2. 211 Alberta Listing Policy
Last Reviewed: January 20, 2022
211 Alberta hosts an online database of information on www.ab.211.ca. This database, populated with information about human and social services, is used for providing referrals to 2-1-1 callers and for use by visitors to the website looking to make informed choices to improve their quality of life. The information is published on the InformAlberta.ca website, the 211 Alberta website, and appears in various publications including Directories and Resource Lists.
2.1 Listing Criteria
These criteria apply to services available on the public website.
211 Alberta includes, without fee, the following types of human and social service agencies:
- Non-profit agencies which provide a human service, program, or resource and are registered non-profit organizations or charities.
- Publicly funded services providing a direct human or health service.
- Federal, provincial, or municipal government services providing a direct human service.
- Self-help support groups.
- Networks or coalitions of direct service providers.
- Services provided by physician(s) or other licensed professional(s) in Alberta that are at least partially covered by Alberta Health Care insurance.
- Sources to search and find federal, provincial, and municipal representatives in an area.
- Advocacy groups.
- Public education institutions, including post-secondary institutions and K-12 school jurisdictions.
- Agencies that are involved in licensing, planning, funding, or coordinating direct services.
- Agencies (such as service clubs, faith-based organizations, or social clubs) that offer a community service and explicitly state their intention to make the proposed service available to clients without regard to their beliefs, religion, or political persuasion, and who avoid use of the proposed service as a means of attempting to convert clients from one faith, opinion, creed, or party to another. Worship services will not be listed.
Non-profit organizations included in the 211 Alberta database will:
- Have been providing a service for a minimum of one year.
- Reasonably expect assured funding to continue operation for at least one year.
- Have a publishable address and/or phone number.
- Preferably, adhere to the principles and practices of the Canadian Code For Volunteer Involvement (for agencies who utilize volunteers).
2.2 Discretionary Listings
These criteria apply to services internally available for referral and are not available on the public website.
211 Alberta may consider listing the following:
- For-profit, private, commercial agencies that provide a community service not sufficiently offered by the government or non-profit sector.
- For-profit mental health practitioners, including private practitioners, sole proprietors, or other business formats who provide services which are not sufficiently met by the non-profit sector.
- For-profit, private, commercial agencies that are licensed by the government or have special contractual agreements to operate long-term care facilities and certain home care services.
- For-profit services that have a contractual relationship with a funding agency to provide a publicly funded service.
For-profit, private, commercial agencies that provide a community service will:
- Have been providing service for a minimum of one year.
- Have a publishable address and/or phone number.
- Not have volunteer opportunities listed.
- Only have those services included that are provided at no cost to the client or on a significant sliding scale.
2.3 Primary Focus Areas
211 Alberta will collect and disseminate agency and service information related to basic subsistence and survival-related services, including:
- Food, clothing, shelter, and transportation
- Emergency assistance
- Crisis intervention
- Financial assistance
- Legal and correctional services
- Victim services
- Immigrant and refugee services
- Physical and mental health services
- Addiction recovery
- Employment and training services
- Home support services
- Access to affordable housing
Primary focus is also given to services for people who may experience barriers to services because of:
- Language
- Ethnocultural identity, including Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour
- Age, including risk factors associated with infants, children, youth, or seniors
- Low income, unemployment, lack of education, or literacy
- Physical, mental, or developmental disabilities
- Homelessness
- Social isolation
- Immigration or refugee status
- Gender identity, gender expression, or sexuality (2SLGBTQ+)
- Religious affiliation
- Fear of violence
2.4 Secondary Focus Areas
211 Alberta will consider collecting and disseminating general agency information and volunteer opportunities for services that fall outside the primary focus areas. Rather than collect comprehensive information in second-priority areas, 211 Alberta may collect information regarding representative or umbrella groups or refer users to other telephone or Internet-based services.
These may include programs and services related to:
- Arts/culture
- Environment
- Festivals/special events
- Museums/historical sites
- Special interest agencies (e.g., Alberta Ferret Society, African Violet Society)
- Recreation/Sports
- Peace/international development/social justice
2.5 Exclusion Criteria
211 Alberta will not list:
- Unlicensed care services or nanny services for children, youth, or adults.
- For-profit home health care agencies, who do not offer a sliding scale fee structure, or who provide services which are sufficiently met by the non-profit sector.
- Individual practitioners and groups of consulting practitioners (who have incorporated under another name).
Potential grounds for exclusion or removal from the database may include, but are not limited to, service non-delivery, fraud, misrepresentation, discrimination, criminal activities, or operating outside licensing mandates. 211 Alberta reserves the right to refuse to list or to discontinue listings of agencies that have had serious complaints lodged against them and agencies that fail to respond to requests to update information.
2.6 Applying for a Database Listing
If you are eligible and would like to apply to be listed, reach out via our Contact Us page.
2.7 Disclaimer
211 Alberta reserves the right to be selective in listing an agency and in removing agencies and/or services that we find do not meet the listing policy criteria.
Being listed in the 211 Alberta database does not constitute endorsement of the purpose, method, or quality of services, nor should exclusion reflect in any way on the service. See Section 3 below for further details.
2.8 Grievance/Appeal Process
Decisions to include, exclude, or remove a service listing may be appealed in writing to 211 Alberta after a reasonable attempt has been made to resolve the issue with the 211 Community Resource Database Team. See Section 16 below.
