RIVERSIDE -- Having raised three-quarters of the $625,000 needed to launch by summer a 211 telephone service that would connect Riverside County callers with social service providers, a nonprofit group is turning to local governments to fill the gap.

The group, Volunteer Center of Riverside County, is suggesting Riverside County cities contribute 13 cents a year for every person living within their boundaries when the 2000 Census was counted and that the county commit the same amount for every resident of unincorporated areas.

"Thirteen cents just happens to be the amount that fills our funding gap," said Gary Madden, director of Inform Riverside County, in an interview Monday.

For now, Madden said, the group is asking for a two-year commitment from local governments, in hopes a $200 million bill being debated in Congress will pass and provide a permanent funding stream for the 211 program.

Each city and the county is on its own when it comes to deciding whether to contribute. Despite that, Madden said he is confident enough will participate to get the program off the ground.

"We have five (desert) cities on board already," he said.

Directors for the Western Riverside Council of Governments received a status report on the program Monday afternoon. One of the directors on the regional panel, Murrieta Mayor Pro Tem Kelly Seyarto, said he anticipated that his city would contribute because the cost is minimal compared with its benefits for Murrieta residents.

Using the now-outdated 2000 population figures, Murrieta would pay $5,757; Temecula, $7,503; Lake Elsinore, $3,761; and Canyon Lake, $1,294.

Inform Riverside County is the center's current program that connects callers in Murrieta and elsewhere with private and county-government agencies that fill such needs as food, shelter and emergency financial assistance.

Now referrals are provided when people dial (800) 464-1123. The center is proposing to switch the number to 211 on July 1, greatly simplifying callers' search for help, Madden said. In the process, the program is to be renamed 211 Riverside.

Currently, the telephone referral and counseling service fields 20,000 calls annually. With the simplified system and easy-to-remember number, the volume of calls is expected to swell overnight, reaching 30,000 in the first 12 months following the debut and 120,000 annually within five years.

There may be confusion initially, but Madden said the center plans a major media blitz to explain the difference between 211 and the well-established 911 emergency system. The center is billing 211 as the number to dial "for help when it is not an emergency."

Other groups plan to debut 211 systems in San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles counties next July.

"All in one shot, more than half of the population of California will have 211 available," Madden said, noting one-third of the United States is blanketed by 211.

The first Californians to have access to the referral service will be residents of Ventura County, where the system is scheduled to debut Feb. 11, Madden said. And, yes, that date was chosen specifically because it is 2-11.

In time, 211 will become an instantly recognized number.

"There was resistance to 911 at first," Madden said. "But now when people have an emergency, they don't even think about it, they dial 911. It's going to be as natural to use 211 in the near future as it is to use 911 now."

And, in the process, 211 will take pressure off 911, shifting as much as one-third of calls now placed with the emergency service by callers who do not have a true emergency, he said. Madden said the program also should make life easier for telephone operators with county social service agencies because 211 Riverside will serve as a call screener.

For the public, the service will provide a quick way to sort out more than 850 agencies and 2,000 social service programs available to needy Riverside County residents, he said.

Currently, close to half -- 43 percent --- of those 20,000 annual calls are for emergency shelter or food, or assistance paying for rent and utilities. An additional 13 percent are for mental health service, drug problems or counseling; another 13 percent of callers are seeking information about self-help resources; and 11 percent are in need of medical assistance.

The remaining one-fifth of calls are for a variety of needs, including child care, parenting advice, job assistance, legal services and aid to sexual assault victims.

Contact staff writer Dave Downey at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2616, or ddowney@californian.com.