Wyoming 2-1-1, Inc., Cheyenne, WY, USA

Get Connected. Get Answers

The Wyoming 2-1-1 System will provide value in many ways:

• Interact with callers to analyze their needs and impact their lives. By asking callers follow up questions, trained staff can help identify underlying problems that must be dealt with to help people cope with the expressed symptoms, and develop their own plan tackling the root cause of the problems. It is no exaggeration to say that 2-1-1 has the power to change people’s lives by connecting them with resources that help them move to greater self-reliance.

Benefit people seeking help through many avenues:

o Access to comprehensive, up-to-date information by telephone and on-line;

o Confidential, judgment-free telephone interactions with trained 2-1-1 specialists, based in Wyoming, who are able to help people get to the root of their concerns and who can provide multiple options for services and, as needed, make multiple referrals from a single call;

o Alternative approaches to problem-solving in those situations where services may not be available;

o Referrals that are sensitive to the callers’ realities, including the need for services near where they live;

o Advocacy with service providers for those unable to connect with the services they need;

o Information about both public sector and nonprofit services throughout the state, serving people wherever families live and work; and,

o Multilingual services and access for people with sensory impairments.

Create a new resource that can help our communities and our state strengthen the way they provide information to the public.

o 2-1-1 complements and enhances existing state government information and assistance services by exercising triage over a high volume of calls and ensuring that callers are directed to the right resources, thus reducing the level of inappropriate calls that are placed to those services.

o In some states, 2-1-1 has become an integral part of state government’s efforts to provide more efficient and effective services. A 2000 University of Nebraska study sites the potential of $7.6 - $16.5 million in annual cost savings for Nebraska resulting from such factors as one call for multiple referrals, reduced overlapping helpline costs and improved community planning through caller data.

Help to create new efficiencies in the delivery of health and human services. There are three significant efficiencies that the Wyoming 2-1-1 system will contribute when it is fully operational:

o First, it can save the time and ease the frustration of consumers in their search for appropriate services for which they are eligible.

o Second, as 2-1-1 becomes more widely known and used, it will refer more callers to the right places, thus relieving some of the burden on service providers of handling inappropriate calls.

o Third, it will be a resource to service providers by identifying immediately accessible sources both for consumers with needs to which they can respond as well as for those with needs to which they cannot respond. In addition, it will help providers connect with one another.

For example, 2-1-1 connects people with resources that will enhance living:

• Assures that children have access to proper housing, nutrition and health care so that they can succeed in school;

• Supports families leaving welfare so that they can remain self-sufficient and productive;

• Aids senior citizens to find and pay for prescription drugs so that they maintain active lives;

• Directs single mothers to affordable child care centers close to home so that the mothers can keep their jobs instead of relying on welfare;

• Connects victims of domestic violence with groups that provide shelter so that they can leave their violent situations;

• Helps individuals find resources to cope with the financial strain of layoffs so that they can remain in their own homes; and,

• Serves as a support system for crisis management.