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2-1-1 Texas’s Role in Assisting People During Disasters

2-1-1 Texas’s Role in Assisting People During Disasters. In 1997, the 75th Legislature passed House Bill 2596 establishing the Texas Information and Referral Network as the single point of coordination for statewide health and human services information and referral in Texas.

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2-1-1 Texas’s Role in Assisting People During Disasters

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  1. 2-1-1 Texas’s Role in Assisting People During Disasters

  2. In 1997, the 75th Legislature passed House Bill 2596 establishing the Texas Information and Referral Network as the single point of coordination for statewide health and human services information and referral in Texas. Since the initial legislation in 1997, several additional legislative actions have expanded and refined the 2-1-1 Texas Information & Referral Network scope of work. Senate Bill 397 (76th Session, 1999) required agencies receiving state funding to provide resource information to 2-1-1.House Bill 2641 (76th Session, 1999) required transportation information to be included in 2-1-1. House Resolution (77th Session, 2001) affirmed the importance of the 2-1-1 Texas Information & Referral Network. This is How it Began….

  3. Enabling Legislation – Cont. • House Bill 2048 (79th Session, 2005) was passed, instructing HHSC to expand the www.211texas.org site to include information about early childhood programs that are overseen by the Texas Education Agency.. • * RP 57 – (Directive issued by Governor Rick Perry, 2006) relating to implementing recommendations from the Governor’s Task Force on Evacuation, Transportation, and logistics. Created the system now known as the Transportation Assistance Registry (TAR). The 2-1-1 Texas Information & Referral Network is assigned the role of data entry for the TAR. • Senate Bill 1058 – Senate Bill 1058 (80th Session, 2007) required 2-1-1 to provide referrals for reintegration services to military service members and their families. • House Bill 2558 (81st Session, 2009) required home and community support health care providers to register clients and their families with the emergency Transportation Assistance Registry available by dialing 2-1-1. • House Bill 1831 (81st Session, 2009) requires Assistive Living Centers and Nursing Homes to register as entities and to explain to their patients and their guardians the process of registration with the Transportation Assistance Registry.

  4. 2-1-1 Texas Information and Referral Network (TIRN) seated at the SOC will coordinate dissemination of disaster-related public information to the 2-1-1 Area Information Centers in order to provide an information and assistance conduit for the public. Provide disaster-related Information and Referral for all phases of the event. Register callers in the State Transportation Assistance Registry. TIRN representative at the SOC will monitor activity of Transportation Assistance Registry and provide reports as scheduled or requested. Receive and document calls and forward information and reports to appropriate State agencies or non-governmental organizations. Calls include, but are not limited to, shelters needs, medical concerns, transportation issues, lack of fuel, lack of essentials items such as food, water, and ice, the presence or lack of shelter space, spontaneous shelters and other pertinent concerns. 2-1-1’s Role in the Texas Hurricane Response Plan

  5. 9. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 3.9: MAINTAIN EFFECTIVE WAYS TO ALERT LOCAL LEADERS AND THE PUBLIC ABOUT ALL HAZARDS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES. a. The Texas Health and Human Service Commission (HHSC) has leveraged statewide assets to build and operate the 2-1-1 system. The completed system offers an effective and unique solution to providing information and referral services to the people of Texas while simultaneously providing a critical support and workload-sharing role in cooperation with a large number of state and local government and community based entities. Across the State, 2-1-1 Area Information Centers have been established to collect and maintain a database of local resource information. 2-1-1 is positioned to play a critical role during an emergency event. It can also be positioned as a critical support role to these government entities by operating as the statewide resource available to take calls from the general public, inform and instruct them in relation to the emergency event, and to refer them to the appropriate response and recovery resource, if necessary. State and local governments will be encouraged to use this system to the fullest extent possible to keep the public informed. b. Providing warning to special needs populations is vitally important and often a challenge. Local governments should work with public health professionals and other resources to maintain a list of individuals within their jurisdictions that require special notification during emergency events, as well as facilities in their jurisdictions that care for individuals with special needs, including nursing homes and hospitals. All special needs facilities must maintain emergency evacuation and transportation plans. In addition, they should maintain a working relationship with all commercial, city, and county facilities where special needs populations reside to ensure the facility managers have established an emergency management plan to respond to emergency events. Local emergency responders should be aware of the needs for these individuals in order to facilitate care during events. PRIORITY ACTIONS: 3.9.1. Leverage the Texas Fusion Center and the statewide intelligence capability to alert local leaders of hazards in their communities 3.9.2. Leverage the 2-1-1 information and referral system to provide hazard and emergency information to the public. 3.9.3. Ensure Texans with special needs receive emergency information, and facilities that care for individuals with special needs maintain evacuation and transportation plans. 3.9.4. Establish a reverse telephone public alert system for hazard information. 48 9. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 3.9: MAINTAIN EFFECTIVE WAYS TO ALERT LOCAL LEADERS AND THE PUBLIC ABOUT ALL HAZARDS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES. a. The Texas Health and Human Service Commission (HHSC) has leveraged statewide assets to build and operate the 2-1-1 system. The completed system offers an effective and unique solution to providing information and referral services to the people of Texas while simultaneously providing a critical support and workload-sharing role in cooperation with a large number of state and local government and community based entities. Across the State, 2-1-1 Area Information Centers have been established to collect and maintain a database of local resource information. 2-1-1 is positioned to play a critical role during an emergency event. It can also be positioned as a critical support role to these government entities by operating as the statewide resource available to take calls from the general public, inform and instruct them in relation to the emergency event, and to refer them to the appropriate response and recovery resource, if necessary. State and local governments will be encouraged to use this system to the fullest extent possible to keep the public informed. b. Providing warning to special needs populations is vitally important and often a challenge. Local governments should work with public health professionals and other resources to maintain a list of individuals within their jurisdictions that require special notification during emergency events, as well as facilities in their jurisdictions that care for individuals with special needs, including nursing homes and hospitals. All special needs facilities must maintain emergency evacuation and transportation plans. In addition, they should maintain a working relationship with all commercial, city, and county facilities where special needs populations reside to ensure the facility managers have established an emergency management plan to respond to emergency events. Local emergency responders should be aware of the needs for these individuals in order to facilitate care during events. PRIORITY ACTIONS: 3.9.1. Leverage the Texas Fusion Center and the statewide intelligence capability to alert local leaders of hazards in their communities 3.9.2. Leverage the 2-1-1 information and referral system to provide hazard and emergency information to the public. 3.9.3. Ensure Texans with special needs receive emergency information, and facilities that care for individuals with special needs maintain evacuation and transportation plans. 3.9.4. Establish a reverse telephone public alert system for hazard information. 48 2-1-1 Roles 1) Help disaster victims and/or shelter population in understanding what recovery programs may be available to them and assist in the application process. 2) Assist in the identification and provision of appropriate services to individuals with special needs. 3) Assist individuals to register in the Transportation Assistance Registry. 4) Provide information on needs-based programs including the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program.

  6. Dallam Sherman Hansford Ochiltree Lipscomb North Central Texas Fort Worth Region* Hartley Hutchinson Moore Roberts Hemphill North Texas Region North Central Texas Dallas Region* Oldham Potter Carson Gray Wheeler Panhandle Region* Deaf Smith Randall Armstrong Donley Collingsworth Parmer Castro Swisher Briscoe Hall Childress Texoma Region* Hardeman Cottle Motley Wilbarger Hale Floyd Bailey Lamb Wichita Foard North East Texas Region South Plains Region* Clay Montague Lamar Cooke Grayson King Baylor Red River Crosby Dickens Archer Lubbock Hockley Knox Cochran Fannin Bowie Delta West Central Texas Region Jack Titus Wise Denton Collin Garza Kent Haskell Young Lynn Stonewall Terry Yoakum Franklin Hopkins Morris Hunt Cass Throckmorton Concho Valley Region Camp Rockwall Rains Marion Wood Parker Tarrant Dallas Palo Pinto Borden Scurry Dawson Fisher Jones Shackelford Upshur Gaines Kaufman Stephens Permian Basin Region* Van Zandt Harrison Gregg East Texas Region Hood Johnson Smith Ellis Nolan Eastland Howard Martin Mitchell Taylor Callahan Andrews Erath Somervell Henderson Panola Rusk Navarro Cherokee Hill Comanche Bosque Sterling Anderson Shelby Coke Winkler Midland Glasscock Loving Runnels El Paso Ector Coleman Brown Nacogdoches Heart of Texas Region Hamilton Freestone McLennan Limestone Ward Mills San Augustine Hudspeth Culberson Crane Tom Green Coryell Upton Reagan Angelina Central Texas Region* Concho Reeves Houston Irion Leon Sabine Falls McCulloch Lampasas San Saba Trinity Bell Robertson Deep East Texas Region Madison Rio Grande Region* Schleicher Menard Jasper Newton Tyler Burnet Milam Polk Pecos Walker Crockett Mason Jeff Davis Llano Brazos San Jacinto Williamson Bryan/ College Station* Grimes Sutton Burleson Kimble Gillespie Travis Hardin Lee Montgomery Blanco South Central Texas Region* Terrell Washington Orange Bastrop Liberty Kerr Hays Presidio Waller Edwards Austin Brewster Kendall Val Verde Jefferson Fayette Harris Caldwell Chambers Gulf Coast Region* Real Comal Bandera Colorado Guadalupe Fort Bend Gonzales Bexar Alamo Region* Southeast Texas Region* Lavaca Uvalde Medina Kinney Galveston Wharton Brazoria Wilson De Witt Jackson Karnes Atascosa Middle Rio Grande Region Zavala Frio Maverick Matagorda Victoria Golden Crescent Region Goliad Calhoun Dimmit Bee McMullen Live Oak La Salle Refugio Aransas San Patricio Jim Wells 25 AIC Partners for Statewide Coverage Coastal Bend Region Webb Nueces Duval South Texas Region Kleberg Jim Hogg Brooks Zapata Kenedy Starr Willacy Tip of Texas Region* Hidalgo Cameron

  7. What the Community Expected from 2-1-1 • Good Information • Accurate and up to date • A place to call for help and to give help • To be able to talk to a live person who was willing to listen

  8. Technology Ability to work as a single network (calls went to first available agent anywhere in the state) Communications and Support Direct connection to State Operation Center Debriefing Sessions Resource Information Sharing information about regional resources throughout the network Special Needs Support from Department of State Health Services and TIRN Staff Volunteers Caring, dedicated and committed Things That Work Well:

  9. Expanded the capacity to respond to the high volume of calls Provided critically needed management of information about availability of services Identified unmet and emerging needs, helping direct resources to high priority areas Provided critically needed telephone reassurance for callers Contributions

  10. Planning for this Hurricane Season Special Needs Registry

  11. David Jobe, LMSW, CIRS United Way of Greater Houston 713 685-2309 djobe@unitedwayhouston.org Contact Information

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