A 7381: Establishes the 2-1-1 essential community services hotline system; designates the office of children and family services to oversee the hotline system; establishes the availability and scope of information to be provided by the hotline system and requirements of call centers; requires the office of children and family services to collect certain data relating to the hotline system and to make annual reports to the governor and the legislature.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7381 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY March 25, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. LUPARDO, HEVESI -- read once and referred to the Committee on Social Services AN ACT to amend the social services law and the mental hygiene law, in relation to the 2-1-1 essential community services hotline system The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The social services law is amended by adding a new article 2 9 to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 9 4 2-1-1 ESSENTIAL COMMUNITY SERVICES HOTLINE SYSTEM 5 Section 467. Definitions. 6 467-a. Oversight of the 2-1-1 essential community services 7 hotline system. 8 467-b. Availability and scope of information. 9 467-c. Responsibilities of 2-1-1 call centers. 10 467-d. Reporting. 11 § 467. Definitions. As used in this article: 12 1. "2-1-1 essential community services hotline system" or "2-1-1" 13 means the three digit phone number designated by the federal communi- 14 cations commission for the purpose of connecting individuals and fami- 15 lies with community resource and referral services. 16 2. "2-1-1 call center" means a center receiving calls from 2-1-1 oper- 17 ated by 2-1-1 New York, the not-for-profit organization designated for 18 such purpose by the public service commission in two thousand ten. 19 3. "Community resource specialist" means an individual employed by a 20 2-1-1 call center, who has trained in quality indicators for profes- 21 sional information and referrals and received an accreditation from 22 Inform USA, or its successor organization, to assist individuals with 23 help finding community resources and other service-related needs, EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD10867-01-5 
 A. 7381 2 1 including during times of crisis, a natural disaster or other weather- 2 related events. 3 § 467-a. Oversight of the 2-1-1 essential community services hotline 4 system. The office of children and family services shall have oversight 5 of the 2-1-1 essential community services hotline system and shall 6 designate 2-1-1 New York, the not-for-profit organization designated by 7 the public service commission in two thousand ten, to operate such 8 hotline system, within amounts appropriated. 9 § 467-b. Availability and scope of information. 1. 2-1-1 shall be 10 available statewide, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week and 11 shall provide a language assistance line to assist limited and non-Engl- 12 ish language speakers. 13 2. Community resource specialists shall provide community resource and 14 referral information for at least the following services, as needed: 15 a. basic human needs, such as food and clothing banks, temporary hous- 16 ing assistance, including emergency housing assistance, rent and utility 17 assistance, the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP), the 18 special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children 19 (WIC) and other public benefit programs; 20 b. physical and behavioral health resources, such as health insurance 21 programs including, but not limited to, medicaid, medicare, the essen- 22 tial plan and child health plus, maternal health resources, behavioral 23 health services, crisis intervention services and, if appropriate, 24 transferring individuals to the 9-8-8 suicide prevention and behavioral 25 health crisis hotline or the 9-1-1 emergency response system; 26 c. work support, such as job training programs or education and liter- 27 acy assistance, tax preparation, and transportation programs; 28 d. children, youth and family support, including child care, after- 29 school programs and summer camps, family resource centers, mentoring and 30 child protective services; 31 e. support for older adults and persons with disabilities, including 32 community and medically tailored meals, respite care, home health care, 33 transportation services and adult protective services; and 34 f. access services for limited and non-English speakers, such as 35 translation and interpretation services. 36 § 467-c. Responsibilities of 2-1-1 call centers. 2-1-1 call centers 37 shall be responsible for: 38 1. maintaining an up-to-date database of providers and services avail- 39 able in the community, that is validated annually to ensure accurate 40 information; 41 2. ensuring individuals can access 2-1-1 through various platforms, 42 including via telephone, text or the internet; and 43 3. accepting calls from and coordinating with the 9-8-8 suicide 44 prevention and behavioral health crisis hotline and the 9-1-1 emergency 45 response system, as appropriate. 46 § 467-d. Reporting. 1. The office of children and family services, in 47 consultation with 2-1-1 New York, shall establish a comprehensive list 48 of reporting metrics regarding the use of 2-1-1, which shall include, 49 but not be limited to: 50 a. the total number of requests for assistance statewide, as well as 51 by region, that 2-1-1 call centers receive annually; 52 b. the categories of services and referrals that are requested each 53 year; and 54 c. the average length of time taken to respond to each request for 55 assistance and the aggregate number of call abandonments for the year. 
 A. 7381 3 1 2. The office of children and family services shall compile an annual 2 report on the data collected pursuant to subdivision one of this section 3 and shall submit such report to the governor, the temporary president of 4 the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the minority leader of the 5 senate, and the minority leader of the assembly, annually, beginning no 6 later than April first, next succeeding the effective date of this 7 section. 8 § 2. Paragraph 5 of subdivision (c) of section 36.03 of the mental 9 hygiene law, as added by section 2 of part EE of chapter 57 of the laws 10 of 2022, is amended to read as follows: 11 (5) A designated hotline center shall ensure coordination between the 12 9-8-8 crisis hotline centers, 9-1-1, behavioral health crisis services, 13 the 2-1-1 essential community services hotline system, and, when appro- 14 priate, other specialty behavioral health warm lines and hotlines and 15 other emergency services. If a law enforcement, medical, or fire 16 response is also needed, 9-8-8 and 9-1-1 operators shall coordinate the 17 simultaneous deployment of those services with mobile crisis services. 18 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after 19 it shall have become a law.