2-1-1 saluted for important role that it plays

It’s always nice to find someone to talk with if you’ve reached a point in your life when you’re going through a tough time. Maybe you just got evicted from your apartment and are suddenly out on the streets with no idea of where to stay. Or you received that latest gas bill and know you won’t be able to pay it, right in the middle of a winter with bitter-cold temperatures.

In times like these, if you don’t have a friend or relative you can call to get good advice, it’s comforting to know that dialing 2-1-1 could help put you in touch with organizations or services to help solve your problems.

With that reminder, it’s worth noting that Feb. 11 marked National 2-1-1 Day, in recognition of the free, 24/7, user-friendly phone and online system serving 94.6 percent of the American population.

First launched nationally in 1997 by United Way of Atlanta, and locally in 2004 by United Way of Lake County, in partnership with the late Congressman Steven C. LaTourette, 2-1-1 worldwide connects some 12 million people a year to critical resources, information and services.

In the United States, over 12.8 million callers turned to 2-1-1 for help in 2018 via phone calls and web queries from people seeking resources.

According to the service, people call or search 2-1-1 looking for resources to meet basic needs, like heating or utility assistance, shelter, emergency help, or to find the closest food bank.

People also called for everyday important non-emergency needs, such as developmental screening for a child, home health care for a relative, job training or free tax filing support.

Locally, Lake County’s 2-1-1 information and referral hotline, housed at Lifeline Inc., handled 34,232 requests in 2020. Those included 22,490 phone calls and 11,742 queries made through the 2-1-1 online resource database.

The top needs demonstrated in 2020 included food assistance, representing 39.3 percent of requests, followed by housing/emergency shelter with 18.1 percent, and utilities assistance at 13.9 percent.

“2-1-1 is an essential tool for helping people take better care of their families, and for making more efficient use of a community’s nonprofit and public resources,” said Carrie Dotson, executive director of Lifeline and secretary of the Ohio Alliance of Information and Referral Systems Board.

“Over the years, we have seen the call volume demonstrate that Lake County residents are really utilizing this tool to connect to resources for help with the most basic needs,” she added. “We’ve also seen how 2-1-1 can really impact our community’s ability to respond in times of disaster, like our current novel coronavirus pandemic or the 2013 floods.”

When a resident dials 2-11, at no cost, the call is routed to a trained information and referral specialist, who helps identify that individual’s needs. The specialist then refers the person to the relevant human services or to health or education resources from a comprehensive database.

For example, in the case of a worker who has recently been laid off or whose hours have been reduced, the 2-1-1 specialist might share information about unemployment benefits, job search options, food stamps, food pantries, mortgage or rent help, utility assistance, counseling and other available resources.

Lifeline emphasized there is no federal funding for 2-11, though legislation has recently been introduced for the first time.

In 2020, in response to COVID-19, 2-1-1s in Ohio received their first state funding through the Ohio Department of Health. However, all 13 of Ohio’s 2-1-1s are nearly completely locally funded.

Currently, Lake County’s 2-1-1 is funded by a mix of sources led by the Lake County ADAMHS Board, but also supported by the Lake County Department of Job and Family Services, the city of Mentor, and the Lake County commissioners through Community Development Block Grant funding, in addition to senior levy dollars, Dotson said.

Although National 2-1-1 Day for 2021 has come and gone, it’s comforting to know that the 2-1-1 is available every day, around the clock, to help people in need when they have question about, or difficulties with, fulfilling basic but important needs.

Fraud and identity theft always seem to be a risk in our current automated and digital world.

The types and methods of fraud continue to evolve as the fraudsters find new ways to steal the identity and funds from hardworking, honest taxpayers.

The current area that appears to be under attack in part as a result of the pandemic is that of unemployment compensation. In Ohio we not only are dealing with the pandemic from the coronavirus, but we are also dealing with an epidemic of fraudulent unemployment claims.

A year ago, unemployment rates were at near record lows as the economy was strong and jobs were to be had. This all changed quite dramatically and quickly as a result of the pandemic. From shutdowns to a complete change of the way we do a lot of our everyday living, many sectors of the economy were significantly impacted and are still feeling the effects. From restaurants, to travel, to shopping in general, much has changed in the economy in the past year.

The unprecedented rapid increase in unemployment applications has strained the system, which provided the opportunity for a significant increase in fraudulent unemployment applications. The State of Ohio has recently become aware of this and has implemented an unemployment fraud reporting portal for employers and employees alike on their website. If you go to unemployment.ohio.gov there is a button, “Report Identity Theft,” where you can report that identity theft has occurred.

Our small firm has received four separate requests for separation information from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services in the past month. Two of the requests were for individuals that had never worked for nor had any connection whatsoever to our company. We had no idea who these folks were, yet they were trying to draw unemployment against our account. If we had not responded to this notice in a timely manner, they would have received unemployment compensation from the State of Ohio against our account.

The other two requests for separation information were even more confusing and disturbing. These were “on behalf” of two current employees. When we inquired with these two employees, neither had initiated an unemployment claim. The immediately began to take steps to protect themselves from further identity theft consequences. Although the full social security number is not listed on these requests for separation information, they do list the last four digits of the person’s social security number. For our two existing employees these last four digits were correct. What we suspect is that the fraudsters were trying to erroneously file unemployment and then have the funds deposited into their own account.

Another sign of fraud has been brought to my attention. In addition, to receiving the request for separation information forms as a result of being an employer, I have also been contacted by several clients about receiving a form 1099-G for receipt of unemployment compensation for which the client neither applied for nor received. In other words, someone applied for and received unemployment compensation using another person’s identity. If the recipient of this 1099-G does not appropriately report and resolve this matter they will then have to pay taxes and deal with income tax notices for income that is being reported to them that they never received. The receipt of an erroneous 1099-G form should also be reported on the unemployment.ohio.gov website under the report identity theft button.

If you find that you are the victim of identity theft you should take proactive measures to further protect your identity such as freezing your credit access or subscribing to one of the credit monitoring services.

It always amazes me how much time and effort goes into fraudulent activities such as these. The perpetrators are obviously intelligent and resourceful individuals. if they would direct their efforts in a more constructive and positive manner I am pretty certain that they could find gainful employment and positively contribute to our world.

Paul Pahoresky is a partner at the accounting firm JLP CPAs. He can be reached at 440-974-1040 extension 214 or at paul@jlpcpas.com. Consult your tax advisor for your specific situation for additional information and guidance on these topics.