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Expanding 311
By
Garth Johnston
Published Nov 12, 2005
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Nov 12, 2005
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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Speaking of Bloomberg's plans now that he's got another four years: First up, expanding the ever-popular two-and-one-half-year-old 311 program. From now on when you call 311 operators will also be able to put you into contact with information from United Way's list of 2,500 agencies "guiding callers to programs in health care, housing, job training and other services."
The deal with United Way is going to cost the city about $12 million a year in subsidies, but that will also pay for 100 additional United Way operators who will be qualified to field questions about social services (something the current 311 operators are, as you can guess if you've spoken to one of them, not qualified to do). So what does this actually mean? It means that, for example, "poor people calling of help getting food stamps or finding soup kitchens might also be guided to housing assistance, job counseling and information on the earned-income tax credit."
The city is also going to spend about $10 million to expand 311 so it can handle the expected uptick in calls, though that will take about a year to really get rolling. As die-hard lovers of 311 we're all for this expansion but we can't help but wonder what services are they going to follow this up with? So we turn to you, what do you realistically wish that 311 operators could help you with but currently can't?
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