2-1-1 Cost Benefit Analysis

United Way America recently commissioned a study to assess the expected costs and anticipated benefits of a nationwide 2-1-1 system. The study, completed by the University of Texas Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, concluded that 2-1-1 would ultimately provide American taxpayers up to $1.1 billion in net value over the next 10 years. Furthermore, when an individual seeks information or referral services for which he or she has little or no prior knowledge or experience, dialing 2-1-1 is much simpler than other options. The research also found that dialing a general information system (such as 4-1-1) is no substitute for 2-1-1 since the telephone directory system lists entities by name only, which provides information that is too general in nature to be very useful and may also charge a fee for the service. For further information or to obtain a copy of the cost-benefit analysis, please view the final report.