WASHINGTON — D.C.'s 211 warmline will get $9 million to expand services, thanks to a nationwide pilot program from the Doris Duke Foundation (DDF). Officials announced Monday that the District was chosen as one of four pilot sites for DDF's Opt-In For Families initiative.
The new initiative aims to transform the nation’s response to children at risk of abuse and neglect by helping jurisdictions build a prevention-oriented child well-being system that supports children and families within their communities. In all, the initiative will contribute $33 million to organizations in D.C., Kentucky, Oregon and South Carolina.
“The child welfare system’s narrow focus on removal is a system design flaw that fails communities, fails many good intentioned caseworkers, and, most of all, fails the children and families who need support and compassion to succeed,” said Sam Gill, Doris Duke Foundation President and CEO. “This effort is intended to demonstrate the potential gains from redesigning a system to ask a new question: what do children and families need to thrive?”
The pilot program will last three years. D.C.'s portion of the grant funding will go toward expanding the 211 warmline.
As crime rose in the District last year, advocates called for better access to social services to help prevent it. D.C. responded by launching the warmline — and people are dialing in.
A spokesperson for the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services said in the first month since its October soft launch, the warmline received 785 connected calls.
The warmline is a partnership between the Child and Family Services Agency and the Office of Unified Communication.
They said the top reasons for the calls were housing and shelter, utilities, food assistance, income support and benefits navigation.
“I’m so pleased that the District of Columbia has been chosen as one of four of the Doris Duke Foundation’s Opt-in for Families sites across the country,” said Robert Matthews, Director of the DC Child and Family Services Agency. “The three-year funding and on-the-ground expertise and staffing will enable us to expand our 211 warmline to connect more families to a variety of social services resources and trained community responders across the District.”
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