Disability Information and Access Line (DIAL)

                                                               

USAging’s Disability Information and Access Line (DIAL) funded by the U.S. Administration for Community Living and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, assists people with disabilities get vaccinated by providing assistance finding COVID-19 vaccination sites, determining whether in-home vaccination is available, educating callers about general COVID-19 vaccine information, and finding ways to help overcome both physical and systemic barriers to accessing the COVID-19 vaccine. DIAL also helps people with disabilities identify, locate, and access community services and supports.
 
A rapid (roughly 3-week) launch of the DIAL Call Center in May 2021 was made possible through leveraging the Eldercare Locator’s Call Center infrastructure and decades of expertise in Information and Referral services as well as a strong partnership with several national disability organizations.
 
Key DIAL partners:

• The Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living (APRIL)
• Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD)
• Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU)
• The National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD)
• The National Council on Independent Living (NCIL)
• The National Disabilities Rights Network (NDRN)
• The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies

Consultation with leaders of these organizations was critical to the development of an effective referral structure, disability trainings for DIAL Call Center Specialists and correspondence with the local disability organizations DIAL partners support to help prepare them for DIAL referrals (Centers for Independent Living (CILs), Councils on Developmental Disabilities (DD Councils), State Protection and Advocacy Systems (P&As), and University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs). DIAL partners are also providing ongoing assistance with developing and disseminating marketing materials to reach the target audience of people with disabilities who are not yet vaccinated.  
 
To access DIAL, users can call 888-677-1199, start an online chat or email DIAL@usaginganddisability.org. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm ET. DIAL has several Spanish-speaking Call Center Specialists and uses a language interpretation service for all other callers speaking languages other than English. DIAL Specialists are trained to work with deaf callers using American Sign Language and video relay service (VRS).
 
Resources

• DIAL Website
• DIAL Video (developed by the Housing and Services Resource Center)
• Public Service Announcements (English and Spanish)
• Outreach Materials
• Centers for Independent Living (CIL) Online Directory
• Developmental Disabilities Council (DD Council) Online Directory
• State Protection and Advocacy Systems (P&As) Online Directory
• University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs) Online Directory
• Aging and Disability Resource Centers Online Directory (Eldercare Locator)
• ACL’s Strategies for Helping Older Adults and People with Disabilities Access COVID-19 Vaccines
• U.S. Health and Human Service Department’s (US HHS) Office for Civil Rights guidance on Disability Access in Vaccine Distribution
• U.S. HHS and the Department of Justice (DOJ) guidance on Long COVID as a Disability Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• ACL’s guidance on How ACL’s Disability and Aging Networks Can Help People with Long COVID

Materials from Disability Information and Access Line (DIAL): Partners in COVID-19 Vaccine Access Webinar

• Webinar Recording
• Webinar Transcript
• PowerPoint Slides (PDF)

Materials from Title VI Webinar: Resources for Older Adults, People with Disabilities and Caregivers

• Webinar Recording
• PowerPoint Slides (PDF)

Project Lead
Sara Tribe Clark, Director, Eldercare Locator and the Disability Information and Access Line (DIAL)