Helplines or “warmlines” offer a proactive pathway for families and community members to access critical support. Although helplines are widely available (2-1-1 systems alone are available to 95% of the U.S. population), they currently are not structured to be tools for mandated reporters and the general public to connect families to family strengthening resources.
As part of San Diego’s Family Strengthening and Prevention Initiative, CPS calls that are evaluated out but may include risk for neglect are referred to 211sandiego.org, a resource and referral hub with over 6,000 resources. 2‑1‑1 staff (“navigation specialists”) then provide broad outreach and support to these families with the goal of averting another hotline call, including follow-up to ensure families get connected to services. The Community Information Exchange facilitates the integration of data from multiple partners (using shared language/assessments and a social determinants of health framework) to aid in individual case planning and outcome evaluation.