2-1-1 Texas Connecting People and Services 2-1-1Texas Information & Referral Network

* Authority * The HHSC Texas Information and Referral Network is authorized pursuant to the 77th Legislature's HCR 109 and Texas State Government Code § (HB th Legislature) to establish and maintain a statewide network. * Texas Public Utilities Commission amended rule in April 2001, assigning HHSC responsibility for implementing in Texas

Governor Perrys Homeland Security Strategy Disaster and Emergency Management Support

Types of Calls Handled During Hurricanes Katrina & Rita * Evacuation Information * Shelter Information * Special Health Care Needs * Missing Persons * Federal, State, Local Assistance * Reassurance and Rumor Control

Number of Calls Handled * June ,136 * July ,378 * August ,848 * September ,855 –73% Increase –Daily Average before Storms 2,500 –Daily Average in September10,000

Transportation Assistance Registry * Executive Order (RP57) issued by Governor Rick Perry on March 21, 2006 * The Governors Division of Emergency Management shall develop and implement a statewide database to assist in the evacuation of the special needs population, with coastal jurisdictions as a priority.

Creating the Transportation Registry * Governors Task Force Identified Need for Registry * Multi-Agency Committee * Necessary to have Neutral Entity for Data Maintenance * Simple, Direct Database * Quality Control of Data * Establishment of protocol for receipt of data * Building Relationships with Local Emergency Management

Transportation Assistance Registry (TAR) Flow of Data Texas UT Center for Space Research Local Jurisdictions

2-1-1 & the Governors Division of Emergency Management * Phase I – Assigned the Registry * Phase II – Defined plan with cutoff at H-72 * Phase III – Local Emergency Management response * Phase IV – First try ( Hurricane Dean) * Phase IV – Regroup, Revise, Build Relationships * Phase V – Local EMCs call themselves * Phase VI – Hurricane Season 2008 (Dolly, Eduard, & Ike) * Current – Still tweaking

2-1-1 Texas Information & Referral Network Warm Centers * Data Quality Control –Correct spelling of names, addresses –Faxed entries from home health, dialysis, hospice, etc. * Transportation Registry Data Entry Training * DR skill group

Transportation Registry Data Entry Training * Questions that individuals may ask –How will my information be used? –Who is going to call me? –How will I know if I will be picked up? –How long is the registry active? –Do I need to call to update my information? –Can I register for someone else (mother or other elderly/disabled friend/relative)?

Transportation Registry Data Entry Training * Probing for further information –Specialists dont read definitions of the levels –Do they take medications – what type & why prescribed –Ask if they need help walking, bathing, driving, etc. –If they indicate they need help, ask if they need a nurse to administer medication –We may also ask if they are well enough to ride a bus for 8-14 hours (amount of time it may take to evacuate) * Make liberal use of the Notes section to give EM an idea of a persons overall level of functioning

FAXED Registration Forms * Hurricane Dolly – and this isnt all of them!

Publicity Examples * Coastal Bend/Corpus Christi Area Billboard * Houston Area Billboard

Training for Emergency Managers * Emergency management isnt geared toward this type of registry * Dont understand how/why people register * Need to learn effective means of outreach to get more people registered * Think Texas owns the data & manages it

Challenges when Starting * How will you use the registry? * How will you publicize the registry? –Remember to account for increased call volume * Will individuals need to re-register –How will database address the re-registrations? * Will individuals call with changes? * Who will be data custodians for the area where the registry will be active? –Will receive data from the registry as well as updates

More Challenges to Consider * Are individuals expected to fill out additional survey items after they register? –Local communities need to have mechanisms for thorough follow-up with each registrant to determine additional needs. * Will individuals be notified that their information is in the registry or that it needs to be updated annually? –Will they receive a letter? Postcard? Phone call? Additional Survey? –How soon will notification go out? People will ask when they register, so be prepared with this answer.

More Challenges to Consider * Is there special outreach for senior centers, adult day centers, home health care providers, etc.? –These centers often have high populations of people who need transportation assistance during an emergency. –Houstons sends a form that the center fills out & then faxes back. May want to consider a proactive mail-out to help with this process. * Are there special handling procedures for those entities who are required by licensing standards to have an evacuation transportation plan? –In Texas these entities should be excluded from the database. –EM may be willing to go out to conduct transportation assessments with these entities to help them with planning. –Have phone numbers prepared of licensing entities and EM offices for referrals when these agencies call to register their clients/patients.

Behind the Current System * 24/7 365 days a year * Multilingual staff * National AIRS accredited agencies * Professionally certified staff * Comprehensive regional databases * Community presence * Statewide coordination with local control * Continuous quality improvement process with data validation * Robust system that is scalable

Contact Information Deborah Ballard M.S., CIRS Program Liaison HHSC/2-1-1 Texas I&R Network & Sandra Ray, M.S., CIRS Manager, Information & Referral Services United Way of Greater Houston