211 South Georgian Bay 2006 Service Report
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211 South Georgian Bay 2006 Service Report
Š 2007 Community Connection. All rights reserved. This report is published on an annual basis and is part of the 211 Ontario Evaluation Plan. Information in this report may not be reproduced or redistributed in any manner whatsoever without prior permission from Community Connection. Community Connection 275 First Street, Box 683 Collingwood, Ontario L9Y 4E8 705.444.0040 211@CommunityConnection.net Community Connection tracks calls for statistical purposes only. It does not collect information on the identity of callers.
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211 South Georgian Bay 2006 Service Report
Table of Contents Executive Summary ........................................................................................... Pages 4-5 Call Answer Standards ............................................................................................ Page 6 2006 Calls by Month................................................................................................Page 6 24/7 Service ..........................................................................................................Page 7 Websites ...............................................................................................................Page 7 Contact Tracking and Referral System................................................................... Pages 8-9 Source of Income from Individual Caller Surveys .........................................................Page 9 Unmet Needs ....................................................................................................... Page 10 Type of Service Provided.................................................................................. Pages 10-11 Language Services ................................................................................................ Page 11 Certification of 211 Staff ........................................................................................ Page 11 Service Quality Surveys for Individuals ............................................................... Page 11-12 Service Quality Surveys for Organizations .......................................................... Pages 12-14 211 Outreach and Promotion .................................................................................. Page 14 Call Examples – Selected ................................................................................. Pages 14-15 Additional Comments from Callers ........................................................................... Page 15
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211 South Georgian Bay 2006 Service Report Executive Summary Service Standards 211 Ontario standards are set at achieving a call answer rate of 85% of calls within 45 seconds, and a talk time average of two minutes and thirty seconds. 211 South Georgian Bay answered 13,507 calls (94%), within an average of twenty-five seconds – achieving both standards. Information and referral specialists achieved an average talk time of one minute and 54 seconds. This standard was not met, but may be explained in part by the system used to route after-hours calls to 211 Toronto and the number of phantom1 calls received. During 2006, a total of 4,823 calls were routed to 211 Toronto after hours. Web Sites The online directories available through 211SimcoeCounty.ca and CommunityConnection.net received a total of 69,389 unique visits during the year. Caller demographics 75% of callers were female 83% were adults; 14% were seniors; 3% were youth 83% called for themselves; 10% called for a family member or friend; 7% were calling for a client, customer or employee 60% of callers were employed full time or part time; 36% were receiving some form of financial assistance; 4% had no income 68% of callers were residing in Collingwood; 12% in Wasaga Beach; 5% in Clearview Township; 15% outside of South Georgian Bay Service Needs Many callers have multiple service needs when they call. Averaged over the entire year, the following are the top ten areas of service need: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Health Government offices and programs (all levels) Legal assistance Housing and shelter Financial assistance Recreation and leisure programs Addictions and mental health Environment Employment Volunteerism
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Phantom calls are received but no “real person” is making the call. Switching equipment misinterprets “2-1-1 pulses” which are experienced as rings only, clicks, silence, busy signal, or static. Phantom calls are common to all 211 call centres. 4
211 South Georgian Bay 2006 Service Report Certification of Staff Community Connection currently has the following certified staff: 2 Certified Resource Specialists (database) 3 Certified Information and Referral Specialists (telephone) Language Services During the year, two requests for service in other than English were provided. Public Complaints There were no public complaints during the year. Service Satisfaction Individuals Service quality surveys conducted throughout the year indicated that 88% of callers followed up on the referrals provided by 211 and that 93% received the assistance from the organizations they were referred to. 100% of callers said they would call 211 again and would recommend the service to others. All caller satisfaction measurements have been met or exceeded. Service Satisfaction Organizations Service quality surveys to organizations are conducted annually. The survey results indicate that 85% reported the relevance, appropriateness and quantity of referrals made to their organizations by 211 were excellent. All organization satisfaction measurements have been met or exceeded. Unmet Needs Throughout the year, information specialists document unmet needs. Most of the unmet needs are from callers requiring financial assistance for a variety of reasons. Case Examples – Selected Case examples written by information specialists are provided that show the breadth of the calls received. Additional Comments On an ongoing basis, information specialists record callers’ informal comments. 211 Outreach Twenty outreach visits and sixty-five formal and informal presentations were conducted throughout the year. These activities spread the word about 211 and provide staff with an opportunity to gain new knowledge about specific services.
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211 South Georgian Bay 2006 Service Report Call Answer Standards A variety of statistics on Community Connection’s telephone system are automatically available through the Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) system. The ACD receives telephone calls into a central system and distributes those calls to the information specialists, according to its programmed criteria. This technology can generate statistics and reports, which are used for ongoing monitoring of service quality. Over the course of any given month, 211 will: Achieve an answer rate of 85%: In 2006, Community Connection staff answered 94% of all calls. Achieve an answer rate of 45 seconds: In 2006, Community Connection staff answered calls within an average of 25 seconds. Achieve an average call length of 2 minutes and 30 seconds: In 2006, Community Connection staff achieved an average talk time of one minute and 54 seconds. In 2006 this standard was not met, but may be explained in part by the system used to route after-hours calls to 211 Toronto and the number of phantom2 calls received.
2006 Calls by Month 2006
Total December November October September August July June May April March February January
Call Average Average Calls Calls Calls Abandoned Answer Target Answer Target Talk Target Received Answered & Phantom Rate Time Time
14,434 13,507 1,097 1,085 1,213 1,264 1,374 1,346 1,371 1,181 1,133 1,198 904 1,268
1,024 993 1,116 1,185 1,321 1,275 1,292 1,108 1,076 1,103 828 1,186
929
94%
85%
0:25
:45
73 92 97 79 53 71 80 73 57 95 77 82
93% 92% 92% 94% 96% 95% 94% 94% 95% 92% 92% 94%
85% 85% 85% 85% 85% 85% 85% 85% 85% 85% 85% 85%
0:21 0:18 0:24 0:23 0:21 0:19 0:27 0:26 0:32 0:29 0:29 0:31
:45 :45 :45 :45 :45 :45 :45 :45 :45 :45 :45 :45
1:54 2:30 1:45 1:35 1:57 1:55 1:54 1:51 1:40 1:57 2:01 1:55 2:39 1:43
2:30 2:30 2:30 2:30 2:30 2:30 2:30 2:30 2:30 2:30 2:30 2:30
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Phantom calls are received but no “real person” is making the call. Switching equipment misinterprets “2-1-1 pulses” which are experienced as rings only, clicks, silence, busy signal, or static. Phantom calls are common to all 211 call centres. 6
211 South Georgian Bay 2006 Service Report 24/7 Service In 2006 a total of 13,507 calls were answered. Community Connection’s staff provided service sixty hours a week, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. After hours service was available through an agreement with 211 Toronto3 (Findhelp Information Services), who received 4,823 after hours calls from South Georgian Bay. 24/7 Calls
January February March April May June July August September October November December 0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
Calls Answered
Collingwood
Toronto
Web Sites In 2006, there were a total of 69,389 unique website visits. The regional website, 211SimcoeCounty.ca provides self-serve access to countywide human service information and is part of the Ontario-wide 211 system. The 211 website database is maintained by five community information centres in Simcoe County (Community Connection, Information Barrie, Information Orillia, Community Link North Simcoe and South Simcoe Community Information Centre). Community Connection continues to maintain its corporate website at Community Connection.net where local online directories provide self serve access to current information on South Georgian Bay businesses, clubs and organizations, and human services. CommunityConnection.net 29,867 visits
211SimcoeCounty.ca 39,522 visits
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Findhelp Information Services launched Canada’s first 211 service in 2002, and in 2006 provided after hours service for all three 211 services in Ontario. 7
211 South Georgian Bay 2006 Service Report Contact Tracking & Referral System (CTRS)4 A Contact Tracking & Referral System (CTRS) allows Community Connection to track the nature of information and referral contacts and report aggregate information on user demographics and user need profiles. During the course of a contact this application is used by information specialists to track specified information, while simultaneously using other information systems to identify appropriate information and referral sources that will address the user’s needs. The CTRS can be used to locate specific calls or types of calls using the system’s administrative and reporting functions. Mode of contact Telephone
Q2
Q3
Q4
93%
93%
93%
87%
Walk in
6%
6%
6%
12%
1%
1%
1%
1%
Gender of callers Male
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
26%
23%
25%
27%
Female
74%
77%
75%
73%
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
2%
3%
2%
3%
Adult
85%
85%
84%
83%
Senior
13%
12%
14%
14%
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
81%
84%
83%
83%
Age of callers Youth
Calling on behalf of Self Friend or family
9%
10%
11%
10%
10%
6%
6%
7%
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
74%
71%
63%
65%
5%
6%
4%
3%
10%
12%
13%
14%
The Blue Mountains
2%
2%
2%
2%
Outside South Georgian Bay
6%
6%
15%
14%
Unknown
3%
3%
3%
2%
How first time callers heard about 211 Agency or organization referral
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
17%
15%
25%
17%
Word of mouth
42%
45%
39%
21%
Telephone Book/411
17%
13%
24%
30%
Newspaper
16%
15%
10%
6%
Direct Mail
2%
1%
1%
0%
Don’t remember
6%
11%
1%
26%
Client, customer or employee Service area Collingwood Clearview Township Wasaga Beach
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Q1
Community Connection does not collect information about the identity of callers. 8
211 South Georgian Bay 2006 Service Report Reasons for Calling Callers often have multiple information and service needs when they call. Reasons for Calling
Annual Average
Health
15.8%
Government (all levels)
11.5%
Legal
9.5%
Housing & Shelter
9.1%
Financial Assistance
8.8%
Consumer
6.9%
Recreation & Leisure
6.7%
Addictions & Mental Health
5.7%
Environment
3.0%
Employment
2.8%
Volunteerism
2.8%
Food Assistance
2.7%
Transportation
2.7%
Education
1.9%
Home Support
1.2%
Immigration & Citizenship
0.3%
Violence & Abuse
0.3%
Unmet Needs Our information specialists document unmet needs at the time of the call through the Contact Tracking and Referral System. These needs tend to fall into a few defined categories – the service does not exist, the service exists but the caller is not eligible, the service in not available in a particular location, the service has a waiting list or no capacity at the moment and/or the service carries a fee beyond what the caller can/is prepared to pay. The following is a summary of the unmet needs noted during 2006: Local asthma support group
Free or low cost dental services
Parenting support group for children with
Medical doctor taking new patients
developmental disabilities but average IQ
Male abuse support group
Under 16 residential drug treatment
Dutch Community Group
centre
Financial help for prescription drugs
Visually impaired person seeking
Hearing aid clinic in Angus
assistance to participate in volunteer
Cantonese-English translator
work
Subsidy for bus fare to go to work
Local prostate cancer support group
Local dual diagnosis programs.
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211 South Georgian Bay 2006 Service Report Type of Service Provided Most often callers need only information about a specific service or organization the wish to contact. Sometimes callers are overwhelmed with one issue that has evolved into a multitude of problems, causing them to be incapable of moving forward without assistance. Occasionally callers want someone to talk to, to share their personal problems while remaining anonymous. Community Connection’s information specialists are specially trained to assist callers with a variety services: Help callers prioritize their needs and advocate on their behalf when appropriate If a caller’s well-being is at risk, they can be directly connected with crisis and distress services For callers who’s ability to connect with needed food or shelter services is in question, follow up is provided to ensure they were able to receive the required services Callers requiring police, fire or ambulance emergency services are told to hang up and dial 911.
Service description
Total
Information only
51%
Information and referral(s)
49%
Language Services Community Connection’s information specialists can provide service in all languages, through a three-way with an interpretation service. In 2006, a total of two requests for service in the French language were received.
Certification of 211 Staff 211 service providers ensure that all staff engaged in front-line operations have achieved, or have a plan in place to achieve, professional certification through InformCanada5 and the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems (AIRS)6 as either a Certified Information and Referral Specialist (telephone) or Certified Resource Specialist (database). Community Connection’s current certified staff: 2 Certified Resource Specialists 3 Certified Information and Referral Specialists
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InformCanada is a Canadian association of information and referral providers AIRS is a professional membership organization for information and referral providers in the United States 10
211 South Georgian Bay 2006 Service Report Service Quality Surveys for Individuals Information specialists conduct service quality surveys every three months. During the survey period, 211 calls are conducted in the normal way, and at the end of some calls, callers are asked to participate in a survey. If permission is granted, information specialists review a detailed set of questions with the caller, which may include their income source and other important demographic information. Information on the identity of callers is not collected and surveys are not conducted when it is inappropriate based on the emotional or physical condition of the caller.
Caller Satisfaction
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
First time callers
53%
55%
50%
46%
Previous callers
47%
45%
50%
54%
Politeness of the information specialists (average mark out of 10)
10.0
9.9
9.8
9.8
Callers who will call 211 again
100%
100%
100% 100%
Callers who would recommend 211 to others
100%
100%
100% 100%
Caller Outcomes
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Professionalism of the information specialists (average mark out of 10)
9.8
9.5
9
8.4
Listening skills of the information specialists (average mark out of 10)
9.9
9.8
9.5
9.4
Callers understood the options & referrals offered
100%
100%
100%
100%
Callers who followed up on the referrals provided
100%
87%
87%
88%
Callers who received help from the organizations they were referred to
77%
86%
100%
93%
Surveyed callers indicated the following reasons for NOT receiving the services they needed: Caller hasn’t had time to follow up yet Caller’s son is to call & make the appointment, but he doesn’t have a phone Caller is waiting to hear back from legal clinic for an appointment Caller only got answering machine Caller doesn’t qualify for referred service, called back for other options Caller was referred to Ontario Works but doesn’t want to go through the embarrassing process Caller was looking for pamphlets which the referral could not locate Caller is waiting for doctor’s report before proceeding Caller stated local hospital wasn’t able to do what she needed.
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211 South Georgian Bay 2006 Service Report
Source of Income from Caller Surveys Pension 17%
No income 4%
Part -time employment 8% OW/ ODSP 18%
Full time employment 52% EI 1%
Service Quality Surveys for Organizations At least once a year, a set of community organizations are randomly selected to participate in a survey to comment on the efficacy of the 211 service and the referrals made to them, their organizational priorities, work environment and information needs and gaps. The following chart indicates their relationship with 211.
The organizations noted their relationship with 211: Organization that refers to 211
83%
211 refers to our organization
83%
Individual who refers to 211
17%
Individual who uses 211
25%
Funder of 211
0%
Organization has service agreement with 211
8%
Other
0%
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211 South Georgian Bay 2006 Service Report Surveyed organizations were asked to what extent they agreed with the following statements: Strongly No Agree Disagree Agree Opinion 211 information specialists are helpful and responsive
62%
38%
-
-
211 information specialists are knowledgeable and well trained
46%
54%
-
-
211 provides information that current, accurate and relevant
46%
54%
-
-
211 services are valuable to our organization
62%
38%
-
-
211 services are offered at convenient hours
54%
38%
8%
-
211 services are offered promptly, without long delays
62%
38%
-
-
211 service appears to be operated efficiently
38%
54%
8%
-
211 cooperates with other agencies
54%
46%
-
-
How did surveyed organizations rate the relevance, appropriateness and quantity of referrals made to them by 211?
Category
Rating
Excellent
85%
Satisfactory
0%
Needs Improvement
0%
No Opinion
15%
Did surveyed organizations recommend Community Connection do anything different in terms of providing 211 services? No – 84.6%
Yes – 15.4%
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211 South Georgian Bay 2006 Service Report Suggestions on what to do differently fell into the following two categories: Make more people aware of the 211 service More effort is needed to ensure organizations keep 211 aware of changes to their services.
211 Outreach and Promotion During 2006, twenty separate visits by Community Connection to various community, social and government services were completed. Outreach spreads the word about 211 and provides staff an opportunity to gain new knowledge about specific communities or services. Community Connection staff and volunteers completed sixty-five separate presentations to various groups, committees and staff of community and government organizations.
2006 Call Examples - Selected Situation/Assessment: Caller was calling on behalf of a family member who is immigrating to Collingwood. She was looking for information about OHIP and also services to help find employment. Situation/Assessment: Caller was an elderly woman trying to locate a missing relative. The caller was very concerned that she was unable to reach this individual, as the telephone number had been disconnected. She was very upset and was not sure how to get in contact with this individual. Situation/Assessment: Caller was calling on behalf of a client who has cancer and is finding it difficult to keep up with his lawn care and yard work. Client was in need of no-fee or subsidized services. She had contacted other local services but they were not able to help. Situation/Assessment: The caller was calling on behalf of a client, a 12-year-old girl, who needed a residential youth psychiatric treatment centre, preferably near Simcoe County. Situation/Assessment: A young man called requesting help for his opiate addiction. He knows he has a problem and would like to get off of drugs. Situation/Assessment: Woman called with severe MS, which has her bedridden. She is living in her home, and is cared for by her husband. He is often out doing errands. She is feeling socially isolated and depressed, and indicated that she has been on medication for depression in the past but that it did nothing for her. She doesn’t know where to turn. Situation/Assessment: Caller wanted the number for the Court of Justice in Wasaga Beach, but had been unable to find it in the phone book. Situation/Assessment: Caller indicated that she had no hot water and that on checking the hot water heater found that there was a red light flashing but didn’t know what that meant and didn’t know who to call. Apparently her husband is in hospital and he usually takes care of these things. 14
211 South Georgian Bay 2006 Service Report Situation/Assessment: Caller was requesting information on where to go with regard to enforcement of child support payments. Situation/Assessment: Caller was flooded out in his illegal basement apartment and the landlord refuses to return his last month’s rent. He’s called every ad in the newspapers, but no one is willing to rent to him without first and last month’s rent. He, his wife and their two children will have nowhere to go in two weeks unless he can come up with the last month’s rent. Both he and his wife work and are trying desperately to make ends meet, but losing their last month’s rent to their current landlord and having to come up with another last month’s rent is simply stretching the budget too far. Situation/Assessment: A counsellor with a local service provider called regarding a 15-year-old girl being released from the regional mental health centre. The girl’s home is in Collingwood but for a variety of issues is unable to go home. Situation/Assessment: Caller’s medical doctor has passed away and he was concerned his medication for his heart problems has run out and he will be taking the last of his pain medication. He had called many places but no one could help find him a doctor. In addition to all of this he has no transportation. Situation/Assessment: Caller was inquiring on behalf of a friend who has been disabled all her life and will turn 65 this fall. She was concerned her friend’s ODSP would be cancelled once she turned 65. This caused her great concern because it appeared that she would lose about 1/3 of her income with the basic OAS benefits. Caller was trying to find out what other options might be available to assist her friend.
Additional Comments from 211 Callers “Excellent and efficient service. Very polite staff. Saves time and frustration in searching for information. I have always received accurate information.”…..Eileen - Wasaga Beach “Service is wonderful and very efficient. Very friendly staff.”…..Monica - Collingwood “This service number one, very good service. Very nice staff explained referrals very clearly.”…..Mrs. S. - Collingwood “As a senior, very grateful that 211 service is available. As we seniors are bewildered in this technological age.”…..Florence - Collingwood “First class service, prompt, pleasant and most informative”…..Pete – Location Unknown “Just a note to say thank you for your time and helpfulness in finding service groups in the Collingwood area. Every time I call we receive prompt and pertinent information in the area we are looking for. In fact, sometimes the suggestions you give to look at other groups have proved to be fruitful and make our programming a lot easier. As you know, recruiting volunteers can be difficult when the demands on their time are so great. You have helped to make that a lot easier and with your knowledge of the service groups and clubs in Collingwood it has greatly enhanced the quality what we may offer our seniors at the Day Centre.”…..Julie Mackay, Activation Programmer, VON – Collingwood Day Away Program 15