2008 Info Line Annual Report

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Annual

Report

Bringing people and services


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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 agencys 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 Countys 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 a

clearinghouse 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 & Referral

1979 LifeLine

1983 MedAssist

1986 After-Hours AnsweringServices

1990 Child Care Connection

1999 Project Connect

2003 2-1-1

2003 Homeless Management

Information Systems

2008 Community Voice Mail

About Info L


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Program2-1-1 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 Lines 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.


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MedAssist: In July, a forty-four year old Kenmoreresident contacted MedAssist for help with a criticalmedication. Three months earlier she had lost her joband health insurance; however before her insurance ranout, she wisely obtained a three month supply of hermedication. Although she was again employed full time,she was not eligible for insurance through her employeruntil December and could not affordto pay $1,800 each month for theinjectable anti-coagulant that sheneeded. With her doctors assistance,MedAssist enrolled her in themanufacturers patient assistanceprogram the same day she calledfor help. Through December 2008,she received nearly $11,000 worthof medication at no charge, keepingher health stable and allowing her tokeep working. MedAssist also referred the patient to a low cost health care program to use until she became eligiblefor insurance in December.

Lifeline: A 98 year old female with a medical history of high blood pressure and strokes had been a client of InfoLines Lifeline service since 2001. Info Line received a helpneeded signal from the client. Although we could not hearher clearly, we could tell she was in distress and immediately called a responder. Her neighbor found the client inside witha broken arm. Upon speaking with the responder, Info Linecalled Emergency Medical Service (EMS) and the client wastransported to the hospital.

Info Line also immediately contacted the clients daughterto let her know her mother was being transported, and shearrived at the hospital before her mother. The daughter sharedwith us that it was so comforting to her mother to see herfamily when she arrived at the hospital emergency roomand to know she was not alone. After this incident, the clientmoved into a nursing home, but Lifeline helped this womanremain independent in her own home until age 98.

Child Care Connection: A child care center in Summit County contacted Child Care Connection to receive assistance with thenew voluntary tiered quality rating system in the state of Ohio called Step Up to Quality. We spent 12 months working with theprogram, its director and staff to improve the quality of care provided and meet the benchmarks set by the Step Up to Quality program to become star rated. A team from Child Care Connection achieved the following in 2008 :

Nationally recognized environmental rating assessments in the infant, toddler, preschool and school age classroomsTechnical assistance and mentoring on best practices caring for children in each classroomSupport and mentoring for developing systems to successfully complete mandated licensing requirementsProfessional development training and support for staff and directors to meet the qualifications in the Step to Quality BenchmarksThe program was eligible to participate in the TEACH program which offers financial support for teachers to achieve their CDA(Child Development Associates Credential) and work toward their degree in early care and education.

As a result of the star rating the Child Care Connection program received Quality Achievement dollars that will help them continueto support the quality programming that is being provided to the children in their care.

Programs Making a Dif

Information & Referral: A 62 year old female calledInfo Line for help paying her water bill. She said that she justreceived her SSI check, but someone in her family got into herchecking account and her money was all gone. Social Security was in the process of investigating the account to reimburseher but it would take 60-90 days. Info Line referred thiscustomer to the Tallmadge Richardson Trust. They were ableto help this woman with $179.00 to pay off her water bill.


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Financia2008 Year-End

RevenueGovernment agencies ...........................................2,708,509Service income .............................................................519,128United Way ...................................................................415,170Foundations .................................................................139,986Other ..................... ....................... ...................... .............. 88,488TOTAL.................... ....................... ...................... ........ 3,871,281

ExpensesStaff resources ..........................................................2,067,282Operational expenses ...........................................1,027,255Direct assistance to clients ....................... ................488,593Depreciation .................................................................133,195TOTAL ...................... ...................... ....................... .... 3,716,325

AssestsCurrent AssetsCash and cash equivalents ......................................174,966

Accounts receivable .................... ...................... .........480,350Prepaid expenses and other assets ...................... ... 36,200TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS ..................... .................... 691,516

Non-Current AssetsFurniture and equipment, at cost...................... 2,073,927Less: Accumulated depreciation ..................... (1,656,966)TOTAL NET NON-CURRENT ASSESTS ..................416,961Other assets .................... ....................... ...................... ... 15,961TOTAL ASSETS .........................................................1,124,438

Liabilities and Net AssetsCurrent Liabilities

Accounts payable .................... ....................... .............. 83,528 Accrued expenses and payroll withholdings ...... 96,299Deferred revenue .................... ....................... .............. 70,734TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES ..................... .............250,561Long term liabilities .........................................................4,424

Net AssetsUnrestrictedOperating ......................................................................452,492Equipment ....................................................................416,961TOTAL NET ASSETS ....................................................869,453

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS ..........1,124,438

Karen Talbott,

Chairperson John Falvy,

Vice-Chairperson Tom Hastings, Treasur

Annette Ruby, S ecreta John Burkley

Robert MerzweilerDick Norton

Laura MusarraRobert Norman, M.D.

Jay Porter

Lois Stevens

Every year I receive 30 or more Annual Reports from organizationsin our community. Some havebeen beautifully crafted withprofessional photos, graphics, artwork and cleaver layouts. Others are more modestin design and presentation. All of them include thestandard basics: Mission Statement, description of theprograms offered, statistical accounts of the years most

noteworthy accomplishments, a financial statement,list of key organizational leaders, etc. But what ismost important about what an organization has donein any given year can never fully be communicatedthrough statistics, balance sheets, pie charts, pictures,or descriptions of services. It is in the actual stories of people whose lives have been changed as a result of our efforts that we begin to understand the true valueof our organization. This annual report includes therequisite statements, figures and lists. More importantly,it includes a few stories of people who are better off

because of what we do. These stories are what weare all about. More to the point, they are the whywe do what we do. They give hope to those in need,inspiration to our dedicated staff and volunteers, andreal return on investment to the community.

This report also offers readers information aboutsome rather useful resources that may help them withtheir own professional and/or personal challenges (seeResources).

After you have had a chance to read through this

report, let me know what you think about the work wedo here at Info Line, what other information you wouldlike to know about us, and what else Info Line could bedoing to help people in our community improve theirlives. My phone number is 330-762-5627. By the way,much more detailed information about our organizationis available online at www.infolineinc.org.

Thanks for your continued interest in Info Line.

Richard StahlPresident & Chief Executive Officer


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Other InformativeResourUS Census BureauInformation about social and economicconditions in the country, includingemployment, housing, manufacturing,trade, and many other topics.www.census.gov 1.800-923-8282

Ask the Nurse Support 24/7:www.callcarenet.net1.800.809.7000

Guide to Finding and Evaluating HealthInformationMedical Library Associationwww.mlanet.orgTel., 312.419.9094

Poison Control:http://www.aapcc.org/DNN/1-800-222-1222

EPA - Human health and the environmentinformationwww.epa.gov

Value of Volunteer TimeIndependent Sector Research Article:The estimated dollar value of volunteer time is$20.25 per hour for 2008http://www.independentsector.org/programs/research/volunteer_time.html

City of Akron Customer Service Centerprovide up-to-date information of City depart-ments and contact info, Calendar, Attraction, andNews Releases:www.ci.akron.oh.us3-1-1 or 330-375-2311

Bus schedulesMETRO RTAwww.akronmetro.org1-800-227-9905

Main Library: Akron-Summit County Public Library www.akronlibrary.org330-643-9000

Summit County Government information andservice site about property, development, services (i.e.

vendor and dog license), courts... and more.www.co.summit.oh.us1-800-582-2699

Ohio Government information and service site,find legislators, Ohios laws or codes, get certificates,register vote, file state taxes, and more.www.ohio.gov

Ohio Government Get direct access to searchableinformation from the United States government,state governments, and local governments. Get a USPassport, Replace Your Vital Documents, File taxes,SSN, Employer ID number. Includes Libraries US

GovernmentGraphics and Photos, US GovernmentForms, Money and Taxes and morewww.USA.gov 1-800-FED-INFO (1-800-333-4636)

Tim Hite, CRSInfo Line Resource [email protected] Phone: 330-315-1402

Info Line, Inc.703 South Main Street Suite #211 Akron, Ohio 44311

330.762.5627 (Administration) 330.253.1137 (Fax)

Web Site: www.infolineinc.org

Follow Info Line on Twitter: http://twitter.com/infolineinc