United Way of Connecticut

United Way of Connecticut 211 is the state's 24-hour information and referral service that provides free health and human services and community referrals, including mental health crisis intervention and the national suicide prevention line (988), to anyone in Connecticut. Residents simply dial 2-1-1 or log into 211ct.org to get connected. 211 operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with multilingual contact specialists and tdd access available. In fy23, 211 responded to more than 1.7 million inquiries for assistance from ct residents over the phone and online. 211 maintains a computerized database of 3,843 health and human service agencies offering more than 40,000 services and more than 4,000 licensed childcare facilities. 211ct has responded with excellence to the growing needs of Connecticut's residents. In 2022, 211ct secured the airs stamp of approval again, winning an award as one of the top three re-accreditation performers. 211ct was part of the nationwide roll-out of 988, the new mental health crisis line, in july 2022. In response, 211ct expanded our crisis team by more than 60%. Our 988 service is consistently among the top three performers in the nation. We were honored to receive the american association of suicidology 2022 crisis center of excellence award for the nation.

211 childcare serves as Connecticut's childcare resource and referral system. We assist parents and childcare providers in locating appropriate resources and referrals, educate parents/providers about quality indicators of early childhood programs, maintain a database of 5,000 licensed and license-exempt programs in Connecticut, deliver provider orientation training and materials for in-home providers, and provide information to help unlicensed providers become licensed. In addition, 211 childcare offers training programs, technical assistance and professional development opportunities to early care and education providers, as well as digital fingerprint collection services.

Care4kids is Connecticut's child care subsidy program that helps low- to moderate-income working families pay for child care. Uwct's scope of responsibility includes call center, intake, eligibility, invoice processing, mailroom, grievance and mediation and program outreach. 26,691 children enrolled in care4kids received 216,915 calls and processed 62,000 invoices

United Way of Connecticut is the state association for Connecticut's 14 local United ways and leads the network's collective efforts to improve the lives of residents struggling to make ends meet. Connecticut United ways partner with United for alice on a data-driven, comprehensive research project that provides a look at financial hardship for households across Connecticut that are alice, an acronym for asset limited, income constrained, employed. The goal is to raise awareness about the 39% of working Connecticut residents who are not able to afford basic needs and to advocate for policies that build a bridge to stability for Connecticut families, our essential workforce.