AGENCIES SEEK REFERRAL NETWORK TO ASSIST NEEDY; COUNTY UNCERTAIN ABOUT GIVING MONEY

JACKSON -- People in need often don't know where to turn for help, says Nancy Jernigan, executive director of the Area Wide United Way.

The local United Way and Community Caring Council in Cape Girardeau believe that problem could be addressed by setting up a centralized information and referral network.

By calling a telephone number, a person could be referred to the proper social service or charitable agency.

Jernigan pitched the idea to the Cape Girardeau County Commission Monday. She asked the commission for $10,000 from next year's budget to help set up the referral system.

But commissioners questioned if the county legally could make a direct cash contribution to such a project. Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones said the commission would explore how it could help fund the project "without going to jail."

"We've got to think creatively -- not illegally, but creatively," he said.

Jones said the Livingston County Commission in northern Missouri ran into legal problems for helping fund five charitable organizations. A grand jury indicted the commissioners in 1994, charging misappropriation of funds because state law prohibits counties from making donations to charitable groups. A trial jury later acquitted them of all charges, concluding that the county was paid for services rendered.

Still, the case raises questions about such dealings, Jones said. But he said the commission supports the concept of a referral network.

Jernigan said she plans to also ask for funding from other entities, including the cities of Cape Girardeau and Jackson. She said the United Way and Community Caring Council also would explore the possibility of state funding.

The Community Caring Council was set up to improve coordination of services between various agencies.

Jernigan said welfare reform would make it even more important for the county to have a referral network. "We've got to identify some good funding to get it started," she told the County Commission.

Nationwide, many communities have referral networks. The United Way in Paducah, Ky., started one about a year and a half ago.

Jernigan said she hopes a referral service could be established for Cape Girardeau County by next summer or fall.

The network would focus on health and human services at first. Later it could be expanded to include other services, she said.

The United Way board has agreed to purchase $1,500 worth of computer software for the referral service.

Jernigan estimated start-up expenses at $10,000, including $2,000 for a computer and $5,000 for advertising. Entering the information in the computer system could cost another $500.

The referral network initially could be housed in the United Way office in Cape Girardeau, she said. It would be served by two telephone lines.

The information and referral network would be set up as a non-profit corporation.

It could cost nearly $60,000 a year to operate the network, she said. That would include $33,500 for a full-time coordinator and part-time assistant, and $10,000 for marketing.

Initially, the phone system probably would be manned eight hours a day, noon to 8 p.m., Mondays through Fridays.

A voice-mail system would be activated during the other times of the day and night, Jernigan said.

Jernigan said about 20 people, including representatives of both city hospitals and other agencies, met this summer to push the project.