What's Happening

211 Coordinator Certified

Fitzgerald First in Racine with AIRS Certification

RACINE Barbara Fitzgerald, Program Coordinator of Racine’s 2-1-1 service, became the first person in Racine County to be certified as an Information and Referral Specialist by the Alliance for Information and Referral Systems. The news of the Certification came on the very same day that Fitzgerald dispatched nearly 1,700 pages of documentation required for the 211 Racine program to become accredited.

Fitzgerald’s certification required that she meet specific educational and employment criteria, as well as to pass a national examination.

The simultaneous receipt of the certification and dispatch of the accreditation documents marked the end of weeks of very hard work and high anxiety for Fitzgerald. She had the test results delivered to her home address just in case the news was not good.

But on Thursday, September 27, she arrived at SAFE Haven relieved to have both received the certification and to send out the accreditation materials. SAFE Haven is extremely proud of Barb’s landmark achievement.

211 Seeks Accreditation

1,700 Page Document Delivered

RACINE The largest document ever assembled by SAFE Haven was flown to Oregon last week as one of the final steps in the AIRS accreditation process. The two boxes contained six three-ring binders weighing a total of 48 pounds.

With submission of the massive documentation, 211 Racine is now entering the final phases of accreditation by the Alliance for Information and Referral Services (AIRS).

Barbara Fitzgerald, 211 Racine Program Coordinator, took the lead in the incredibly complex and time-consuming process. She was primarily assisted by Katy Hansen, 211 Racine Resource Specialist. However, the work of all the administrative staff and support of the program personnel was required to produce the documentation.

The next step in the accreditation process is a Site Visit. Some professionals in the field have commented that AIRS is about 18 months behind in its visits. If that is true, it could be possible that 211 Racine would not be scheduled for a visit until 2007.

Congratulations are due to Barb and Katy for the incredible amount of work that they have put into the program—which continues to set new records for inquirer contacts on nearly a monthly basis. We all wish them the best of luck on the next steps with 211 Racine.