2-1-1


2-1-1 is a special abbreviated telephone number reserved in Canada and the United States as an easy-to-remember three-digit telephone number meant to provide information and referrals to health, human, and social service organizations.
Like the emergency telephone number 9-1-1, 2-1-1 is one of the eight N11 codes of the North American Numbering Plan.

History

United States

For many years, New York Telephone used 2-1-1 as an automated credit request number for disconnected or mis-dialed calls. This service was in service from the 1970s through the early 2000s.
Before the introduction of direct long distance dialing, the long-distance operator was reached by dialing 2-1-1 in order to place a long-distance call. When the states in the US and provinces in Canada were assigned area codes in 1947 by The North American Numbering Plan, direct long distance dialing using the area code + local number was slowly introduced starting in 1951 eventually eliminating the use of 211. After that the local telephone providers designated "00" for long distance operator access.
United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta was the first to introduce a 2-1-1 service in 1997. Many states began implementation plans soon after, aided by the United Way of America in partnership with the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems. On July 20, 2000, the Federal Communications Commission approved 2-1-1 for nationwide use as a short number in the United States along with 5-1-1 for transportation. In Texas, particularly in the Coastal Bend area, 2-1-1 is also the number to call for elderly and handicapped people needing evacuation assistance in the event of a pending disaster such as a hurricane.
As of 2017, close to 95% of the population in the U.S. has access to 2-1-1 services. More than 200 agencies, including United Ways, provide 2-1-1 services. The largest population without access to 2-1-1 is the metro-Chicago area. In 2017, the 2-1-1 network in the U.S. answered close to 15 million requests for assistance through phone, text, and web chat.

Canada

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approved the use of 2-1-1 throughout Canada on August 9, 2001. The first Canadian 2-1-1 service opened in Toronto on June 13, 2002. 2-1-1 services are free of charge and multilingual in Canada. It is also available in Greater Montreal.

Operation

2-1-1 center hours vary. Many are open 24/7 to refer callers to organizations that provide services in such areas as:
Where available, 2-1-1 is operated by a private non-profit community-service organization, local government or local United Ways, which are part of the broader United Way Worldwide network. 2-1-1 provides information and referral to callers on where to obtain assistance from local and national social service programs, local and national governmental agencies and local and national non-profit organizations as well as where to volunteer or make a donation locally. Referrals are often given from databases accessed by call specialists. These databases are maintained by 2-1-1 staff following stringent data management guidelines. The databases are typically local but in some cases linked together to form statewide databases.
Many 2-1-1 centers are exploring Memorandums of Understanding with state and federal governments to facilitate the efficient handling of future disasters. Television or radio stations could easily tell citizens to call 2-1-1 in the event of an emergency. Call specialists at these centers would be informed of current disaster plans or places to receive help and could then inform the public of the correct course of action. After Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria in Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico, and the Gulf Coast region, 2-1-1 centers were instrumental in coordinating with local government officials and providing information to communities before and after local disasters. Furthermore, 2-1-1 providers in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Florida were called upon to provide assistance to individuals fleeing Puerto Rico's devastation.

Availability

United States

As of May 2017, the service is available in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. and 95% of the U.S. population has access to 2-1-1 services by dialing 2-1-1 on a landline or cell phone. In 2017, the 2-1-1 network answered close to 15 million requests for assistance by phone, text, and chat.

Canada

In Canada, 2-1-1 is available in the following places. Note that this list may be out-of-date; 2-1-1 service coverage is generally expanding over time.
Nova Scotia —
Quebec — and
Ontario —
Saskatchewan —
Alberta —
British Columbia —
The Windsor Star has reported on March 20, 2003 that Windsor, Ontario intended to have a 2-1-1 service up by 2009, as the Provincial Government allocated $311,000 to start it up, with much of the money being donated by the United Way of Canada, but had a set time limit on how long those funds would be available. On November 26, 2007, the City of Windsor's announced that 2-1-1 service for Windsor and Essex County began, and was being run by the United Way.
Plans to introduce 2-1-1 services are also in development in other Canadian communities. Ontario extended 2-1-1 province-wide in 2012 and Nova Scotia's province-wide 2-1-1 deployment will be fully operational in 2014. In British Columbia, 2-1-1 services are administered by , and is available on Vancouver Island\Gulf Islands and in the Metro Vancouver, Squamish-Lillooet, Sunshine Coast Regional District and Fraser Valley and regional districts, with plans to expand the services provincially.
In some communities, unused X-1-1 codes were assigned as plant test numbers for telephone installers testing individual lines. In the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, for instance, when 2-1-1 was dialed, it caused a busy signal to occur and the dialer's telephone line would "go dead" for several minutes afterward. These codes must first be "recovered" by moving the test functions elsewhere to permit redeployment as local public information numbers.

Accreditation

United States

The American accrediting body for 2-1-1 centers is the . AIRS provides an in-depth accreditation process for 2-1-1 centers. AIRS also certifies 2-1-1 Call Center Representatives as Certified Information and Referral Specialists, Certified Information and Referral Specialists for Aging and Certified Resource Specialists annually. AIRS standards have been created to provide a benchmark for 2-1-1 centers and its staff. The standards regulate nationally how a 2-1-1 centers provides services and how they collect and store information.
INFOLINE of Los Angeles, an information and referral services agency serving the greater Los Angeles area, developed a national taxonomy of human services that provides a standard language for information and referral providers nationally. AIRS adopted this taxonomy as its national standard for use in the field of information and referral. This taxonomy provides standard definition of terms, an exact coding structure for referrals and search methodology for providing referrals to consumers. More information about the AIRS/Infoline Taxonomy of Human Services can be found at .
Accredited 2-1-1 centers must have active Memorandums of Understanding with local 9-1-1 service as well as domestic violence providers, elder care providers, mental health providers and local law enforcement to name a few.

Canada

In Canada, professional certification is handled by InformCanada . The national 211 initiative is a partnership between InformCanada and United Way of Canada – Centraide Canada.
Work is underway to create a bilingual, Canadian Taxonomy of human services based on the AIRS/Infoline Taxonomy. This project is led by InformCanada and significant steps have been made on the creation of a starter taxonomy by the 211 Ontario phase 2 project, funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the government of Canada. Updates on the Canadian Taxonomy Project are maintained by 211.ca.

Implementation process

The number 2-1-1 must be captured and approved for assigning through the local telecom companies providing services in the local area. The process of implementing a 2-1-1 service in a community has taken many paths since its beginning in 1997. Some places have a centralized statewide system while others have decentralized regional networks with different types of affiliations.
In the United States, each implementation is monitored by the national accrediting entity and its local statewide affiliate.
In Canada, the deployment of 2-1-1 service is subject to InformCanada accreditation and Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approval.