Job Access and Reverse Commute (jarc) Program fy 2009 Service Profiles Region X alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington October 2010 fta-08-0162 Job Access and Reverse Commute (jarc) fy 2009 Service Profiles: Region X

Volunteers of America Western Washington (663)

2-1-1 Information Line (744)

Location: Snohomish County (WA)
Type: Information-Based Services/One-stop center/referral
Goal: Improved customer knowledge
Service description: North Sound 2-1-1 is a regional call center that manages a comprehensive database of health and welfare community services and resources. We answer over 60,000 calls from callers located in Island, San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish, and Whatcom counties. A barrier to receiving service is often lack of transportation. We assist those callers with finding appropriate transportation.
The Special Needs Transportation Hotline component of North Sound 2-1-1 is a project of the Snohomish County Transportation Coalition (SNOTRAC). The hotline serves as the first point of contact for the following programs:
- Pre-screening for the Pay Your Pal Voucher Program
- Pre-screening for the Community Transit Sunday ride and assistance program
- Connection to the Travel Ambassador Program
- Get connected with the Ride Around the Sound program
- Volunteer for the Ride Around the Sound program
The program also helps callers with transit schedules and helps them understand their transportation options.
Evaluation: We do exit surveys and 1-week later follow-up surveys with approximately 400 callers each spring. The results are tabulated and used to evaluate our activities. Here are the results of our 2009 spring surveys.
Outcomes Report for 2009 Data collected 1/1/09-4/30/09
1. Caller obtained the information they were seeking - 95.77% - 317 of 331 respondents
2. Caller obtained new community resources - 71.80% - 247 of 344 respondents
3. Caller had an appropriate action plan after talking with an Information & Referral Specialist at North Sound 2-1-1 - 100% - 399 of 399 respondents
4. After talking with an Information & Referral Specialist at North Sound 2-1-1, caller has a better understanding of their options - 87.83% - 267 of 304 respondents
5. Caller felt North Sound 2-1-1 had given them a suitable resource - 89.35% - 302 of 338 respondents
6. Caller was able to connect with appropriate services based on the information we gave them -
58.02% - 199 of 343 respondents
7. Caller was satisfied with our service - 97.83% - 316 of 323 respondents
8. Caller felt we offered appropriate referrals for their needs - 95.28% - 303 of 318 respondents
9. Caller felt the information we provided was accurate - 97.86% - 320 of 327 respondents
10. Caller feels connected to a caring community - 73.05% - 225 of 308 respondents 
Accomplishments: The Special Needs Transportation Hotline staff have attended many information fairs, networking meetings, and other events to promote the service. We have developed and distributed marketing materials and have participated in all SNOTRAC meetings. We have advocated for services and participated in piloting the successful Pay Your Pal travel voucher program in rural Snohomish County. We have also assisted SNOTRAC staff with developing the successful Ride Around the Sound program. Our statistical reports on the needs of callers are shared throughout the community at our website www.voaww.org/211.
Lessons learned: Regular retraining of staff by transportation providers is essential to a good information and referral service. Participating in the SNOTRAC meetings helps us do a better job for callers, and also helps transportation providers know what challenges the callers are having using the existing transportation systems.

Mobility coordination manager and SNOTRAC (1099)