Reaching and Supporting Parents Through 211

On Wednesday, July 15, 2020, during GLR Week 2020 “fishbowl” discussion, United Way leaders in Delaware, Texas and Utah engaged in a lively dialogue around leveraging 211 as a resource for children and families in their specific communities and states, and the opportunity presented by the pandemic to use 211 in new and different ways to better serve those in need. Moderator Alicia Lara, Senior Vice President – Impact of United Way Worldwide, was joined by Adriana Cuellar Rojas, President/CEO of United Ways of Texas; Michelle Taylor, President/CEO of United Way Delaware (UWDE); and Amy Terpstra, Vice President – Collective Impact Partnerships of United Way Salt Lake (UWSL). The conversation was designed to lift up questions and voices from those on the line, who Lara encouraged to “jump into the fishbowl” with the discussants.

Amy Terpstra began with the reflection that COVID-19 has illuminated major fractures in our national education system — fractures that the United Way seeks to alleviate for children and families and that can push partners to find new ways of leveraging impact. In Salt Lake City, UWSL was able to leverage existing partnerships to quickly stand up the “Stay Safe Stay Connected” initiative, which encourages families to call 211 to access resources for summer learning programs, virtual tutoring, internet and device access, and basic needs support. At a time of crisis, Terpstra noted that 211’s flexibility enables it to serve as “a central piece of getting families what they need, efficiently and effectively. It can, and is able to, go far beyond basic needs and emergency supports.”

Across the country in Delaware, UWDE also acted quickly as families increasingly required more supports and services. The “Dial 211 Press 4” initiative launched by UWDE, which runs the state’s 211 program, offers information on similar types of resources as its Salt Lake City counterpart. Michelle Taylor discussed the ways in which UWDE drilled down on data about 211 utilization to better support their partnerships both at the micro level with school districts, as well as at the macro level with policymakers and state leaders. This two-pronged approach will support advocacy and public policy changes to better serve both parents and children at this unprecedented time. Taylor said, “We had to agree that we are building the plane and flying it at the same time — to collaboratively not let perfection get in the way of progress. We believe we are better positioned to meet the needs of kids and families in our community.”

Unlike UWDE, which runs Delaware’s 211 program, the United Ways of Texas’s role around 211 is one of advocacy and support to the state of Texas, which manages 211. Even with this different relationship, the relevance of 211 and the value of diverse partnerships are evident. Adriana Cuellar Rojas shared that Texas recently received a Pritzker Children’s Initiative grant to strengthen high-quality prenatal-to-three services in Texas. One of the goals in this grant is to provide additional information to parents. As Rojas said, “What better way to do that than through 211? We are hopeful that in having this grant, over the next three years we are able to [develop] a lot of partnerships and bring a lot of people to the table.”

All panelists concurred that 211 serves as an invaluable resource for providing information, support and referrals for individuals and families across a multitude of areas, especially in our current crisis, and for connecting parents with critical information and services for them and their children.