II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 211 

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

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

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 12, 2009 

Mrs. CLINTON (for herself, Mr. BURR, Mr. AKAKA, Mr. BROWN, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. CASEY, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. 

INOUYE, Mr. KERRY, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. 

LUGAR, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. ROBERTS, 

Mr. SCHUMER, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. SPECTER, Ms. STABENOW, and Mr. 

WHITEHOUSE) 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 and 

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 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
2 

•S 211 IS

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. The Commission 

7 will assess the widespread utilization of the 2–1–1 

8 telephone number and evaluate whether to continue 

9 the assignment of that telephone number for that 

10 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 services agencies, including commu16 nity-based and faith-based organizations and govern17 ment 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 services 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 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
3 

•S 211 IS

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 trainVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:00 Jan 13, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S211.IS S211

rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
4 

•S 211 IS

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 inforVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:00 Jan 13, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S211.IS S211

rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
5 

•S 211 IS

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). 

11 (11) While 69 percent of the population has ac12 cess to 2–1–1 telephone service from a land line in 

13 41 States, inadequate funding prevents access to 

14 that telephone service throughout each of the States. 

15 2–1–1 telephone service is currently available state16 wide only in 18 States. 

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

18 telephone service as a means of access to informa19 tion about and referral on human services requires 

20 collaboration among State governments, comprehen21 sive and specialized information and referral centers, 

22 including Child Care Resource and Referral Agen23 cies, human services organizations and service pro24 viders, emergency management and homeland secuVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:00 Jan 13, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S211.IS S211

rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
6 

•S 211 IS

1 rity officials, telephone companies, and other rel2 evant entities. 

3 (13) 2–1–1 telephone service facilitates the 

4 availability of a single repository where comprehen5 sive data on all community services is collected, 

6 maintained, and updated regularly, reducing costs 

7 and duplication of efforts. The reliable data provided 

8 through 2–1–1 telephone service helps to better as9 sess the needs of our communities and to imme10 diately mobilize resources toward those needs. 

11 SEC. 3. GRANTS TO FACILITATE NATIONWIDE AVAIL12 ABILITY OF 2–1–1 SERVICE FOR INFORMA13 TION AND REFERRAL ON HUMAN SERVICES. 

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

15 and Human Services, acting through the Assistant Sec16 retary for Children and Families (referred to in this Act 

17 as the ‘‘Secretary’’), shall award a grant to each State 

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

19 1 telephone service available to all residents of the State 

20 with phone service for information and referral on human 

21 services. The grant, and the service provided through the 

22 grant, shall not supplant existing funding streams or serv23 ices. 

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

25 In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary shall 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
7 

•S 211 IS

1 develop a formula for allocating grant amounts among the 

2 States so that a grant may be awarded to each State seek3 ing a grant. 

4 (c) REQUIREMENT ON SHARE OF ACTIVITIES.— 

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

6 awarded a grant under this section unless the State 

7 ensures that at least 50 percent of the resources of 

8 the program funded by the grant will be derived 

9 from other sources. 

10 (2) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—The require11 ment in paragraph (1) may be satisfied by in-kind 

12 contributions of goods or services. 

13 (d) LEAD ENTITY.— 

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

15 under this section shall carry out this section 

16 through a lead entity (also known as a ‘‘2–1–1 Col17 laborative’’) meeting the requirements of this sub18 section. 

19 (2) 2–1–1 COLLABORATIVE.—An entity shall be 

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

21 this subsection if the entity— 

22 (A) exists for such purpose under State 

23 law; 

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

25 State public utility commission; or 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
8 

•S 211 IS

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 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
9 

•S 211 IS

1 submit to the Secretary an application in such form 

2 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 resident of the State with phone service 

9 may dial the 2–1–1 telephone service at no 

10 charge to the caller, describing how the lead en11 tity plans to make available throughout the 

12 State 2–1–1 telephone service for information 

13 and referral on human services, including infor14 mation on the manner in which the lead entity 

15 will develop, sustain, and evaluate the program. 

16 (B) Information on the sources of re17 sources for the program for purposes of meet18 ing the requirement in subsection (c). 

19 (C) Information describing how the entity 

20 shall provide, to the extent practicable, a state21 wide database available to all residents of the 

22 State as well as all human services programs, 

23 through the Internet, that will allow them to 

24 search for programs or services that are availVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:00 Jan 13, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S211.IS S211

rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
10 

•S 211 IS

1 able according to the data gathered by the 

2 human services programs in the State. 

3 (D) Any additional information that the 

4 Secretary may require for purposes of this sec5 tion. 

6 (f) SUBGRANTS.— 

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

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

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

10 the State may make subgrants to such persons or 

11 entities as the lead entity considers appropriate for 

12 purposes of the program, including subgrants to pro13 vide funds— 

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

15 service; 

16 (B) for the operation and maintenance of 

17 2–1–1 call centers; and 

18 (C) for the collection and display of infor19 mation for the statewide database. 

20 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In awarding a subgrant 

21 under this subsection, a lead entity shall consider— 

22 (A) the ability of the person or entity seek23 ing the subgrant to carry out activities or pro24 vide services consistent with the program; 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
11 

•S 211 IS

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

2 subgrant will facilitate equitable geographic dis3 tribution of subgrants under this section to en4 sure that rural communities have access to 2– 

5 1–1 telephone service; and 

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

7 subgrant will establish and maintain cooperative 

8 relationships with specialized information and 

9 referral centers, including Child Care Resource 

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

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

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

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

14 or subgrants under this section shall be used solely 

15 to make available 2–1–1 telephone service to all resi16 dents of a State with phone access, for community 

17 information and referral on human services, includ18 ing telephone connections between families and indi19 viduals seeking such services and the providers of 

20 such services. 

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

22 telephone service available, the recipient of a grant 

23 or subgrant shall, to the maximum extent prac24 ticable— 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
12 

•S 211 IS

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

2 1 Centers as specified in the Standards for Pro3 fessional Information and Referral Require4 ments for Alliance of Information Referral Sys5 tems (AIRS) Accreditation and Operating 2–1– 

6 1 Systems; and 

7 (B) collaborate with human services orga8 nizations, whether public or private, to provide 

9 an exhaustive database of services with which to 

10 provide information or referral to individuals 

11 utilizing 2–1–1 telephone service. 

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

13 under subsection (f) may be used by subgrant recipi14 ents for statewide and regional planning, start-up 

15 costs (including costs of software and hardware up16 grades and telecommunications costs), training, ac17 creditation, public awareness, evaluation of activities, 

18 Internet hosting and site development and mainte19 nance for a statewide database, database integration 

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

21 programs into a single statewide database, and the 

22 provision of 2–1–1 telephone service. 

23 (h) REQUIREMENT ON ALLOCATION OF GRANT

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

25 an aggregate of not more than 15 percent shall be alloVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:00 Jan 13, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S211.IS S211

rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
13 

•S 211 IS

1 cated for evaluation, training, and technical assistance, 

2 and for management and administration of subgrants 

3 awarded under this section. 

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

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

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

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

8 grant. Each report shall— 

9 (1) describe the program funded by the grant; 

10 (2) assess the effectiveness of the program in 

11 making available, to all residents of the State with 

12 phone service, 2–1–1 telephone service for informa13 tion and referral on human services in accordance 

14 with the provisions of this section; and 

15 (3) assess the effectiveness of collaboration with 

16 human services resource and referral entitles and 

17 service providers. 

18 (j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

20 services’’ means services as follows: 

21 (A) Services that assist individuals in be22 coming more self-sufficient, in preventing de23 pendency, and in strengthening family relation24 ships. 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
14 

•S 211 IS

1 (B) Services that support personal and so2 cial development. 

3 (C) Services that help ensure the health 

4 and well-being of individuals, families, and com5 munities. 

6 (2) INFORMATION AND REFERRAL CENTER.— 

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

8 a center that— 

9 (A) maintains a database of providers of 

10 human services in a State or locality; 

11 (B) assists individuals, families, and com12 munities in identifying, understanding, and ac13 cessing the providers of human services and the 

14 human services offered by the providers of such 

15 services; and 

16 (C) tracks types of calls referred and re17 ceived to document the demands for services. 

18 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the sev19 eral States, the District of Columbia, the Common20 wealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Is21 lands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Common22 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

23 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro25 priated to carry out this Act, for fiscal years 2010 and 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
15 

•S 211 IS

1 2011, $150,000,000, and for each of fiscal years 2012 

2 through 2015, $100,000,000. 

3 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pursuant 

4 to the authorization of appropriations in subsection (a) 

5 shall remain available until expended. 

Æ 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS