United Way of Greater Kansas City 211 Database Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria

United Way of Greater Kansas City 211 follows the standard practices established by our accrediting body, Inform USA, for inclusion/exclusion criteria. Criteria determine the organizations that will be included in or excluded from the resource database of United Way 2‐1‐1.

Requirements for Inclusion: 1) The agency/service provider must provide a human service to the public that can be referred to by 2‐1‐1; definition below

The activities of human services professionals which help people become more self‐sufficient, sustain independence, strengthen family relationships, support personal and social development and ensure the well‐being of individuals, families, groups and communities. Specific human services include ensuring that people have access to adequate food, shelter, clothing and transportation; financial resources to meet their needs; consumer education and decision support, criminal justice or legal services; education and employment; health and mental health care including substance abuse services; and environmental protection; both routinely and in times of disaster or other emergencies. Human services also facilitate the capabilities of people to care for children or other dependents; ensure that protective services are available to those who are vulnerable; provide for the support of older adults and individuals with disabilities; offer social, faith‐based and leisure‐time activities; provide for the cultural enrichment of the community; and ensure that people have the information they need to fully participate in community life.

NOTE: From the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems (AIRS), as adapted from the definition of “social work” in the Dictionary of Social Work published by the National Association of Social Work.

2) The agency/service provider must serve the residents of the United Way 2‐1‐1 23 county coverage region
3) The agency/service provider may be either government or non‐profit 501‐(C) 3. For‐profit organizations and unincorporated groups meeting critical human service needs which are not covered by a governmental or nonprofit organization may also be included following review and determination that services are vital for inclusion.
4) Services consistently and systemically tracked by another organization that gives referrals to the public may be included or excluded at the option of United Way 2‐1‐1 (i.e. mental health practitioners in areas with a comprehensive mental health referral service)
5) The agency/service provider must have been in existence more than 6 months in order to indicate a degree of permanence, unless either of the following is the case: is an affiliate of an established service provider with multiple locations; or is the result of a community or coalition planning process

Inclusion Examples:
• Other agencies providing information and referral; including specialized I&R’s
• Essential service agencies (food, shelter, clothing) such as congregate meal sites, food pantries, soup kitchens, community food banks, clothing closets, etc.
• Government agencies (local, state, federal)
• Individual advocacy organizations related to health and human service issues (Centers for Independent Living, Area Agencies on Aging)
• Self‐help support groups (local, state, regional, national) • Licensed for‐profit and non‐for‐profit hospitals
• Nonprofit adult day services
• Nonprofit home health and hospice providers (For profit home health providers may be included if they offer a service or cover an area not covered by nonprofits) • Hotlines and other general and specialized information and referral services administered by nonprofit organizations
• Consumer protection resources and basic business assistance services that are government designated/contracted or nonprofit
• Educational resources, including schools for special needs
• National organizations serving residents in the United Way 2‐1‐1 coverage region
• Organizations, such as faith‐based and civic groups, that offer a service for the community at large which is not restricted to their members
• Social or fraternal organizations that perform a community service
• Local, state and federal emergency management agencies
• Jurisdictional health departments, clinics and community services
• For‐profit organizations offering a needed social service that is not easily accessible in the public‐non‐profit sector (such as paternity testing)
• Websites or online only organizations that meet other inclusion criteria and have staff accessible for updating
• Others as determined appropriate after review

Exclusion Examples:
• Organizations which discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, age, gender or gender identity, religion or sexual orientation
• Organizations engaged in illegal or fraudulent activities
• Agencies which misrepresent their services in any way, including non‐delivery of listed services
• Individual practitioners
• Organizations and/or professionals which are not licensed, if service is in an area where licensing standards exist
• Political advocacy groups such as pro‐choice and pro‐life, pro‐gun control and anti‐gun control groups
• Faith‐based community programs that provide services only to their own members
• Faith‐based organizations that don’t offer a social service, and the worship services of included faith organizations
• National organizations with local chapters that directly administer services. The local chapter can be listed, and their affiliation may be noted in their description. However, if the national organization also delivers services to the public, it will also be listed.
• Organizations that exist solely to serve the clients of another service provider. For example, if a counseling service only serves clients of MO FSD under a contract, the counseling service will not be included.
• For‐profit organizations that offer and charge for hotlines, other general and specialized information and referral, group therapy, support groups, etc.
• Trade associations
• For‐profit home care businesses that do not offer home health services such as nursing or home health aides
• Long term and continuing care facilities
• Professional associations
• Chambers of Commerce
• Programs that have continually changing hours or locations and do not have a public point of contact
• Insurance providers
• For‐profit transportation providers
• Head Starts
• Public school districts unless they have programming for the public outside of schooling
• Medical research studies, regardless of the provider
• Others as determined after review

Disclaimer:
• Special conditions may apply for agencies and or programs that serve vulnerable populations, programs will be reviewed for inclusion.
• Inclusion of a program/service does not in any way represent or imply a determination or approval of the quality of those services; nor does it imply endorsement by United Way 2‐1‐1.
• Exclusion does not reflect on any organization’s contribution to the community.
• United Way 2‐1‐1 may reserve the right to review an organization/program/service for inclusion or exclusion based on additional criteria such as: Board of Directors oversight, number of hours the telephone number is answered, whether there is at least one paid employee, number of referrals by 211 Contact Center, number of requests for certain services from our 211 callers, etc.)
• ***Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria will be reviewed at least once every year to ensure that the resource database is addressing the changing needs of the community.

 Disaster-Specific Inclusion/Exclusion:
During a disaster, 211 management reserves the right to set Inclusion/Exclusion criteria based on community needs and scope of the disaster. This might include for-profits that do not meet above criteria for the duration of the response and recovery.
• 211 will consider for inclusion services, donation needs and volunteer opportunities identified and verified by Missouri and Kansas Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (VOAD).
• Agencies' resources must meet the need of 5% or greater of the mass population affected by the disaster.
• Offerings of services from individuals will not be included.
• 211 reserves the right to exclude any service that cannot be verified.

 

Last Reviewed 12-19-2023