HELP Act of 2026

(a) In general. The administering agency shall make grants to qualified 211 service entities in a State to expand the availability and accessibility of 211 services in the State.

(b) Use of funds. The administering agency shall, as a condition on the receipt of funding under this Act, ensure that any qualified 211 service entity selected by the administering agency to receive a grant using such funds, only use such grant for—

(1) the provision of 211 services via voice, short message service, or other messaging, internet, or other communication methods, including—

(A) the operation and maintenance of 211 contact centers;

(B) increasing public awareness of 211 services in the State in collaboration with 911 and 988 services and other entities providing similar services;

(C) coordination of the State’s 211 services, including the collection, accessibility, and display of information through information and referral databases;

(D) the conduct of statewide and regional planning for the provision of 211 services; and

(E) any activities necessary to ensure that 211 services are directly accessible, consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d), and part 1194 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulations);

(2) the start-up costs of extending 211 services to unserved areas, including costs of software and hardware upgrades and telecommunications and internet costs;

(3) administrative costs, such as staffing, training, and activities related to accreditation;

(4) infrastructure costs, including internet hosting and site development and maintenance for an information and referral database and the development and maintenance of cloud-based data and messaging capacity;

(5) the evaluation of 211 service provider activities and capacity;

(6) increasing coordination and collaboration—

(A) among 211 services within the State;

(B) with local 911 and 988 service providers; and

(C) with shared data platforms, including with respect to the integration or sharing of resource and service-level data;

(7) the preparation and submission of reports under State reporting requirements and to the administering agency for purposes of section 3(b)(4);

(8) innovations that support service delivery; and

(9) carrying out such other activities determined to be appropriate by the administering agency.

(c) Selection

(1) In general

(A) State 211 networks. Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the administering agency shall award the State allocation determined under section 3(b)(1) to the eligible State 211 network in each State.

(B) Exception. If the administering agency determines there is no eligible State 211 network in a State, the administering agency shall award grants from the State allotment determined under section 3(b)(1) directly to all eligible 211 service providers in such State.

(2) Considerations. In awarding grants to all eligible 211 service providers in a State under paragraph (1)(B), the administering agency shall consider—

(A) the ability of the 211 service provider seeking the grant to carry out activities in furtherance of the provision of 211 services;

(B) the extent to which the award of the grant will facilitate equitable geographic distribution of grants to ensure that rural communities have access to 211 services; and

(C) the extent to which the award of the grant will further the goals of—

(i) making available 211 services to all individuals in a State via voice, short message service, or other messaging, internet, or other communication methods; and

(ii) increasing the provision of community information and referral with respect to health and human services, among individuals, families, agencies seeking such services and the providers of such services.

(3) Conditions. The administering agency shall ensure that each qualified 211 service entity submits an application and agrees, as a condition on the receipt of funds under this section—

(A) in making 211 services available, to the maximum extent practicable, to—

(i) abide by the most recently issued version of the Inform USA Standards and Quality Indicators for Professional Information and Referral or a comparable set of standards;

(ii) collaborate with public and private organizations that provide health and human services and existing national, regional, and local information and referral systems to provide an exhaustive and comprehensive database of services that is maintained and updated on a consistent basis from which to provide information or referrals to individuals using 211 services; and

(iii) ensure State-level coordination across all 211 service providers in such State; and

(B) to provide matching funds, in the form of cash or in-kind contributions, from non-Federal sources in an amount equal to not less than 25 percent of the amount of funds received by the entity under this section.

(d) Administrative costs for certain states. In the case of a State described in subsection (c)(1)(B), the administering agency may use, of the amount of the allocation determined for such State under section 2(c), an amount determined by the administering agency necessary to cover additional administrative expenses incurred by the administering agency resulting from the lack of an eligible State 211 network in such State.