11. Assignment of Proceeding
Michel Peter Florio is the assigned Commissioner and Seaneen M. Wilson is the assigned ALJ in this petition for rulemaking.
1. In D.03-02-029, we adopted the regulatory policies, procedures, and guidelines needed to implement 211 dialing in California, in conformance with the FCC delegation of authority to the states.
2. Upon dialing 211, a caller is routed to a 211 call center, and then referred or routed to an agency that can provide information concerning social services such as assistance with housing, utility bills, food, child care, senior services, counseling, job services, and other non-emergency situations not currently addressed by either 911 or 311 services.
3. 911 is called when someone wants to report a crime in progress or a fire, or requests an ambulance. 311 is called when non-emergency municipal services are required, such as removal of debris in the street, potholes, and non-working street lights.
4. This decision does not address the provision of 911 service. 911 service remains the number to call in life threatening situations.
5. In California, 211 is operated by private non-profit community-service organizations, local government, or local affiliates of the national organization of the United Way of America. When an individual dials 211 (free of charge to the caller) a local exchange carrier routes the call to the authorized 211 provider in the service area of the caller. The 211 service provider then responds to requests from the caller regarding social services (see Section 2.1 above). Pursuant to R.10-06-002, this Commission set out to determine: 1) Whether and, if so, how to enable emergency access to 211 services in counties and localities without existing 211 centers; 2) What, if any, new rules should be adopted in order to implement 211 emergency service in unserved areas; and 3) Whether a Lead Entity for 211 service in California should be appointed, and if so, who that Lead Entity should be.
6. 2-1-1 California is a state-wide network of 211 information and referral service providers, and is a collaboration of the United Ways of California and the CAIRS.
7. Approximately 91% of California's population receives 211 service.
8. 211 service has been authorized in 30 of California's 58 counties. The 28 unserved counties are located in rural areas and are primarily sparsely populated, primarily in northern and eastern California, and suffer from an average unemployment rate of approximately 15%, which does not compare favorably to the state total of 11.7%.
9. The original purpose of 211 service was to provide a single easy to remember number for people to call for information regarding community and social services. 211 service has evolved, contributing to the safety of many California residents, as illustrated by the service it provided during the 2007 Southern California fires.
10. During the 2007 Southern California firestorms, 211 service providers received over 130,000 calls over just five days, a 764% increase from the call level the previous week.
11. In the report titled Communications System Performance During the 2007 Southern California Firestorm, the Commission's Communications Division commended the performance of the existing 211 service providers during the 2007 firestorm in Southern California, due to their functioning as an interactive communications asset with personnel gathering information from the Joint Information Center, WebEOC, private sector corporations, and other resources to get information to county officials and to the public.
12. Pursuant to D.03-02-029, the Commission certifies 211 service providers as eligible to provide 211 service and to purchase network telephone service that will enable them to receive calls from those who dial 211. The prospective 211 service provider submits an application letter to the Commission's Executive Director, and serves the application letter on all parties to R.02-01-025. After the application letter is reviewed, the Commission issues a resolution either authorizing or denying the 211 service provider's request. Within 120 days of the application letter being submitted, the LEC that operates in a 211 service provider's locale, files an advice letter proposing tariffs or contracts applicable to the switch translation required to direct the number dialed (211) to the 8YY number which is the 211 service provider's actual phone number. If an LEC provides this routing service as a detariffed or non-tariffed service in accordance with GO 96-B, Telecom Industry Rule 8.2, such service is not subject to Commission approval.
13. Several State agencies and civic associations, including the League of California Cities, California Association of Governments, California Department of Transportation, California Volunteers, CalEMA, and the California Association of Emergency Services, recognize 2-1-1 California as the Lead Entity for purposes of 211 service planning, coordination and contracting purposes.
14. Officers of the following organization wrote a letter in support of
2-1-1 California's request to be Lead Entity: 211 Los Angeles, United Way of California, United Way of Silicon Valley, 211 Alameda County, 211 Santa Barbara, 211 Riverside, 211 Bay Area, 211 Tulare County, 211 Stanislaus, and Inland Empire 211.
15. DRA agrees that 2-1-1 California should be appointed Lead Entity, as long as it meets the applicable Commission requirements.
16. No party to this proceeding is opposed to 2-1-1 California's appointment as Lead Entity.
17. D.09-08-029 addressed health and safety in regards to the condition of the equipment used by energy and telecommunications utilities attached to poles, not the services provided.
18. 2-1-1 California has met all the requirements to be appointed a 211 Lead Entity, except for certification of compliance with Final Rule 2.b.
1. 211 services should be provided in unserved counties and localities pursuant to the Final Guidelines and Instructions (Attachments B and C).
2. The Final Guidelines and Instructions in Attachments B and C to this decision should be adopted.
3. All providers of 211 emergency service to unserved counties and localities should comply with all applicable rules and regulations, including the Final Guidelines and Instructions (Attachments B and C).
4. All currently authorized 211 service providers that propose to provide 211 emergency service to unserved counties and localities in California should serve an application letter on the Executive Director requesting authority to do so. This application letter for provision of 211 emergency service requires approval via a letter from the Director of the Commission's Communications Division to the prospective 211 emergency service provider as well as the Lead Entity. The LEC in the unserved area that provides routing service should, if required by GO 96-B, file an advice letter within 120 days of the application letter being submitted. This advice letter contains the LEC's proposed tariff or contract for providing the phone service, and the Commission should process the request in compliance with GO 96-B as a Tier 2 advice letter. If an LEC provides this routing service as a detariffed or non-tariffed service in accordance with GO 96-B, Telecom Industry Rule 8.2, such service is not subject to Commission approval.
5. If a potential provider of 211 Emergency Service to unserved counties and localities in California has not previously received authority pursuant to D.03-09-028, it should submit an application to the Commission to request provision of 211 service, and should include in the application, all of the information required of a 211 service provider.
6. A Lead Entity should be appointed pursuant to the Final Rules (Attachment A) adopted herein.
7. 2-1-1 California should be appointed as Lead Entity for provision of 211 service in California (including both regular 211 service provided pursuant to D.03-02-029, and 211 emergency service pursuant to the order herein) upon compliance with all applicable rules and regulations, including the Final Rules in Attachment A to this decision.
8. 2-1-1 California should file its certification, as a compliance item in the current proceeding, stating that it has complied with Final Rule 2.b (Attachment A), within 30 days of the date this decision is issued.
9. If at any time 2-1-1 California is found to be in violation of any of the Final Rules (Attachment A) or any other applicable regulations, or if 2-1-1 California no longer wishes to be the Lead Entity, we will reconsider 2-1-1 California's appointment as Lead Entity via a formal proceeding.
10. 2-1-1 California's Motion of 2-1-1 California to Bifurcate Proceeding for Purposes of Expediting Designation of Lead Entity should be denied.
11. R.10-06-002 should be closed.
IT IS ORDERED that:
1. 211 emergency services may be provided in unserved counties and localities in California.
2. 211 emergency services provided in unserved counties and localities in California, must be provided pursuant to the Final Rules, Guidelines, and Instructions - 211 Emergency Service (Attachments A, B, and C to this decision).
3. The Final Rules, Guidelines, and Instructions - 211 Emergency Service, (Attachments A, B, and C) are adopted.
4. All providers of 211 emergency service to unserved counties and localities must comply with all applicable rules and regulations, including the Final Guidelines and Instructions, in Attachments A, B, and C to this decision.
5. A currently authorized 211 service provider that proposes to provide 211 emergency service to unserved counties and localities in California must serve an application letter on the Executive Director requesting authority to do so. Approval of an application letter is by letter from the Director of the Commission's Communications Division to the prospective 211 emergency service provider, with a copy to the Lead Entity. The Local Exchange Carrier in the unserved area that provides routing service must, if required by General Order 96-B, file an advice letter within 120 days of the application letter being submitted. This advice letter must contain the Local Exchange Carrier's proposed tariff or contract for providing the routing service, and the Commission will process the advice letter under General Order 96-B as a Tier 2 advice letter. If a Local Exchange Carrier provides this routing service as a detariffed or non-tariffed service in accordance with General Order 96-B, Telecom Industry Rule 8.2, such service is not subject to Commission approval.
6. If a potential provider of 211 Emergency Service to unserved counties and localities in California has not previously received authority pursuant to Decision 03-09-028, it must submit an application to the Commission to request authority to provide 211 service. The application must include all of the information required of a 211 service provider.
7. A 211 Lead Entity must be appointed pursuant to the Final Rules in Attachment A to this decision that are adopted herein.
8. 2-1-1 California must file its certification of compliance with Final Rule 2.b, as a compliance item in the current Rulemaking, within 30 days of the issuance of this decision.
9. Upon filing its certification of compliance with Final
Rule 2.b, 2-1-1 California is appointed as 211 Lead Entity for provision of 211 service in California (including both regular 211 service provided pursuant to Decision 03-02-029, and 211 emergency service pursuant to the order herein).
10. 2-1-1 California, as the 211 Lead Entity, must comply with all applicable rules and regulations, including the Final Rules in Attachment A to this decision.
11. If at any time 2-1-1 California is found to be in violation of any of the Final Rules (Attachment A) or any other applicable regulations, or if
2-1-1 California no longer wishes to be the 211 Lead Entity, we will reconsider 2-1-1 California's appointment as 211 Lead Entity via a formal proceeding.
12. 2-1-1 California's Motion of 2-1-1 California to Bifurcate Proceeding for Purposes of Expediting Designation of Lead Entity is denied as moot.
13. Rulemaking 10-06-002 is closed.
This order is effective today.
Dated September 8, 2011, at San Francisco, California.
MICHAEL R. PEEVEY
President
TIMOTHY ALAN SIMON
MICHEL PETER FLORIO
CATHERINE J.K. SANDOVAL
MARK J. FERRON
Commissioners
Attachment A
Final Rules Governing Appointment of 211 Service Lead Entity, Duties of Lead Entity, and Oversight of Lead Entity
General Rules Governing Appointment of 211 Service Lead Entity, Duties of Lead Entity, and Oversight of Lead Entity
1. Request to be appointed 211 Emergency Service Lead Entity (Lead Entity) must be requested through a formal application.
2. a. At least one-half of the board of directors of a Lead Entity must have:
i. Experience:
1. Providing 211 service;
2. Working with 211 service providers;
3. Working with emergency service providers; and
4. Organizing the activities of multiple 211 service providers.
ii. The ability to engage with all 211 providers and emergency service providers in California, in the coordination of services during both non-emergency periods and declared emergencies;36
iii. Extensive knowledge of 211 information and referral services;
iv. Extensive experience of provision of 211 service during a declared emergency;
v. The documented support of at least five 211 service providers that operate in California;
a. A 2-1-1 Lead must certify that:
i. No one employed by it as board member, officer, director, or partner, was previously associated in the same type of capacity that it holds with a Lead Entity, with a telecommunications carrier or 211 service provider, at a time that the telecommunications carrier or 211 service provider: 1) filed for bankruptcy; 2) was sanctioned by the Federal Communications Commission or any state regulatory agency for failure to comply with any regulatory statute, rule, or order; or 3) that has been found either civilly or criminally liable by a court of appropriate jurisdiction for a violation of § 17000, et seq. of the California Business and Professions Code, or for any actions which involved misrepresentations to consumers, nor is currently under investigation for similar violations. For example, someone that was an officer of an offending provider must not be an officer, director, or partner of the Lead Entity.
3. Oversight of a Lead Entity
a. On an annual basis, due on March 31st of each year, the Lead Entity must electronically serve a report on the Director of the Communications Division or its successor divisions. The report may include but is not limited to the following:
i. Discussion of Lead Entity's compliance with these and all other rules governing the performance of its duties; and
ii. Review of activities it has performed in the past calendar year, including but not limited to those listed below in Item 5 of these rules.
iii. This annual report must be published by the Communications Division and its successor divisions, on its portion of the Commission's website, within 30 days of receiving such annual report.
b. Within 60 days of the end of a declared emergency, a Lead Entity must electronically serve any reports issued to other agencies by it and its members regarding a specific declared emergency, to the Director of the Communications Division and its successor divisions.
i. These reports must be published by the Communications Division and its successor divisions, on its portion of the Commission's website, within 30 days of receiving such reports.
4. A Lead Entity may not recover any cost of performing its duties through rates charged to California ratepayers. This does not preclude a 211 service provider or Lead Entity from being eligible for any subsidy under the California Teleconnect Fund.
5. Duties of a Lead Entity may include, but are not limited, to the following:
a. Overseeing and monitoring the implementation of Alliance of Information and Referral Systems (AIRS) Standards, and any additional California-specific quality guidelines and performance requirements that 211 service providers develop with the Lead Entity;
b. Organizing a network for coordinated, mutual assistance response when faced with a local or regional disaster or emergency that would lead 211 call centers to receive more calls than they are able to answer;
c. Soliciting, allocating, and managing funding for statewide 211 activities;
d. Determining methods for assuring coverage in counties not yet served by 211;
e. Negotiating on behalf of all 211 service providers with state-wide and regional agencies and organizations that may be interested in contracting for services that span more than one 211 call center coverage area;
f. Providing oversight and management to those statewide and regional contracts that are established.
g. Collecting, analyzing and reporting data regarding call volume and outcomes, contract monitoring, staff training, quality control, gap analysis, and other areas as mutually agreed.
h. Setting up a redundant statewide telecommunications systems through the 211 Emergency Network operating in California;
i. Because Emergency Response and Recovery Only 211 services are complementary to first responder and other emergency services, coordination is primarily focused around procurement and/or verification of information that needs to be communicated to impacted residents and the general public. In addition to receiving California Emergency Management Agency incident reports, a Lead Entity will work to get placed on the alert notification systems or web based emergency operations center (Web EOC) management databases of local emergency management agencies in unserved areas. A Lead Entity will communicate with these local emergency management agencies to inform them in the event of a disaster, the statewide 211 network has been activated so that they can alert and inform the public about 211 service availability.
j. Perform call analysis and assess effectiveness and penetration of disaster related information within county or locality served;
k. Act as liaison with governmental, non-governmental, and voluntary organizations that 211 service providers work with during both normal periods and emergencies;
l. Ensure that the public is aware of the 211 service provided, during both normal periods and emergencies;
m. In order to ensure the provision of 211 service during an emergency, develop a redundant statewide 211 telecommunications system throughout California; and
n. Develop an infrastructure of trained staff familiar with the populations that will be served by 211 during both normal periods and emergencies.
(End of Attachment A)
Attachment B
Final Guidelines for Commission Staff - Application Letter Review -
211 Emergency Service
Final Guidelines for Commission Staff Application Letter Review
211 Emergency Service - California Service Provider Application Letter
A. The Commission Staff person who reviews a potential 211 Emergency Service providers Application Letter must verify that the applicant has provided:
a. All of the information requested in Section 1 listed below in these Final Guidelines;
b. Agreement by the applicant that it will comply with all of the terms in Section 2 listed below in these Final Guidelines; and
c. All attachments are included.
B. Communications Division staff should then review the application letter to verify that the required information, pursuant the Guidelines and Instructions, is included. In reviewing the application letter, Communications Division staff exercises its ministerial authority, similar to that of a review of a Tier 2 advice letter pursuant to General Order 96-B.
C. The Commission will either approve or deny the request in the application letter for 211 emergency service via a letter from the Commissions Executive Director.
D. If a potential 211 ES provider has not been received prior approval from this Commission(through its application letter to provide regular 211 service), it must submit an application to provide 211 service, as required by D.03-09-028, and additionally, include all of the information discussed above that is required of a previously vetted 211 service provider.
E. Once established in a community, a 2-1-1 Emergency Service (211 ES) provider must continue to operate without interruption during a declared emergency.
F. For purposes of these instructions, a Declared Emergency is defined as an emergency declared by a government office of emergency services or governmental official in charge of response to an emergency.
G. An applicant may apply as an individual organization or a collaborative. If applying as a collaborative, all members of the collaborative must be identified, and information regarding these organizations provided at the same time.
H. Applicant may apply for multiple counties in the same application letter, but must provide separate responses regarding Sections 1 and 2 below, for each individual county it proposes to provide service in.
I. One agency must be identified as the lead agency for the collaborative. The lead agency will be the sole recipient of the 211 emergency service provider designation unless it is manifest that another collaborator's contribution is necessary for the successful operation of the enterprise in which case the essential parties must have a written agreement detailing their relationship, commitment, and approach to dispute resolution.
1. Entity(ies) requesting authority to provide 211 emergency service to an unserved county or locality must provide the following information in the application letter it serves on the Commission:
a. Name and address of 211 service provider;
b. Resolution Number in which we authorized this 211 service provider to provide such service in California;
c. Current county/locality in which 211 service provider provides service;
d. County/locality in which 211 service provider proposes to provide 211 emergency service;
e. Verify that 211 service provider continues to comply with all applicable rules, regulations, laws, and decisions;
f. Endorsement required from local Board of Supervisors in proposed service area;
g. Endorsements may be submitted but are not required from California Alliance of Information and Referral Services, local elected officials, and major agencies and organizations that provide direct service or information and referral service in service area.
2. Entity(ies) requesting authority to provide 211 emergency service to an unserved county or locality must agree to the following terms:
a. 211 ES providers may serve one or more counties.
b. 211 ES provider must comply with all rules, guidelines and instructions authorized in the decision to Rulemaking 10-06-002 (Decision 11-__-___) and all rules and requirements pursuant to Decision 03-02-029).
c. The 211 ES provider must not accept any fees or compensation of any kind for referrals made by the 211 ES provider. This prohibition applies to the 211 ES provider itself and not to specialized information services to which a 211 ES caller may be referred.
d. The 211 ES provider must not charge callers for 211 ES beyond charges for local or measured rate service. No inter or intra local area and transport area (LATA) toll charges should apply to 211 ES calls. There should be no charge for referrals. No paid advertising or "commercials" should be heard on the phone lines or viewed via Internet if the 211 ES provider offers such a service. Monies accepted for advertising could influence the types or specific referrals offered.
e. A 211 ES provider may request funding, if eligible, from the California Teleconnect Fund.
f. 211 ES requires that a live person answer the phones 24 hours, seven days a week during a declared emergency. Such 211 ES service must be accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week during a declared emergency to all callers regardless of language or disability.
g. The information provided by a live person working for an 211 ES provider during a declared emergency must be updated in real time during the entire duration of a declared emergency, as updated information is received from governing emergency services/providers.
h. During a declared emergency, taped information is not an acceptable alternative. During a declared emergency, an answering service, albeit "live", is also not an acceptable alternative because answering service operators are not trained information and referral professionals. The 211 ES provider in any county may contract with another information and referral service provider to provide after-hours coverage. The contracted organization must have access to the local provider's database in order to provide accurate and appropriate referrals.
i. The Referral Data Base used by the 211 ES must be updated in real-time during the entire duration of a declared emergency as updated information is received from governing emergency services/providers.
j. 211 ES requires that a recording be available at all times other than during a declared emergency.
k. During all times other than a declared emergency, the Referral Data Base used by the 211 ES must be updated at least annually.
l. In the provision of 211 ES during a declared emergency, the 211 ES provider must follow all applicable protocols, rules and regulations of the Federal Emergency Management Service and all other applicable local, county, and state emergency service protocols, rules and regulations.
m. 211 ES services must be provided by the applicant or may be provided by linkage to another organization. If service is to be provided in this manner, provide the name of the organization its phone number, and the name of the contact person. Service delivery standards (AIRS), however, must be met at all times.
n. 211 service provider agrees that it will comply with all applicable Alliance of Information and Referral Systems Standards;37
o. 211 ES service must be accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week during a declared emergency to all callers regardless of language or disability.
i. Provide information regarding languages available via live staff.
ii. Provide information regarding interpretation/translation services.
iii. Provide information regarding TTY/TDD access.
p. During an emergency, 211 ES providers will provide all disaster and recovery information to the public that is provided to it by government emergency service personnel, including but not limited to:
i. Shelters (Animal and People);
ii. Feeding / Food Distribution;
iii. Evacuations;
iv. Road Closures / Transportation Related;
v. Utilities (Outages, Reconnections);
vi. Hospitals / Medical search for family members;
vii. Health Alerts / Warnings;
viii. School Closures / Openings;
ix. Contacting Family Members;
x. Assistance Centers;
xi. Mitigation / Repairs (tarps, sand bags, volunteers repairing homes etc.);
xii. Government Assistance / Emergency Agencies, including but not limited to Private, Local, County, State, and Federal agencies, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency and California Emergency Management Agency, Internal Revenue Service;
xiii. Emergency Alerts (Curfews, Riot\Looting alerts, National Guard etc.), public information support services to the jurisdictions being supported, as needed and/or as requested;
xiv. Confirmed and suspected rumors;
xv. During an emergency, 211 ES providers will follow the applicable command and control structure of the governing office of emergency services in the locale of the declared emergency.
(End of Attachment B)
Attachment C
Final Instructions to Applicant for
211 Emergency Service
Final Instructions to Applicant
211 Emergency Service - California Service Provider Application Letter
A. You may apply as an individual organization or a collaborative. If you are applying as a collaborative, all members of the collaborative must be identified, and information regarding these organizations provided at the same time.
B. You may apply for multiple counties in the same application letter. You must provide separate responses regarding Sections 1 and 2 below for each individual county you propose to provide service in.
C. One agency must be identified as the lead agency for the collaborative. The lead agency will be the sole recipient of the 211 Emergency Service (211 ES) designation unless it is manifest that another collaborator's contribution is necessary for the successful operation of the enterprise in which case the essential parties must have a written agreement detailing their relationship, commitment, and approach to dispute resolution.
D. Your Application Letter must include:
· All of the information requested in Item 1;
· Agreement that you will comply with all of the terms in Item 2; and
· You must provide all the attachments requested.
E. The Commission will either approve or deny the request in the application letter for 211 emergency service via a letter from the Commissions Executive Director.
F. If a potential 211 ES provider has not received prior approval from this Commission(through its application letter to provide regular 211 service), it must submit an application to provide 211 service, as required by D.03-09-028, and additionally, include all of the information discussed above that is required of a previously vetted 211 service provider.
G. Once established in a community, a 211 ES provider must continue to operate without interruption during a declared emergency.
H. For purposes of these instructions, a Declared Emergency is defined as an emergency declared by a government office of emergency services or governmental official in charge of response to an emergency.
1. Entity(ies) requesting authority to provide 211 emergency service to an unserved county or locality must provide the following information in the application letter it serves on the Commission:
a. Name and address of 211 service provider;
b. Resolution Number in which we authorized this 211 service provider to provide such service in California;
c. Current county/locality in which 211 service provider provides service;
d. County/locality in which 211 service provider proposes to provide 211 emergency service;
e. Endorsement required from local Board of Supervisors in proposed service area;38
f. Endorsements may be submitted but are not required from California Alliance of Information and Referral Services, local elected officials, and major agencies and organizations that provide direct service or information and referral service in service area.
2. Entity(ies) requesting authority to provide 211 emergency service to an unserved county or locality must agree to the following terms:
a. The minimal geographic service area of 211 ES is a county. 211 ES providers may serve one or more counties. State the county or counties the applicant intends to serve.
b. The 211 ES provider must comply with all rules, guidelines and instructions authorized in the decision to Rulemaking 10-06-002 (Decision 11-__-___) and all rules and requirements pursuant to Decision 03-02-029).
c. The 211 ES provider must not accept any fees or compensation of any kind for referrals made by the 211 ES provider. This prohibition applies to the 211 ES provider itself and not to specialized information services to which a 211 ES caller may be referred.
d. The 211 ES provider must not charge callers for 211 ES beyond charges for local or measured rate service. No inter or intra local access and transport area (LATA) toll charges should apply to 211 ES calls. There should be no charge for referrals. No paid advertising or "commercials" should be heard on the phone lines or viewed via Internet if the 211 ES provider offers such a service. Monies accepted for advertising could influence the types or specific referrals offered.
e. A 211 ES provider may request funding, if eligible, from the California Teleconnect Fund.
f. 211 ES requires that a live person answer the phones 24 hours, seven days a week during a declared emergency. Such 211 ES service must be accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week during a declared emergency to all callers regardless of language or disability.
g. The information provided by a live person working for an 211 ES provider during a declared emergency must be updated in real time during the entire duration of a declared emergency, as updated information is received from governing emergency services/providers.
h. During a declared emergency, taped information is not an acceptable alternative. During a declared emergency, an answering service, albeit "live", is also not an acceptable alternative because answering service operators are not trained information and referral professionals. The 211 ES provider in any county may contract with another information and referral service provider to provide after-hours coverage. The contracted organization must have access to the local provider's database in order to provide accurate and appropriate referrals.
i. The Referral Data Base used by the 211 ES must be updated in real-time during the entire duration of a declared emergency as updated information is received from governing emergency services/providers.
j. 211 ES requires that a recording be available at all times other than during a declared emergency.
k. During all times other than a declared emergency, the Referral Data Base used by the 211 ES must be updated at least annually.
l. In the provision of 211 ES during a declared emergency, the 211 ES provider must follow all applicable protocols, rules and regulations of the Federal Emergency Management Service and all other applicable local, county, and state emergency service protocols, rules and regulations.
m. 211 ES services must be provided by the applicant or may be provided by linkage to another organizations. If service is to be provided in this manner, provide the name of the organizations their phone numbers, and the name of the contact person. Service delivery standards (AIRS), however, must be met at all times.
n. 211 service provider agrees that it will comply with all applicable Alliance of Information and Referral Systems Standards;39
o. 211 ES service must be accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week during a declared emergency to all callers regardless of language or disability.
i. Provide information regarding languages available via live staff.
ii. Provide information regarding interpretation/translation services.
iii. Provide information regarding TTY/TDD access.
p. During an emergency, 211 ES providers will provide all disaster and recovery information to the public that is provided to it by government emergency service personnel, including but not limited to:
i. Shelters (Animal and People);
ii. Feeding / Food Distribution;
iii. Evacuations;
iv. Road Closures / Transportation Related;
v. Utilities (Outages, Reconnections);
vi. Hospitals / Medical search for family members;
vii. Health Alerts / Warnings;
viii. School Closures / Openings;
ix. Contacting Family Members;
x. Assistance Centers;
xi. Mitigation / Repairs (tarps, sand bags, volunteers repairing homes etc.);
xii. Government Assistance / Emergency Agencies, including but not limited to Private, Local, County, State, and Federal agencies, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency and California Emergency Management Agency, Internal Revenue Service;
xiii. Emergency Alerts (Curfews, Riot\Looting alerts, National Guard etc.), public information support services to the jurisdictions being supported, as needed and/or as requested;
xiv. Confirmed and suspected rumors;
xv. During an emergency, 211 ES providers will follow the applicable command and control structure of the governing office of emergency services in the locale of the declared emergency.
Endorsement of Applicant as 211 Emergency Service (211 ES) Provider
NOTE TO ENDORSER: 211 ES Provider is a unique social utility. There can only be one 211 ES Provider in a given area. Therefore, you should only endorse one organization to be designated as the 211 ES provider in the specified area. If you make multiple, competing endorsements, the last dated endorsement will supersede all others.
Instructions to endorser: _______________________________ is applying to
Name of Applicant Agency
the California Public Utilities Commission (Commission) to be designated as the 211 ES provider for _______________________________________________.
Name of county. If less than a full county, describe specific portion.
_______________________________ is providing information to the CPUC that
Name of Applicant Agency
it has the necessary organizational capacity to provide 211 ES and that it is familiar with and adheres to the professional standards for information and referral. Another essential element of its application is a demonstration of community support for its designation as the 211 ES provider in its area.
A 211 ES provider is a unique social utility. There can only be one 211 ES provider in a given area. Therefore, you should only endorse one organization to be designated as the 211 ES provider in the specified area. If you make multiple, competing endorsements, the last dated endorsement will supersede all others.
The undersigned endorses _______________________________ as the
Name of Agency
organization that is best qualified to provide 211 ES in the proposed service area for the following reasons: (Include a description of your relationship with the applicant organization and comments regarding your knowledge of the applicant's experience and ability to provide comprehensive information and referral services. If further space is required, attach an additional sheet.)
Name
Title
Organization
Address
City ______________________________ State_______ Zip
Telephone _________________________ Fax
Type of organization:
Government______ Nonprofit [501][c][3]_______ Other (specify):
Briefly describe the service(s) provided by your organization:
Area served by your organization:
Number of unduplicated clients provided service annually
Annual budget
Signature Date
(End of Attachment C)
Attachment D
Draft Rules and Instructions
Governing 211 Emergency Service To Unserved Locales
Draft General Rules Governing Appointment of 2-1-1 Emergency Service Lead Entity, Duties of Lead Entity, and Oversight of Lead Entity
1. Request to be appointed 2-1-1 Emergency Service Lead Entity (2-1-1 Lead) must be requested through a formal application or petition.
2. a. A 2-1-1 Lead must have:
i. Experience:
1. Providing 2-1-1 service;
2. Working with 2-1-1 service providers;
3. Working with emergency service providers; and
4. Organizing the activities of multiple 2-1-1 service providers.
ii. The ability to engage with all 2-1-1 providers and emergency service providers in California, in the coordination of services during both non-emergency periods and declared emergencies;40
iii. Extensive knowledge of 2-1-1 information and referral services;
iv. Extensive experience of provision of 2-1-1 service during a declared emergency;
v. The documented support of 2-1-1 service providers that operate in California.
a. A 2-1-1 Lead must certify that:
i. No one associated with or employed by it as board member, officer, director, or partner, was previously associated with a telecommunications carrier or 2-1-1 service provider that: 1) filed for bankruptcy; 2) was sanctioned by the Federal Communications Commission or any state regulatory agency for failure to comply with any regulatory statute, rule, or order; or 3) that has been found either civilly or criminally liable by a court of appropriate jurisdiction for a violation of § 17000, et seq. of the California Business and Professions Code, or for any actions which involved misrepresentations to consumers, nor is currently under investigation for similar violations.
3. Oversight of a 2-1-1 Lead
a. On an annual basis, due on March 31st of each year, the 2-1-1 Lead must serve a report on the Director of the Communications Division and its successor divisions and the service list of Order Instituting Rulemaking R.10-06-002, which contains the following:
i. Compliance with these and all other rules governing performance of its duties; and
ii. Activities it has performed in the past calendar year, including but not limited to those listed below in Item 5 of these rules.
b. Within 60 days of the end of a declared emergency, a 2-1-1 Lead must provide any reports issued to other agencies by it and its members regarding a specific declared emergency.
4. A 2-1-1 Lead may not recover any cost of performing its duties through rates charged to California ratepayers. This does not preclude a 2-1-1 service provider or 2-1-1 Lead from being eligible for any subsidy under the California Teleconnect Fund.
5. Duties of a 2-1-1 Lead include, but are not limited, to the following:
a. Overseeing and monitoring the implementation of Alliance of Information and Referral Systems (AIRS) Standards, and any additional California-specific quality guidelines and performance requirements that 2-1-1 providers develop with the 2-1-1 Lead.
b. Organizing a network for coordinated, mutual assistance response when faced with a local or regional disaster or emergency that would lead 2-1-1 call centers to receive more calls than they are able to answer.
c. Soliciting, allocating, and managing funding for statewide 2-1-1 activities.
d. Determining methods for assuring coverage in counties not yet served by 2-1-1.
e. Negotiating on behalf of all 2-1-1 providers with state-wide and regional agencies and organizations that may be interested in contracting for services that span more than one 2-1-1 call center coverage area.
f. Providing oversight and management to those statewide and regional contracts that are established.
g. Collecting, analyzing and reporting data regarding call volume and outcomes, contract monitoring, staff training, quality control, gap analysis, and other areas as mutually agreed.
h. Because Emergency Response and Recovery Only 2-1-1 services are complementary to first responder and other emergency services, coordination is primarily focused around procurement and/or verification of information that needs to be communicated to impacted residents and the general public. In addition to receiving California Emergency Management Agency incident reports, a 2-1-1 Lead will work to get placed on the alert notification systems or web based emergency operations center (Web EOC) management databases of local emergency management agencies in unserved areas. A 2-1-1 Lead will communicate with these local emergency management agencies to inform them in the event of a disaster, the statewide 2-1-1 network has been activated so that they can alert and inform the public about 2-1-1 availability.
DRAFT INSTRUCTIONS
Draft application review guidelines for CPUC staff
2-1-1 Emergency Service - California Service Provider Application
Section 1 - Organizational Structure, Background, and Experience
Review for required attachments: 3- year budget; audited financial statements.
For purposes of these instructions, a Declared Emergency is defined as an emergency declared by a government office of emergency services or governmental official in charge of response to an emergency.
1.1 If the application includes a collaboration of Information and Referral (I&R) service providers, all service providers must be identified and all must apply at the same time.
1.2 The minimum service delivery area is the county. Organizations may serve one county or a group of counties.
1.3 Experience providing information and referral services, especially within the proposed service area, supports the knowledge and relationships necessary to create good working relationships with direct service providers. Additionally, experience within the proposed service area may enhance an organization's ability to advocate on behalf of a client. In the absence of relevant agency history/experience, the experience of key staff should be given greater weight. All other aspects of the application being equal, organizations with previous I & R history should be given greater weight; organizations with experience providing services within the proposed service area should be given greater weight.
1.4 The application requests information regarding key manager's experience. In addition to the history and experience established at the agency level, it is important that the management staff experience indicate some history in providing information and referral services.
1.5 Once established in a community, it is important that 2-1-1 Emergency Service (2-1-1 ES) continue without interruption during a declared emergency. The organization's budget and financial reports should demonstrate a solvent organization with appropriate budgetary planning to support 2-1-1 ES.
Section 2 - Terms and Conditions of Service
No attachments required; narrative length - 2 pages.
2.1 In this section the applicant essentially agrees to provide services as the terms/conditions indicate.
2.2 The request for or acceptance of fees or compensation of any kind for referrals made by the 2-1-1 ES provider should be prohibited. The possibility exists that a service provider may not provide information concerning all the appropriate services if it accepts compensation for referrals. This prohibition applies to the 2-1-1 ES provider itself and not to specialized information services to which a 2-1-1 ES caller may be referred.
2.3 There must be no charge to callers for 2-1-1 ES beyond charges for local or measured rate service. No inter or intra LATA toll charges should apply to 2-1-1 ES calls. There should be no charge for referrals. No paid advertising or "commercials" should be heard on the phone lines or viewed via Internet if the 2-1-1 ES provider offers such a service. Monies accepted for advertising could influence the types or specific referrals offered.
2.4 2-1-1 ES requires that a live person answer the phones 24 hours, 7 days a week during a declared emergency.
2.5 The information provided by a live person working for a 2-1-1 ES provider during a declared emergency must be updated in real time during the entire duration of a declared emergency, as updated information is received from governing emergency services/providers.
2.6 During a declared emergency, taped information is not an acceptable alternative. During a declared emergency, an answering service, albeit live, is also not an acceptable alternative because answering service operators are not trained information and referral professionals. The 2-1-1 ES provider in any county may contract with another information and referral service provider to provide after-hours coverage. The contracted organization must have access to the local provider's database in order to provide accurate and appropriate referrals.
2.7 The Referral Data Base used by the 2-1-1 ES must be updated in real-time during the entire duration of a declared emergency as updated information is received from governing emergency services/providers.
2.8 2-1-1 ES requires that a recording be available at all times other than during a declared emergency.
2.9 During all times other than a declared emergency, the Referral Data Base used by the 2-1-1 ES must be updated at least annually.
2.10 In the provision of service during a declared emergency, the 2-1-1 ES provider must follow all applicable protocols, rules and regulations of the Federal Emergency Management Service and all other applicable local, county, and state emergency service protocols, rules and regulations.
2.11 During an emergency, 2-1-1 ES providers will provide all information provided to it by government emergency service personnel, including but not limited to:
a. Shelters (Animal and People)
b. Feeding / Food Distribution
c. Evacuations
d. Road Closures / Transportation Related
e. Utilities (Outages, Reconnections)
f. Hospitals / Medical search for family members
g. Health Alerts / Warnings
h. School Closures / Openings
i. Contacting Family Members
j. Assistance Centers
k. Mitigation / Repairs (tarps, sand bags, volunteers repairing homes etc.)
l. Government Assistance / Emergency Agencies, including but not limited to Private, Local, County, State, and Federal agencies, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency and California Emergency Management Agency, Internal Revenue Service
m. Emergency Alerts (Curfews, Riot\Looting alerts, National Guard etc.), public information support services to the jurisdictions being supported, as needed and/or as requested:
n. Call analysis products in near real time
o. Confirmed and suspected rumors
p. Unmet community information needs
q. Effectiveness and penetration of disaster related information within targeted communities
r. Liaison channel with Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (VOAD) and other nongovernmental organizations
s. Reduction of inappropriate calls to 9-1-1 and other public safety organizations
t. Present a single number in a simple format for public access to specific kinds of disaster related information
u. Reduction in the workload of first responder agencies by replacing multiple local, regional and statewide disaster information "hotlines"
v. Redundant statewide telecommunications system through the 2-1-1 Emergency Network operating in California
w. An established infrastructure of trained staff familiar with vulnerable and typically underserved populations and who are also trusted by those populations.
x. Because Emergency Response and Recovery Only 2-1-1 services are complementary to first responder and other emergency services, coordination is primarily focused around procurement and/or verification of information that needs to be communicated to impacted residents and the general public. In addition to receiving California Emergency Management Agency incident reports, the 2-1-1 Emergency Service Lead Entity (2-1-1 Lead) will work to get placed on the alert notification systems or web based emergency operations center (Web EOC) management databases of local emergency management agencies in unserved areas. The 2-1-1 Lead will communicate with these local emergency management agencies to inform them in the event of a disaster, the statewide 2-1-1 network has been activated so that they can alert and inform the public about 2-1-1 availability.
y. The 2-1-1 ES providers that are also members of the network engaged in the response would provide the direct service. The 2-1-1 Lead would provide support by compiling data and reports, and facilitating communication between state agencies and local 2-1-1 providers, as appropriate.
2.12 During an emergency, 2-1-1 ES providers will follow the applicable command and control structure of the governing office of emergency services in the locale of the declared emergency.
2.13 2-1-1 ES will be provided at no cost to recipients of service.
Section 3 is the organization's opportunity to present information about its service delivery strategy. Section 4 demonstrates community support in the form of endorsements from impacted service providers. Section 4 should assist the Commission to validate whether the applicant(s) has made an accurate representation in Section 3.
Section 3 - AIRS Standards
No attachments required; narrative maximum 5 pages
The field of Information and Referral has delivered critical information services to people with need for more than two decades. During this maturation process the Alliance of Information and Referral (AIRS), the national professional organization of information and referral service providers, in conjunction with its members, has codified best practices for the field. The standards are published in the "AIRS Standards," a professional guide for information and referral service delivery. The standards were first published in 1973 and have been revised four times; the latest edition was published in 2000. The following requirements are drawn from the AIRS 2000 Standards.
The "Standards" are organized to address the four major components of Information and Referral/2-1-1 ES service: 1) Service Delivery - getting the information to the individual; 2) the Resource Database - a listing of agencies and programs; the source from which the referrals are drawn; 3) Reports and Measures - the results of which allow an agency to evaluate its service and modify as needed; and, 4) Cooperative Relationships - important to the development and/or maintenance of a coordinated system to deliver health and human services.
Information and Referral service is a composite of these four components. All specific criteria in each of the four areas must be met to obtain 2-1-1 ES designation.
3.1 Service Delivery Standards
For 2-1-1 ES designation, agencies must demonstrate in their narrative how they meet the itemized standards for service delivery. The following background information should be considered when reviewing the applicant's narrative for service delivery standards. Information and Referral/2-1-1 ES exists to assist individuals to navigate the fragmented and confusing landscape of the various health and human service delivery systems. It must offer enough assistance to help an individual access these services. Often this is more than simply the address and telephone number of a service provider. Therefore a range of service levels must be available and provided based on the individual need. Individuals need accurate, pertinent information about the availability of services and the eligibility requirements for health and human services in order to determine if they qualify for the service. Finally, individuals must feel confident that information given to the I & R service provider will be held in strict confidence otherwise those with needs such as substance abuse services, or anger management, for example, may well decide not to call for help.
3.2 Information and Referral Resource File Standards
The resource file standards provide minimum guidelines to ensure that there will be a body of information sufficient to support the needs of the individuals calling for help. The criteria specifically provide for verification of data on a regular basis to ensure the accuracy of information provided to callers; a consistently applied process for including or excluding agencies so that clients and the general public will be aware of the database scope and/or limitations; and a common set of data elements to ensure standardization of information from listing to listing. The standards also call for services to be indexed in a manner that creates easy access to appropriate services and programs listed in the database. Taken together these standards should result in the availability of accurate, up-to-date, and consistent information.
· Review the applicant's narrative to determine if they have written inclusion/exclusion criteria sufficient to guide the content of the resource database.
· Review the narrative to determine if they uniformly collect agency data.
· Identify the indexing tool used; if it is not the AIRS/Info Line Taxonomy, there should be plans to convert the database to that Taxonomy.
· Review the stated update procedure - it should be conducted annually at a minimum.
3.3 Information and Referral Disaster Standards
Review the narrative for the existence of a disaster plan, notation of pre and post disaster resources.
3.4 Information and Referral Reports and Measures Standards
An indirect result of Information and Referral/2-1-1 ES delivery is the collection of data relating to community needs. This information, while extremely important in understanding an agency's service population, is also critically important to funders and planners within a service community. The reports and measures standards ensure that the 2-1-1 ES provider has the infrastructure necessary to aggregate and report on service needs.
Minimally, the data collected and reported should include number of calls organized by service need, referrals made and/or lack of available referrals; and geographic location of caller (by city or zip code.)
3.5 Cooperative Relationships
As indicated by Section 4, cooperative relationships form the backbone of Information and Referral/2-1-1 ES services to a community. Cooperation among agencies within service jurisdictions (one or more counties) is important to ensure that callers who may need to be referred or "handed off" to a second helping resource are well served. To minimize funding of redundant services, most I & R service providers refer to other, specialized I & R service providers. A good working relationship between the comprehensive information and referral service provider (the 2-1-1 ES service provider) and a specialized service provider creates the network necessary to be sure the caller receives the information needed with just one call.
3.6 Other Organizational Standards
These remaining criteria address general administrative needs to ensure that the Information and Referral/2-1-1 ES program is responsibly managed.
Section 4 - Demonstrated Community Support
Letters of Support/Endorsement required - 15 letter maximum
Review this section of the application for breadth and scope of community support. Support from organizations that serve a large number of people may be given greater weight than support letters from smaller organizations. Support from public and non-profit service providers may be given greater weight than those from individuals or for profit businesses because I&R service has traditionally been provided on a non-profit basis in California.
The Board of Supervisors of the locale in which the 2-1-1 ES provider requests provision of service must endorse the proposed provider.
The California Alliance of Information and Referral Services must endorse the proposed provider.
Draft Instructions to Applicant
2-1-1 Emergency Service - California Service Provider Application
a. You may apply as an individual organization or a collaborative. If you are applying as a collaborative, all members of the collaborative must be identified, and information regarding these organizations provided at the same time.
b. You may apply for multiple counties in the same application. You must provide separate responses to all questions and requirements for each individual county you propose to provide service in.
c. One agency must be identified as the lead agency for the collaborative. The lead agency will be the sole recipient unless it is manifest that another collaborator's contribution is necessary for the successful operation of the enterprise in which case the essential parties must have a written agreement detailing their relationship, commitment, and approach to dispute resolution.
d. You must provide a response to all sections and sub-sections.
e. You must provide all the attachments requested.
f. For purposes of these instructions, a Declared Emergency is defined as an emergency declared by a government office of emergency services or governmental official in charge of response to an emergency.
The application for 2-1-1 Emergency Services (2-1-1 ES) Provision is organized in four sections:
Section 1 Organizational Structure, Background and Experience
This section establishes the organizational requirements for 2-1-1 ES service providers. You must meet the stated requirements to qualify for consideration as a 2-1-1 ES service provider. Your narrative should describe how you meet the stated requirements.
Section 2 Terms and Conditions of Service
This section sets forth the terms and conditions of service. You must provide services as described in this section. You must agree to the stated terms and provide a brief narrative describing how you will meet the service conditions required. For example, section 2.2 requires that 2-1-1 ES service will be provided by "live operators 24 hours a day...during a declared emergency" In response to this requirement, your narrative could indicate how you plan to staff the service to provide such coverage.
Section 3 AIRS Standards
This section identifies service delivery standards. These standards are based on the Alliance of Information and Referral Services national standards published in 2000. For your reference, a summary of the standards are available through the AIRS.org website. Your narrative should describe how you currently meet or intend to meet the service delivery standards. For example, Section 3.2.4 requires that the database of providers "be updated at least annually." Your narrative should provide information regarding how this annual update is accomplished.
Section 4 Community Support
There can be only one 2-1-1 ES provider per county or groups of counties. This section requires that you demonstrate broad community support for your organization as the local 2-1-1 ES provider. You should include letters of support from agencies in each of the service categories identified on the form provided. Do not include more than one support letter in each of the categories or more than a total of 15 letters.
Sections 1, 2 and 3 require narrative response. Your responses should be organized in a manner consistent with the layout of the application. Each narrative has a page limit. Pages in excess of those required will not be read or considered. Some sections require attachments. Identify and include these attachments as part of your complete application package.
SECTION 1
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE, BACKGROUND AND EXPERIENCE
This section of the application requires that the applicant provide a summary of relevant information to indicate its ability to perform required basic Information and Referral (I&R) services for a designated community. The information will be used to evaluate organizational capacity.
1.1 Provide the name, address, and contact name for the organization. Provide the names and address and contact name for all collaborators or partners.
1.2 Provide documentation that indicates the organizational category of your organization, e.g., corporation, partnership, sole proprietor, profit or non-profit organization, governmental agency or any combination thereof. Also provide a list of all individuals that comprise the governance or ownership or collaborators of your organization.
1.3 State the number of years of experience the applicant has had providing information and referrals services, the types of services performed and the communities in which they were performed.
1.4 Provide proof of, or application for, authority to conduct business in the State of California.
1.5 Indicate the length of time in business under current business name and prior business names. If a corporation, include date of incorporation.
1.6 Provide a description of key managers' experience in the service to be provided or equivalent or similar experience of principle individuals in the applicant's organization.
1.7 Provide a proposed budget for the next three years. In the proposed budget you may want to consider the anticipated increase in your budget due to 2-1-1 ES service implementation as well as the projected source of the anticipated increased funding.
1.8 Provide an audited financial statement. Such statement shall be the most recent and complete audited financial statement available and for a fiscal period not more than 18 months old at the time of submission. This statement shall be by an independent, certified public accountant. In the event qualifying audited financial statements are not available, an unaudited statement along with the entity's federal income tax returns for the preceding two (2) years may be submitted.
1.8.1 New organizations may provide a proposed budget, proposed funding sources, and commitments, if any, from proposed sources.
1.8.2 If a collaboration, provide proposed budget details of commitment from principal members of the collaborative and financial statements for principal members of the collaborative. A principal member is defined as contributing/raising/otherwise responsible for more than 25% of the budgeted income or any member(s) on whose experience the collaboration is relying to demonstrate its qualifications.
SECTION 2
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE
This section of the application sets forth the required service conditions for 2-1-1 ES providers. To obtain 2-1-1 ES designation, all these conditions must be met. Applicants should prepare a narrative describing the organization's ability to meet the required conditions. The information provided will be used to evaluate the organization's ability to meet required service terms. The narrative should not exceed two pages.
2.1 The minimal geographic service area of 2-1-1 ES is a county. 2-1-1 ES providers may serve one or more counties. State the county or counties the applicant intends to serve.
2.2 The 2-1-1 ES provider applicant will not accept fees from referred organizations in return for referrals.
2.3 2-1-1 ES provider must be provided at no charge to callers; it must also be free of commercials or advertising; supporters may be recognized on printed materials.
2.4 The 2-1-1 ES provider must provide a live person to answer the phones 24 hours, 7 days a week during a declared emergency.
2.5 The information provided by a live person working for a 2-1-1 ES provider during a declared emergency must be updated in real time during the entire duration of a declared emergency, as updated information is received from governing emergency services/providers.
2.6 During a declared emergency, taped information is not an acceptable alternative. During a declared emergency, an answering service, albeit "live", is also not an acceptable alternative because answering service operators are not trained information and referral professionals. The 2-1-1 ES provider in any county may contract with another information and referral service provider to provide after-hours coverage. The contracted organization must have access to the local provider's database in order to provide accurate and appropriate referrals.
2.7 The Referral Data Base used by the 2-1-1 ES provider must be updated in real-time during the entire duration of a declared emergency as updated information is received from governing emergency services/providers.
2.8 During all times other than a declared emergency, the recorded message used by the 2-1-1 ES must be updated at least annually.
2.9 During all times other than a declared emergency, the Referral Data Base used by the 2-1-1 ES must be updated at least annually.
2.10 In the provision of service during a declared emergency, the 2-1-1 ES provider must follow all applicable protocols, rules and regulations of the Federal Emergency Management Service and all other applicable local, county, and state emergency service protocols, rules and regulations.
2.11 2-1-1 ES services must be provided by the applicant or may be provided by linkage to another organization. If service is to be provided in this manner, provide the name of the organization its phone number, and the name of the contact person. Service delivery standards (see Section 3), however, must be met at all times.
2.12 2-1-1 ES service must be accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week during a declared emergency to all callers regardless of language or disability.
2.5.1 Provide information regarding languages available via live staff.
2.5.2 Provide information regarding interpretation/translation services.
2.5.3 Provide information regarding TTY/TDD access.
2.13 During an emergency, 2-1-1 ES providers will provide all information provided to it by government emergency service personnel, including but not limited to:
a. Shelters (Animal and People)
b. Feeding / Food Distribution
c. Evacuations
d. Road Closures / Transportation Related
e. Utilities (Outages, Reconnections)
f. Hospitals / Medical search for family members
g. Health Alerts / Warnings
h. School Closures / Openings
i. Contacting Family Members
j. Assistance Centers
k. Mitigation / Repairs (tarps, sand bags, volunteers repairing homes etc.)
l. Government Assistance / Emergency Agencies, including but not limited to Private, Local, County, State, and Federal agencies, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency and California Emergency Management Agency, Internal Revenue Service
m. Emergency Alerts (Curfews, Riot\Looting alerts, National Guard etc.), public information support services to the jurisdictions being supported, as needed and/or as requested:
n. Call analysis products in near real time
o. Confirmed and suspected rumors
p. Unmet community information needs
q. Effectiveness and penetration of disaster related information within targeted communities
r. Liaison channel with Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (VOAD) and other nongovernmental organizations
s. Reduction of inappropriate calls to 9-1-1 and other public safety organizations
t. Present a single number in a simple format for public access to specific kinds of disaster related information
u. Reduction in the workload of first responder agencies by replacing multiple local, regional and statewide disaster information "hotlines"
v. Redundant statewide telecommunications system through the 2-1-1 Emergency Network operating in California
w. An established infrastructure of trained staff familiar with vulnerable and typically underserved populations and who are also trusted by those populations.
x. Because Emergency Response and Recovery Only 2-1-1 services are complementary to first responder and other emergency services, coordination is primarily focused around procurement and/or verification of information that needs to be communicated to impacted residents and the general public. In addition to receiving California Emergency Management Agency incident reports, the 2-1-1 Emergency Service Lead Entity (2-1-1 Lead) will work to get placed on the alert notification systems or web based emergency operations center (Web EOC) management databases of local emergency management agencies in unserved areas. The 2-1-1 Lead will communicate with these local emergency management agencies to inform them in the event of a disaster, the statewide 2-1-1 network has been activated so that they can alert and inform the public about 2-1-1 availability.
y. The 2-1-1 ES providers that are also members of the network engaged in the response would provide the direct service. The 2-1-1 Lead would provide support by compiling data and reports, and facilitating communication between state agencies and local 2-1-1 providers, as appropriate.
2.15 During an emergency, 2-1-1 ES providers must follow all applicable command and control structure of the governing office of emergency services in the locale of the declared emergency.
SECTION 3
AIRS STANDARDS
The Alliance of Information and Referral Services (AIRS), the national professional membership organization of information and referral service providers, has established standards for delivery of information and referral services. The applicant must demonstrate its understanding of these standards and agree to adhere to them in the delivery of 2-1-1 ES services. The applicant should provide a narrative description that illustrates how it will meet these service delivery standards. The maximum narrative length is five pages.
3.1 Information and referral service delivery standards
3.1.1 Organization staff must provide a range of information responses
3.1.1.1 Provision of simple information e.g., name, address, and telephone number of service provider.
3.1.1.2 One-to-one referrals based on assessment of the client's needs.
3.1.1.4 Follow-up services to address situations where further assistance may be required.
3.1.2 Information and referrals must be accurate and pertinent to the needs presented.
3.1.3 Interactions between clients and I & R agency staff must be confidential.
3.2 Information and Referral Resource File Standards
3.2.1 The organization must have written criteria that identify what is included or excluded from the resource database.
3.2.2 The organization must have a standardized profile (resource information collection tool) that collects identified data elements regarding all agencies and/or services for which it is supplying information or to whom it is making referrals.
3.2.3 The entire database must be updated at least annually to provide for up-to-date referral information.
3.2.4 The organization must index services using the AIRS/Info Line of Los Angeles Taxonomy of human services or
3.2.5 The organization must agree to convert the resource database to Taxonomy indexing within three years.
3.3 Information and Referral Disaster Standards
3.3.1 2-1-1 ES service must be available in the event of a local disaster, such as an earthquake, flood, or other emergency.
3.3.2 The organization must have a disaster plan.
3.3.3 The organization must have a pre-disaster resource database.
3.3.4 If such a plan or database does not exist, provide information regarding plans to create these.
3.4 Reports and Measures Standards
3.4.1 The organization must have a data collection tool that has the capability to collect and maintain the confidentiality of inquirer data.
3.4.2 The organization's data collection tool must have the capability to collect information regarding referrals made for assessed needs and service gaps when no referrals were identified for assessed needs.
3.4.3 The organization must have a report tool that is capable of aggregating and organizing inquirer data and resource data to support internal analysis, advocacy and community planning activities.
3.5 Cooperative Relationships Standards
3.5.1 The organization must have cooperative working relationships with targeted and local I&Rs operating in the same service area. (List those agencies and include letters of support as described in Section 4.)
3.5.2 The organization must provide seamless access to 2-1-1 ES service throughout its service area. Callers make only one call for community service information regardless of the location within the system from which they are calling.
3.6 Other Organizational Standards
3.6.1 The organization must provide training for all aspects of the Information and Referral/2-1-1 ES services to paid and volunteer staff.
3.6.2 The organization must have a program to increase public awareness of information and referral/2-1-1 ES services, objectives, and their value to the community.
3.6.3 The organization must have an evaluation plan to identify needed program improvements.
3.6.3.1 The plan must be implemented at least annually.
SECTION 4
DOCUMENTATION OF COMMUNITY SUPPORT
To be designated as a 2-1-1 ES provider you must demonstrate strong community support for your application. This support should come from a wide range of organizations and agencies that are stakeholders in the health and human services network in your community.
Endorsement must be received from the local Board of Supervisors in which the proposed 2-1-1 ES provider requests to provide service.
Endorsement of the proposed 2-1-1 ES provider must be received from CAIRS
Leaders of organizations that support your application should complete the attached "Endorsement of 2-1-1 ES Application." Completed endorsements should be submitted with the application.
You should submit endorsements from major agencies and organizations that provide direct service or information and referral service in the proposed service area in the fields listed below where they are available. Endorsements from other types of organizations and from elected officials are also valuable.
Endorsement of Applicant as 2-1-1 Emergency Service (2-1-1 ES) Provider
NOTE TO ENDORSER: 2-1-1 ES Provider is a unique social utility. There can only be one 2-1-1 ES Provider in a given area. Therefore, you should only endorse one organization to be designated as the 2-1-1 ES provider in the specified area. If you make multiple, competing endorsements, the last dated endorsement will supersede all others.
Instructions to endorser: _______________________________ is applying to
Name of Applicant Agency
the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to be designated as the 2-1-1 ES provider for _______________________________________________.
Name of county. If less than a full county, describe specific portion.
_______________________________ is providing information to the CPUC that
Name of Applicant Agency
it has the necessary organizational capacity to provide 2-1-1 ES and that it is familiar with and adheres to the professional standards for information and referral. Another essential element of its application is a demonstration of community support for its designation as the 2-1-1 ES provider in its area.
A 2-1-1 ES provider is a unique social utility. There can only be one 2-1-1 ES provider in a given area. Therefore, you should only endorse one organization to be designated as the 2-1-1 ES provider in the specified area. If you make multiple, competing endorsements, the last dated endorsement will supersede all others.
The undersigned endorses _______________________________ as the
Name of Agency
organization that is best qualified to provide 2-1-1 ES in the proposed service area for the following reasons: (Include a description of your relationship with the applicant organization and comments regarding your knowledge of the applicant's experience and ability to provide comprehensive information and referral services. If further space is required, attach an additional sheet.)
Name
Title
Organization
Address
City _______________________________State_______ Zip
Telephone _________________________Fax
Type of organization:
Government______ Nonprofit [501][c][3]_______ Other (specify):
Briefly describe the service(s) provided by your organization:
Area served by your organization:
Number of unduplicated clients provided service annually
Annual budget
Signature Date
(End of Attachment D)
36 A "declared emergency" for purposes of these rules and guidelines is an emergency declared by a government office of emergency services or government official in charge of response to an emergency.
37 Current AIRS standards can be found at http://www.airs.org/files/public/AIRS_Standards_6_0Final.pdf.
38 Leaders of organizations that support your application letter should complete the attached "Endorsement of 211 ES Application." Completed endorsements should be submitted with the application letter.
39 Current AIRS standards can be found at http://www.airs.org/files/public/AIRS_Standards_6_0Final.pdf .
40 A declared emergency for purposes of these rules and guidelines is an emergency declared by a government office of emergency services or government official in charge of response to an emergency.
