TY - JOUR
T1 - Getting Help from 2-1-1
T2 - A Statewide Study of Referral Outcomes
AU - Boyum, Sonia
AU - Kreuter, Matthew W.
AU - McQueen, Amy
AU - Thompson, Tess
AU - Greer, Regina
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
Copyright:
Copyright 2016 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2016/5/26
Y1 - 2016/5/26
N2 - ABSTRACT: The 2-1-1 information and referral helpline connects economically vulnerable Americans with needed health and social services in their communities. This longitudinal study followed a random sample of 2-1-1 callers in Missouri (n = 1,235) to determine the results of the referrals they received. One month after calling 2-1-1, most remembered receiving (93%), tried contacting (91%), and reached (82%) at least one referral they received. Far fewer (36%) received assistance from the referral, ranging from 17% for housing assistance to 67% for food assistance. Callers receiving assistance were much more likely than those not receiving assistance to report at the one-month follow-up that their problem had been resolved (OR = 3.0, 95% CI = 2.2, 4.1), although this was less true among callers with multiple unmet basic needs. Findings explain how 2-1-1 helps callers resolve problems but also helps them identify missed opportunities in the current system. Future research could elucidate how 2-1-1 callers resolve problems; it could also find ways to improve outcomes for the most disadvantaged 2-1-1 callers.
AB - ABSTRACT: The 2-1-1 information and referral helpline connects economically vulnerable Americans with needed health and social services in their communities. This longitudinal study followed a random sample of 2-1-1 callers in Missouri (n = 1,235) to determine the results of the referrals they received. One month after calling 2-1-1, most remembered receiving (93%), tried contacting (91%), and reached (82%) at least one referral they received. Far fewer (36%) received assistance from the referral, ranging from 17% for housing assistance to 67% for food assistance. Callers receiving assistance were much more likely than those not receiving assistance to report at the one-month follow-up that their problem had been resolved (OR = 3.0, 95% CI = 2.2, 4.1), although this was less true among callers with multiple unmet basic needs. Findings explain how 2-1-1 helps callers resolve problems but also helps them identify missed opportunities in the current system. Future research could elucidate how 2-1-1 callers resolve problems; it could also find ways to improve outcomes for the most disadvantaged 2-1-1 callers.
KW - Basic needs
KW - information and referral
KW - material hardship
KW - social services
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84955086065&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/01488376.2015.1109576
DO - 10.1080/01488376.2015.1109576
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84955086065
VL - 42
SP - 402
EP - 411
JO - Journal of Social Service Research
JF - Journal of Social Service Research
SN - 0148-8376
IS - 3
ER -