The 2-1-1 New York Collaborative convened in 1999 to bring 2-1-1 services to New York State. It is composed of United Ways and information and referral (I&R) service agencies that are members of the New York State Alliance of Information and Referral Systems, Inc. (NYS AIRS). All active members have signed a memorandum of understanding and contributed financially to the statewide collaborative's work. United Way of New York State serves as the fiscal agent for the collabortive.

Actions taken by the collaborative:

• Obtained a grant from the Lilly Endowment through United Way of America, which funded a statewide telecommunications plan for 2-1-1. The statewide plan is based on the concept of regional call centers incorporating common technology and adherence to high-quality AIRS service standards.
  
  
• Supported the development of three regional pilots for 2-1-1 covering 26 counties of the state: the Taconic Region (now the Hudson Valley Region), the Finger Lakes and Western New York.
  
  
• The Northeast Region, the Southeast Region and New York City are all planning to bring 2-1-1 services to their areas, building on the experience, as well as the telecommunications capacity, of the first three.
  
  
• Developed and approved criteria for call center operations.
  
  
• Developed an application to approve regional designation of 2-1-1 to local collaborations that document their capacity to deliver high-quality services that meet AIRS standards.
  
  
• Developed and approved criteria for the inclusion of service providers in the call center databases.
  
  
• Developed and approved the kinds of information to be included in the regional databases.
  
  
• Developed and approved the type of caller statistics that will be collected.
  
  
• Launched a 2-1-1 New York website at www.211ny.org.
  
  
• Customized a taxonomy index of services for use in each approved 2-1-1 call center.
  
  
• Awarded a new $95,000 grant from United Way of America, funded by the Lilly Endowment and Best Buy Inc., to develop a statewide RFP and negotiate rates, promote the development of 2-1-1 in four regions, and hire a part-time state coordinator.
  
  
• In 2006, received $6.9 million in New York State funding for 2-1-1 development statewide.
  
  
• Hired the first 2-1-1 New York State director in October 2006.

A brief timeline:

• July 2000: FCC assigned 2-1-1 for health and human services information and referral services.
  
  
• January 2002: NYS PSC assigned 2-1-1 implementation to the 2-1-1 New York Collaborative.
  
  
• January 2005: 2-1-1 Finger Lakes goes live.
  
  
• August 2005: 2-1-1 Hudson Valley goes live.
  
  
• April 2006: $6.9 million in the 2006-07 state budget for 2-1-1.
  
  
• October 2006: 2-1-1 New York State hires its first director.
  
  
• March 2007: 2-1-1 New York State hosts its first statewide training.
  
  
• April 2007: $10 million in the 2007-08 state budget for 2-1-1.