Problem | Project Goals | Background
Forum | Training | Appendix A | Appendix B
The mission of Information and Referral (I&R) organizations is to connect people needing human services with local organizations and individuals who provide them. Every day, thousands of updates are made to thousands of databases being built and maintained around the United States by community-based Information and Referral (I&R) organizations. Each month hundreds of new indexes and databases are created, each with its own unique organization. This creates a major impediment to establishing comprehensive directories of services within communities and across political boundaries, populations and geographic areas. Efforts to establish a standard language have been limited by the fragmented nature of the organization and distribution of services. Many individuals and agencies in each community provide I&R. They range from individual social workers, counselors, clergy and community leaders to major efforts like the United Way and Red Cross. The resulting proliferation of different indexing and referencing systems is creating a "Tower of Babel" making merging information and the compilation of databases increasingly difficult. The longer this situation remains, the greater the investment individual groups will make in their own unique systems and the more difficult and expensive the standardization process will be.
Taxonomy defined: The science of the laws and principles of classification.
The fact is that a standard taxonomy of human services has been created, but it is not well publicized and it is not in the public domain.
AIRS mission is to unite and serve the field of I&R and to advance the profession of I&R as a vital means of bringing people and services together. AIRS recognized in the first edition of the taxonomy, A TAXONOMY OF HUMAN SERVICES: A Conceptual Framework with Standardized Terminology and Definitions for the Field, a logical point of departure for a common language for human services, and encouraged INFO LINE to broaden its scope to meet the needs of the field. The AIRS Board of Directors endorsed the Taxonomy as a national standard and joined with INFO LINE in co-publishing the subsequent editions. It has been accepted as the standard by many other organizations (See Appendix A).
AIRS is uniquely positioned to assemble and coordinate groups of I&R professionals from many disciplines to maintain different segments of the taxonomy. Professional organizations actively involved in I&R would be targeted, as would educational institutions and for-profit organizations that might enter into collaborative efforts with local not-for-profits to assist in community or regional database development and maintenance. The support of all these organizations would be sought through membership in AIRS with the goal of providing long term support for the taxonomy's maintenance through modest dues.
We are seeking a benefactor's support for the promulgation of the Human Services Taxonomy for a three to five (3-5) year period. During that time, AIRS will engage in a sustained effort to build awareness and use of the HST. The funding commitment would be split between (1) taxonomy maintenance and (2) education, training and support. It is expected that the first year more resources would be devoted to taxonomy maintenance; thereafter, more toward education. training and support. The training effort would support a variety of training initiatives reaching into the educational, public and private sector. This proposal seeks the seed money to provide the "bridge funding" needed to quickly get commitment from INFO LINE to place the Human Services Taxonomy in the public domain under the stewardship of AIRS.
Any technical support the grantor organization might be willing and able to provide AIRS or others working on this project would be greatly appreciated. Additional funds would be needed to develop the training tools and easy interface for the taxonomy, if assistance in developing an interactive training program could not be provided by the grantor.
The first step is a Taxonomy Forum, bringing together those who have brought the taxonomy this far with those seeking to make it more widely used. Our goal is to convene the Taxonomy Forum in St. Louis, MO on October 17-18,1996, immediately following the Missouri Governor's Conference on Aging, when a large number of I&R people from around the state and Midwest will be in town to participate in the Forum.
The "key taxonomy panelists" (See Appendix B.) previously involved in the HST's development, who would be invited, all have agreed to attend such a forum on a pro-bono basis--contributing their time, if their incidental costs including transportation, meals and lodging are covered. Most of the participants are in the Midwest and it is estimated that about $15-20,000 would be needed to fund the Taxonomy Forum in St. Louis, depending on the number of participants. One of the universities in St. Louis may serve as the venue, reducing costs further.
The agenda will include a review of existing trends and technology, defining the framework for the support system involving the key taxonomy panelists for the taxonomy that is a condition of placing it in the public sector, and a model training session utilizing a large sample of professionals from the Aging Conference and local educational organizations. The training session would be used to refine a training module; it would introduce I&R people currently unfamiliar with the HST to it, explain its basis and use and how it can be adapted and elicit feedback.
The key to the widespread acceptance of the HST as the standard classification system is access, education, and training. The access would be provided by placing the taxonomy in the public domain. The education and training would be accomplished through a series of stages:
Once the HST is in the public domain, efforts would be made to encourage all major Internet search engines to introduce it encourage organizations to utilize it in describing their services for their communities. This would reinforce the HST, and provide consistency. AIRS will also seek the support of specific educational institutions in maintaining sites with information on the taxonomy, its use, and providing assistance to community organizations seeking to customize it to their local needs, using the HST elements cross-indexed to the entire taxonomy.
AIRS would coordinate the maintenance of the taxonomy, working with all professional organizations, communities, educational institutions and government entities to embrace and include taxonomy elements that logically support existing efforts and future developments.
From the present where each I&R person is only as good as his or her own "Rolodex and personal network", we can build systems where more people can become involved. The standardized Human Services Taxonomy will make it easier to find community resources, encouraging self-help and help by family, friends, and religious organizations. As budget cuts diminish federal resources, communities will need to better coordinate, mobilize, and utilize the resources they have. The "Information Superhighway" can facilitate the building of community resource networks, but it requires a standardized Human Services Taxonomy to act as the highway signs and signals, guiding people to the services they need.
The Taxonomy has been recognized as the standard by a number of organizations, many with broad constituent bases. Included are:
AIRS
United Way of America
National Association of State Units on Aging
Public Library Association
Library of Congress
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Council of Chief State School Officers
Institute for Nonprofit Organization Management
California Alliance of Information and Referral Services
New York State Alliance of Information and Services
University of San Francisco
Florida Alliance of Information and Referral Services
Florida Department of Elder Affair
Key Taxonomy Participants
Alliance Of Information and Referral Systems, Inc.
P.O. Box 31668
Seattle, WA 98103
(206) 632-2477
fax: (206) 632-0855
e-mail: pkaairs@aol.com
RICHARD STAHL, Executive Director
INFO LINE of Los Angeles
3035 Tyler Ave.
El Monte, CA 91731
818 350-1841 ext. 2120
FAX: 818 442-6940
E-Mail: richard@access-la.com
GEORGIA SALES, Director
Resource Systems Division
INFO LINE of Los Angeles
3035 Tyler Ave.
El Monte, CA 91731
818 350-1841 ext. 2120
FAX: 818 442-6940
E-Mail: gsales4215@aol.com
LINDA S. DAILY
F.I.R.S.T., Inc.
470 Mamoroneck Ave.
White Plains, NY 10605
914 948-7981
FAX: 914 948-1194
E-Mail: lsdaily@aol.com
LESS BOUCHER, Operations Manager
Illinois Occupational Information Coordinating Committee
217 East Monroe, Suite 62706
(217)785-0789
FAX: 217-524-5498
MARGARET GILLIS BRUNI
Detroit Public Library TIP Program
5201 Woodward
Detroit MI 48202
(313)833-0249
FAX:313-831-8026
WENDY DEUTELBAUM
Broadbase, Inc.
431 Brown Street
Iowa City, IA
(319) 338-2203
FAX: 319-338-2289
E-mail: wdeutelb@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu
JEFF FINN, Executive Director
SPRY Foundation
2000 K Street, NW #845
Washington, DC 20006
(202)223-7779
FAX:202-223-7246
E-mail: 71154.750@compuserve.com
LISA LOGAN
Illinois Occupational Information Coordinating Committee
217 East Monroe, Suite 203
Springfield, IL 62706
(217)785-0789
FAX:217-524-5498
DAVID GREENE
North Light Software
10733 South Wood
Chicago, IL 60643
(312) 238-4646
FAX: 800-492-5950
E-mail:djgreene@ix.netcom.com
LARRY KRAFT, Facilitator
Grace Cottage Foundation
P.O.Box 232
Townshend, VT 05353
(802)365-9701
FAX: 802-365-7543
LINDA NEUHAUSER, Executive Director
The Wellness Guide Project
UC Berkeley, School of Public Health
Berkely, CA 94720
(510)643-9543
FAX: 510-643-2857
GEORGE NEEDHAM, Executive Director
Public Library Association
50 E. Huron St.
Chicago, IL 60611
(800)545-2433 X 5025
FAX: 312-280-5029
THOMAS W. POOLE, President and CEO
SeniorCom
600 University Street, Suite 3025
Seattle, WA 98101
(800)206-6989
FAX: 206-464-1616
E-mail: tpoole@senior.com
Rick Troupin
President
RST Consulting, Inc.
1325 Whispering Ridge Lane
St. Peters, MO 63376
(314)517-3700
E-mail:rick@rstc.com