REFERRAL NETWORK OFFERS ACCESS TO SOCIAL SERVICES

Efforts are moving forward to create a one-stop referral network for people trying to access social service agencies and fill special needs in Cape Girardeau County.

United Way director Nancy Jernigan said an executive committee has been formed to devise an information and referral network in the county. The committee has developed a scale budget and is actively seeking public and private sponsorship for the network.

"We just decided it's time we work in a smaller group and devise a smaller, separate entity for leadership," Jernigan said. "We're at a point that we're ironing out details and looking for funding. We want it to be a public-private partnership."

Start-up expenses for the network have been estimated at about $10,000 for software, hardware, data entry services and marketing. An additional estimated amount of $59,500 would be needed annually for operating expenses.

Jernigan said if the committee is successful, the network could be up and running before the end of the year. Funding is a big issue, she said; the committee is looking at federal, state and local governments as possible funding sources, as well as local corporate sponsorship.

She said the City of Jackson was unable to include the network in its budget this fiscal year but encouraged the committee to resubmit its request next year. Cape Girardeau government officials are just beginning their budget process, she said.

Some 600 similar networks have been formed in the United States since 1980, said Jernigan. All of the communities surveyed by the committee said their network was a benefit and was used to the greatest extent.

Cindy Mustard leads one such network, the Voluntary Action Center in Columbia. It was organized in 1969.

Mustard, who serves as the center's director, said the network provided services for 22,207 households in Boone County last year. The agency has three agendas, Mustard said. It's primary goal is to act as the hub for social service agencies by providing initial interviews and screening for clients wanting to access services and then routing them to the proper agencies. The network also serves as a centralized volunteer center for agencies and organizations looking for volunteers. The third goal of the group is to meet any needs not met elsewhere in the community.

"Our motto is we're the agency of first resort, the agency of last resort," said Mustard. "We receive administrative funding from the United Way and the City of Columbia, but private organizations like churches give us money to meet unmet needs. That might mean vouchers for prescriptions if the person's not covered by Medicare or Medicaid, a uniform if they can't afford to buy it, or even duct tape if they've got a bad pipe and they can't afford to fix it."

Mustard and Jernigan said the need for information and referral networks likely will grow in coming years as the effects of welfare reform trickle down to the community level. Funding from state and federal governments probably will be readily available for existing networks at that time, they said.

"As we have developed and as we are working with welfare reform, we feel we'll be taking an even more active role in helping people access social services in the future," Mustard said.