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INTERAGENCY COORDINATION
KEY TO SUCCESS OF 800 NUMBER

More than 5000 calls were received on the national 800 number during its first project year. However, that doesn't tell the whole story. What really counted was the type of assistance provided to callers through the coordination of ESCORT, contact sites around the country, and migrant-related service providers.

Interagency coordination included the following:

• several agreements were fulfilled between Migrant Education and Migrant Health, including joint production and dissemination of MH/MEP pocket directories and keychains displaying the MH "Call for Health" 800 number and the National MEP hotline number.
• ESCORT, the Florida Migrant Interstate Program (FMIP), and the Adult Farmworker Program worked together to establish a funded position in the FMIP office in Immokalee, Florida for a trilingual referral specialist to handle adult and JTPA-related calls.
• Other JTPA/402 programs around the country helped 800 number callers receive job training assistance or emergency financial aid.

Community Action Agencies supported the Hotline by assisting with referrals for housing and energy-related needs. We also obtained a national directory of community action agencies which helped us with referrals.

• Departments of Social Services (D.S.S.) were helpful at times in meeting emergency and basic needs for migrants who had documentation.
• we discovered several food pantries around the country to refer migrant families in need of emergency food.
• we also located an organization entitled New Eyes for the Needy which provides vouchers for eyeglasses for the poor. For a copy of their guidelines and application, contact us or New Eyes for the Needy, 549 Millburn Avenue, Short Hills, NJ 07078.

In March of this year, The 800 Number Hotline welcomed Bert Suarez as a new member to the staff. He joins the rest of the staff : Bob Levy, Phil Kellerman, Bob Thomas, Jocie Brown and Sharon Hickey.

Remember to send or fax us your order forms for our free 800 number materials to distribute to migrant families. You may also call us at 1(800)451-8058 to place your orders.

We want to thank those migrant personnel at contact sites who went beyond the normal call of duty to assist 800 number callers.

If anyone out there has come in contact with a situation that seems worth sharing with the rest of the migrant working world, please share it with us so we can put it in our newsletter.  Feel free to phone us at 1(800)451-8058 or  email Bert Suarez with the details.

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