 

12 (3) assess the effectiveness of collaboration with 

13 human service resource and referral entitles and 

14 service providers. 

15 (j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

17 services’’ means services as follows: 

18 (A) Services that assist individuals in be19 coming more self-sufficient, in preventing de20 pendency, and in strengthening family relation21 ships. 

22 (B) Services that support personal and so23 cial development. 
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1 (C) Services that help ensure the health 

2 and well-being of individuals, families, and com3 munities. 

4 (2) INFORMATION AND REFERRAL CENTER.—

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

6 a center that—

7 (A) maintains a database of providers of 

8 human services in a State or locality; 

9 (B) assists individuals, families, and com10 munities in identifying, understanding, and ac11 cessing the providers of human services and the 

12 human services offered by the providers of such 

13 services; and 

14 (C) tracks types of calls referred and re15 ceived to document the demands for services. 

16 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the sev17 eral States, the District of Columbia, the Common18 wealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, 

19 American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the 

20 Northern Mariana Islands. 

21 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro23 priated to carry out this Act, for fiscal years 2006 and 

24 2007, $150,000,000, and for each of fiscal years 2008 

25 through 2011, $100,000,000. 
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1 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pursuant 

2 to the authorization of appropriations in subsection (a) 

3 shall remain available until expended.

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