News | Press Release
2-1-1 San Bernardino County analyzes caller data
and provides the report for community use
San Bernardino County, CA (October 4, 2007) – Since the
launch of the call center one year ago, residents have had easy
access to health and social services 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week by simply dialing 2-1-1 or (888) 435-7565. The call center,
with live call specialists, offers free and confidential
information and referrals for community services in San
Bernardino County.
"The anniversary for 2-1-1 was a testimony to the growth and
significance of the 2-1-1 system in meeting the needs of
children and families in the City and County of San Bernardino,"
said Kent Paxton, City of San Bernardino Community Safety and
Violence-Prevention Liaison.
2-1-1 has gathered comprehensive data of caller demographics and
expressed needs, collecting demographic information such as
location of persons seeking, calls by gender, race/ethnicity and
age, needs of the callers and children in the household. The
data generated by callers to 2-1-1 can be used by government,
nonprofit organizations and funding agencies for planning,
program development and funding purposes. The report, including
maps and data sets, is available on
www.ieuw.org.
“The information collected from these calls recognizes the
services most requested and the resources that are scarce, and
it will ultimately help determine where our efforts should be,”
said Gary Madden, Inland Empire United Way’s 2-1-1 Director.
“This rich array of data, when analyzed, can paint a defining
picture of our communities and their needs. It can be framed as
wide as the whole county or focused down to the zip code level.
It can be used to determine trends and identify service gaps.
When overlaid with a GIS mapping of service of providers’
locations extracted from the 2-1-1 database, the picture becomes
multi-dimensional and can be used to determine best locations
for new service provision, or to avoid duplication of services
already in place.”
The report shows that call volume is rapidly increasing because
more people are dialing 2-1-1 to find help. In July 2007, more
than 2,600 information and referral calls were taken by 2-1-1
call center staff; that is more than triple the number of calls
from August 2006.
A diverse group of people are calling 2-1-1, reflecting the
diversity of San Bernardino County. 2-1-1 serves a variety of
racial/ethnic groups, ages and family types. However, callers
are not entirely representative of San Bernardino County as a
whole. Almost four of every five callers are female. The single
largest ethnic/racial group served by 2-1-1 is Hispanics,
followed by African-Americans and whites. Based on their
representation in the population, African-Americans utilize
2-1-1 three times as much as would be expected. Most other
ethnic and racial groups are slightly under-represented based on
their countywide representation. There are a number of possible
explanations for this including the calling percentages
reflected the relative amount of need, cultural bias against
seeking help and the effectiveness of marketing efforts in
reaching those groups.
No matter their demographics, callers are looking for help with
basic needs, especially housing-related. More than 68% of all
2-1-1 calls are related to basic needs (such as utilities, rent
assistance, shelter and food). A large part of this County’s
population is struggling with basic needs. A high poverty rate,
increasingly expensive housing and a lack of living-wage jobs
available to the struggling population will ensure that basic
needs remain a priority. Most callers, 58%, had children under
age 18 present in the home with one-third of the callers having
children under the age of six.
"As an agency working to improve the lives of young children and
their families, First 5 San Bernardino is very pleased to be a
partner in the 2-1-1 effort,” said Stacy Iverson, Program
Manager for First 5 San Bernardino. “The 2-1-1 system has been
instrumental in ensuring the children of San Bernardino County
receive needed services and we are honored to be here to
celebrate the success of 2-1-1."
The City of San Bernardino led the other cities and towns in the
rate of basic needs. The Central Valley region, which includes
the cities of San Bernardino, Fontana, Rialto and Colton, has
the greatest number of calls to 2-1-1, the largest share of all
calls to 2-1-1 and the highest rate of calls. This is not
entirely unexpected since the area has large pockets of extreme
poverty. The High Desert region (Adelanto, Apple Valley,
Barstow, Victorville, Lucerne Valley and sparsely populated
desert area) has the second highest number of calls and a call
rate almost as high the Central Valley region.
2-1-1 also performs call back surveys to monitor if the caller
actually got help after receiving the referrals. Success at
finding help largely depends on what type of help is needed.
2-1-1 is successful at helping callers find appropriate
agencies. Callers with basic needs were able to find help with
food and clothing needs most of the time (79-86%). Seeking help
with rent assistance, housing and transportation was, more often
than not, a futile effort.
2-1-1 recorded that more than 95% of the callers indicated that
the referrals given were accurate. Ninety percent of callers
contacted the agency to which they were referred and, of those
who contacted an agency and knew the outcome of their attempt to
find help, 58% were able to find assistance. Even if they were
unable to find help, 84% of callers surveyed said that the
information was useful and 86% said they would definitely use
2-1-1 in the future.
Inland Empire United Way's 2-1-1 Initiative
Inland Empire United Way (IEUW) is the designated 2-1-1
service provider for San Bernardino County. The 2-1-1 service
has been implemented in 32 states across 169 centers in the U.S.
2-1-1 offers information and referrals for non-emergency help
and also improves public safety, acting as a hub for information
and volunteerism during crisis or disaster. 2-1-1 San Bernardino
County is funded in part by First 5 San Bernardino and the
County of San Bernardino.
IEUW helps disadvantaged kids succeed in school, provides easy
access to health and social services, develops volunteer
opportunities to create positive change and strengthens
financial stability opportunities for low-income families and
individuals.
www.ieuw.org
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