When a family in Ventura County is having trouble paying the bills, Mom or Dad can call 211, the county's social services hotline, and get connected to a slew of charities that can help.

But 211 itself is running low on money, and for the nonprofit that runs it, the question of whom to call isn't so easy.

Ventura County's 211 line was the first in the state when it launched in 2005; now, 85 percent of Californians have access to 211. The Ventura County 24-hour call center, run by the nonprofit agency Interface Children Family Services, takes about 55 calls a day on average.

People call when they're contemplating suicide, when they're at risk of domestic abuse, when they need counseling for a sexual assault, and when they can't afford food, shelter, child care or healthcare. During a crisis like a major wildfire, they call to get the latest information on evacuations and road closures.

Interface pays for about half of the Ventura County 211 budget, and it can't keep that up for much longer, said Erik Sternad, the nonprofit's executive director. The program competes for funding with Interface's other work, he said, which includes domestic violence prevention and counseling, mental health programs and court representation for children who don't have legal guardians.

"We're using every dollar that's not nailed down to support this service," Sternad said. "We want to do our part, but Interface has provided $900,000 of unreimbursed service over the past 3 1/2 years. That's just not sustainable."

This year, spending on 211 represents about 6 percent of Interface's budget. The group has struggled to stay in the black in recent years, Sternad said. In 2006, the last year for which tax returns are available, Interface spent $137,000 more than it took in.

The current budget for 211 has Interface contributing $369,000 of the $720,000 in operating funds. Most of the remainder comes from two groups: United Way of Ventura County, which contributed $210,000 from its donors; and First 5 Ventura County, the state-funded committee for early childhood development, which paid $100,000.

The 211 program also got $6,000 in federal anti-poverty funds and $35,000 from the county of Ventura, the first time that local government has chipped in.

United Way CEO Dave Smith said his group, Interface and First 5 only intended to fund 211 through its startup phase. Now that the program is up and running, he said, it needs "a funding stream that looks very different from what we have today."

That could mean corporate sponsorship, or more help from local government agencies, or a decision by the state Public Utilities Commission to fund 211 programs statewide. The PUC will hold a hearing on the matter in September.

In the meantime, Smith and Sternad have been making the rounds of city halls in Ventura County and other government agencies, rattling the cup for 211.

In some counties, they say, the county government pays most of the 211 budget. Every other Southern California 211 service relies on county government for at least 10 percent of its funding, while the recent contribution from Ventura County amounts to 5 percent of the budget for the local 211 service.

Sternad said he'd like the county, its 10 cities and the region's other government agencies to sign a commitment with their agreed-upon share of 211 funding.

City and county leaders say they would like to see that, too, but none wants to be the first to open the wallet.

"It's a very important service, and I think all the cities as well as the county realize that," Oxnard Mayor Tom Holden said. "I think it's a little bit of a chicken-and-egg scenario. The cities are willing to participate to some degree, but their participation isn't going to allow 211 to continue unless there's a larger commitment by the county or the other agencies."

County Executive Officer Marty Robinson said the county's $35,000 contribution was meant to "get the ball rolling" and encourage city councils to contribute whatever they could afford. The county, like each city, has a tight budget right now and can't afford anything more at the moment, she said.

Robinson said she met with Sternad last week and discussed potential sources of public funds for 211. For example, 211 usage typically skyrockets in an emergency — in a single day during last year's wildfires, the San Diego County 211 line got more calls than Ventura County's hotline receives in a typical year — and there are many state and federal disaster relief funds that 211 could apply for in those situations.

Leaders of Interface, United Way and First 5 all said that they remain committed to supporting 211, and that means the hotline isn't going anywhere anytime soon. But all three also stressed the need to do something to keep it solvent over the long haul.

"We don't want to see this service stop, but I'm afraid that's what's going to happen if we don't find some more sustainable funding," Sternad said.