AnnualReport

Bringing people and services together

Info Line, Inc. (Info Line) was incorporated as a private nonprofitcorporation by the State of Ohio on June 4, 1975 and is governed by the Board of Trustees (2008 Board of Trustees featured on Financialpage). The Board of Trustees regularly meets five times per year.The initial service provided by the agency was Information andReferral. The agency’s mission was to link people in need of serviceswith the most appropriate providers of those services. Informationand Referral service is free of charge to the local callers. This programhas grown to become Summit County’s 24-hour Information andReferral service answering 70,000 incoming calls annually through its10-digit telephone number and an easy-access three digit 2-1-1 dialingsystem. Info Line has been accredited by the Alliance of Informationand Referral systems (AIRS) and 19 staff members are CertifiedInformation and Referral Specialists. Info Line maintains a computerizedresource directory of over 1,100 agencies and services for the SummitCounty area.In addition, Info Line serves as the Clearinghouse for Emergency Food in our county. Info Line refers over 15,000 families to over 60pantries for a 3-day emergency supply of food. Through a grant fromthe Community Technology Fund of Ohio, Info Line has developed aclearinghouse database for client tracking and is bringing computersinto the food pantries so that they can access this information andprovide services to clients in need more efficiently.The target population for Information and Referral are all individualsand families living in Summit County who need access to community resources and services. While we serve anyone needing information,the vast majority are seeking services that would be described as basiclife necessities such as food, housing, clothing and medical care.Throughout its 33 year history, Info Line has been sensitive to theneeds of the community and through strategic planning with theBoard and community leaders, has continued to develop additionalprogramming in line with the current mission statement of improvingthe quality of life of all people who live and work in Summit County by enhancing their access to and use of the human service delivery systemin our community. Additionally, the organization assists in community planning by identifying gaps, overlaps and duplication in services.Info Line has continued to meet this mission by utilizing advancedcomputer and telecommunications technology. Current programswere developed (see timeline) and continue to be beneficial programsdesigned to meet the needs of Summit County residents and agencies.

Time Line of Current Programs:

1975 Information & Referral1979 LifeLine1983 MedAssist1986 After-Hours AnsweringServices1990 Child Care Connection1999 Project Connect2003 2-1-12003 Homeless ManagementInformation Systems2008 Community Voice Mail

About Info Line

Programs

2-1-1 Information and Referral & Senior I&R: 2-1-1:

In 20082-1-1 Information and Referral and Senior I&R: 2-1-1 responded to 70,000requests from individuals and families and connected them to resourcesthroughout the community.

Child Care Connection:

Child Care Connection has been actively expanding its outreach efforts to educate the community about theservices that are provided to families, child care providers and thecommunity. Child Care Connection also continues to expand thequality improvement services provided to the early care and educationcommunity through programs that include: Step Up to Quality, FirstSteps Infant Toddler Program, and the After school Initiatives, Quality Enhancement.

Lifeline:

Lifeline provides quick access to help, 24 hours a day. Lifeline isan easy to use medical alert service designed to reduce the risk of livingalone. In the event of a fall or emergency, help is available at the push of abutton. Info Line serves over 1500 clients through the Lifeline program.

MedAssist:

Emergency and on-going prescription expense assistance foruninsured Summit County residents. MedAssist exceeded all of its goals for2008 and leveraged over $4 in pharmaceuticals for each $1 contributedby United Way. The total market value of medications secured for SummitCounty residents in 2008 as a result of the program was $1,114,083.

Project Connect:

A support program for nonprofit organizations toupgrade their technology capabilities and utilize their resources moreeffectively.

Homeless Services Team:

The Homeless Services Team is made up of two programs, Homeless Management Information (HMIS) of SummitCounty and Community Voice Mail Summit (CVMS).

HMIS:

Community collaborative which tracks services provided tohomeless and low income clients throughout Summit County todetermine efficient allocations of resources and effective coordinationof services. There are 14 agencies with 41 programs currently enteringdata into HMIS.

Community Projects HMIS participate in:

Akron/Summit County Continuum of Care for the Homeless:

Info Line’s Vice President of Services serves as the chairperson of thiscommunity collaborative of agencies that work together to shapepolicy and procedure for addressing homeless issues in the SummitCounty region.

Point-In-Time Count

is an annual one-day count of sheltered andunsheltered homeless persons in the Summit County community. ThePIT Count held on January 29, 2008, resulted in the best outreacheffort to date with over 733 people being counted.

Project Homeless Connect:

This “all day” services fair for thehomeless population in our community is held in the spring every year. In 2008 Project Homeless Connect served over 500 people in aneffort to connect guests with housing, health care services, jobs, food,hair cuts and more.

Community Voice Mail Summit:

CVMS partners with social serviceagencies in the community to provide free voice mail to phonelessclients in order to give them a constant point of contact as they transition out of crisis. CVMS have partnered with 10 agencies with14 programs in the first six months of operations.