Our Priorities
2023 Illinois Partners Policy and Advocacy Agenda
We are leading efforts to fund health and human services, so all Illinoisans can reach their potential and have access to a sector that is equitable, sustainable, and speaks with a collective voice.
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CORE PILLARS |
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Promote the essential value of Human Services in our society. |
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CORE VALUES |
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Short Term Targets:
- Secure a higher percentage of General Revenue Fund appropriations for human services as compared to FY23 to ensure that we are able to sustain program improvements and innovations that have shown value to our communities;
- Influence funding decisions that:
- Consider administrative burdens placed on providers;
- Address ongoing workforce challenges, including high turnover and vacancy rates;
- Prioritize solutions for meeting increased demand for services across the state.
- Secure legislative and/or administrative changes to GATA that alleviate administrative burden for providers;
- Secure appropriations to fund the Human Service Professional Loan Repayment Program;
- Produce research that demonstrates the correlation between workforce challenges and the sector’s capacity to meet the needs of their communities.
2023 LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES:
HUMAN SERVICES PROFESSIONAL LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM ACT (HB2379 / SB1720)
Secure appropriations for PA 102-1089 to address the Human Service Workforce Crisis.
The Illinois General Assembly passed SB3925 (PA 102-1089) unanimously, to address the human service workforce crisis that directly impacts communities across Illinois. The Human Services professional Loan Repayment Program provides loan repayment assistance to qualified human services professionals to recruit and retain them to work in community-based human services organizations. Without appropriations, however, human service providers are unable to effectively reduce the burdens of their workforce and offer these repayment options. We are asking for $15M in appropriations to fund 1,000 repayments for community-based human service professionals.
Fact Sheet
HUMAN SERVICE COMPENSATION PARITY ACT (HB3132)
Advance pay equity for the Human Service Sector in Illinois.
State contracts with community-based human service providers do not reflect ever-increasing costs of living or the costs of delivering essential services. These contracts also often reflect vastly lower rates of pay than for state employees performing similar work, creating a disparity in how the state values work differently depending on who performs it. This bill seeks to eliminate the pay disparity that exists between the salaries of human service professionals employed by community-based human service providers and state employees holding similar job titles who perform similar work, and establish a Human Services Compensation Taskforce to provide recommendations for workforce recruitment and retention.
Fact Sheet
AMENDMENT TO THE GRANT ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY ACT (GATA) (HB1346)
Reduce Administrative Burden for Providers.
Health and human service providers face undue administrative burden under GATA. Regulations and requirements are increasing and as a result the cost of doing business continues to grow. This bill will amend GATA to ensure grants do not restrict administrative costs to less than 20%. This bill will also eliminate any caps on fringe benefits in state contracts, which include but are not limited to the costs of leave (vacation, family-related, sick or military) and employee insurance. This will provide flexibility for providers to offer better benefits to improve employee retention.
Fact Sheet
COLLABORATIONS & PARTNERSHIIPS
Illinois Partners for Human Service works with associations and coalitions across the state to address systemic issues addressing the long term, equitable funding for the Human Service sector and our workforce. Illinois Partners represents the sector in the following coalitions:
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