County helpline in need of a lifeline

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers CALL TO ACTION—Operators Juan Luis Torres, left, and Angel Kearney, right, receive calls at the Camarillo-based 211 Ventura County call center March 31. Although the four-year-old helpline takes calls from residents in need from throughout the county, not all Ventura County cities are offering financial support to the service. Although 211 Ventura County, a free 24-hour health and social services referral hotline, fields calls from every corner of the county, not all cities financially support the service.

Only three of Ventura County's 10 cities—Camarillo, Ventura and Simi Valley—contribute to 211's annual $559,000 operating expenses, said Erik Sternad, executive director of Interface Children Family Services, one of three primary sponsors of 211 Ventura County . United Way and First 5 Ventura County are the other two.

Last month, Camarillo agreed to give 211 the same percentage of federal grant money as it did last year. The exact amount of community development funds Camarillo would receive was unknown at the time, but the city donated $7,500 to 211 in 2008.

"Camarillo has been very supportive over the last several years, and we're very appreciative," Sternad said.

Additionally, the county agreed for the first time to donate to 211, granting it $35,000, Sternad said.

But four-year-old 211 Ventura County is not on "good financial footing" and needs more financial support, Sternad said. He expects a shortfall of $238,000 next fiscal year, though the calls are likely to increase.

The call center at Interface's Camarillo offices handled some 20,000 calls last year. This year, the call center anticipates 21,000 calls, Sternad said.

Most calls are for basic services—food, clothing and housing—followed by mental health counseling. But referrals aren't limited to those services. County residents of any income level can obtain information such as where to access child care; help for seniors; adult and child protective services; and housing, employment and legal assistance.

In the days and months after 9/11, the 211 service in Connecticut assisted residents searching for loved ones who worked in the World Trade Center. When wildfires ravaged California in 2007, 211 served as an information clearinghouse on evacuations, shelters and road closures.

For the past four years, Interface has made up for the overall lack of local government support, costing the nonprofit more than $1 million, Sternad said. But Interface was forced to cut back in December, causing three call center positions to remain vacant. As a result, one in five callers don't reach a live call specialist, Sternad said.

Before December, call specialists answered 80 percent or more of the calls in a minute or less— the industry standard—but now they're answering 55 percent in the same amount of time, Sternad said.

Some callers stay on the line long enough to be routed to an answering machine, others don't. It's those who hang up that worry Sternad. Were they in urgent need of help? Will they call back?

"We want to be there for them and yet we don't have the funding to operate at full capacity like we want to," said Sternad, a marriage family therapist. "It's a critical problem right now."

The Camarillo call center contracts with five other California counties to provide their 211 service. But of the six counties, Ventura County's municipalities support its service the least, Sternad said, accounting for less than 10 percent of 211's operating expenses.

The other cities and counties fund 33 percent of the operating costs for their 211 service, he said.

The service faces more financial woes. Under its own financial pressure, United Way of Ventura County cut its contribution to 211 this year to $167,000, down from $210,000 last year. And although First 5 Ventura County donates $100,000 annually to 211 that could change if voters approve Proposition 1D in May, which would take $600 million from First 5 of California.

City councils across the county may not know 211 needs help because 211 officials don't apply directly to all cities for funding. The 211 advisory group has recommended working through a countywide city managers' group as a more efficient use of time and resources, instead of researching what fund in each of the 10 cities to apply for and filling out requests year after year, Sternad said.

Sternad and a United Way official met earlier this year with city managers to inform them about the value of the relatively new service, leaving to each one how their city should contribute, Sternad said.

"I'm very hopeful that they will," he said.

Moorpark Assistant City Manager Hugh Riley said the city might consider funding the service if a specific request was made to the City Council and the account that would fund it was identified. About 2 percent of 211's calls come from Moorpark.

"I think we're open to it," Riley said. "This is a good service; we're interested in it."

Nearly 6 percent of 211 Ventura County calls come from Thousand Oaks. Andrew Powers, city spokesperson, said the service has "merit" but the city is facing difficult economic times. Thousand Oaks must trim $3.6 million from its budget over the next two years, he said.

The City Council is "very supportive" of 211, Powers said, though acknowledging it is moral, not financial, support.

Oxnard, the largest city in the county, accounts for nearly 30 percent of 211 calls but pays nothing to offset expenses. City officials did not return calls seeking comment.