Transcript St. Joseph County United Way November 10, 2006

Michigan 2-1-1
DHS Earned Income Tax Credit
Demonstration Project
January – May, 2008
Michigan 2-1-1 connects people with
information and resources
to build healthy, safe communities
Get Help
Give Help
Michigan 2-1-1 builds stronger communities day to
day and in times of emergency by:
• promoting self reliance in reaching community resources
• fostering civic engagement
• providing real-time information on health and human
service needs, met and unmet, in the community.
What is 2-1-1?
The national telephone number for access
to health & human services and volunteer
opportunities
Powered by a comprehensive database of
available local services
Makes a critical connection between
individuals and families seeking services
and the appropriate community-based
organizations and government agencies
2-1-1 provides…..
 Easy-to-remember number – landline, wireless
and VOIP
Up-to-date resource database
Online searchable databases
24X7X365 availability
Interpreter Services available
Confidential
Accountibility
% 2-1-1 Population Covered* by State
•
April 2008
* Coverage is being defined as population with landline telephone access to 2-1-1 dialing code.
National Standards
Professional I&R staff answering phone
24/7, free, serve special needs
Quality, comprehensive data base
Coordinated services with local health and
human service agencies
2008
Projects in
Process – will
take coverage to
80%+
Recent Interest…
Michigan 2-1-1 Call Volume
2004 - 2008
800,000
700,000
583,018
Number of calls
600,000
500,000
382,760
400,000
275,011
300,000
214,620
200,000
122,586
100,000
0
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008*
* estimated
2009
2010
Using 2-1-1 Data
Monthly / Quarterly Data Reports –
Data collected on every call – used for:
• Grantwriting
• Documentation of need
• Service delivery decisions
• Funding decisions
• Planning
Earned Income Tax Credit Project
2-1-1or toll-free access to free tax assistance preparation
sites throughout Michigan
8,028 EITC referrals for February through May
474 free tax preparation sites
57 Call Specialists trained & tested on EITC, CTC
Publicizing EITC, pre-screening for eligibility, referring tax
volunteers, collecting data
Tax Sites in 2-1-1 Databases
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
January
February
March
April
May
Number of Tax Assistance Callers
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
February
March
April
May
EITC Callers by Gender
7%
29%
Male
Female
Did not disclose
64%
Unmet needs*
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
February
March
April
*Unmet needs are recorded when a caller cannot be referred.
May
Reasons for unmet needs range
from a service being full or unavailable to having no transportation to access the service to being
ineligible for the program.
Number of Tax Site Volunteer Inquiries
2
May
April
21
80
March
12
February
0
20
40
60
80
100
Potential EITC refunds captured
by using 2-1-1
2007 EITC refund data not yet available
2006 average EITC refund is $1,057
If just 80% of 2-1-1 callers pre-screened and referred to free
tax assistance sites completed filings, then
$6,788,477 in EITC refunds would enter the Michigan
economy
An organized way to care…
2-1-1 is the front door to
health & human services
2-1-1 gives voice to the demand
for services so that a community
can speak as one
Additional resources:
http://www.uwmich.org/211/tabid/60/Default.aspx
- MI 2-1-1 Business Plan & other materials
www.airs.org
• - Standards, certification & training information
www.211.org
• - National status of 2-1-1, legislative updates & more
Questions??
Please contact:
Sherry Miller, Director
Michigan 2-1-1
Michigan Association of United Ways
517.371.4360
www.uwmich.org