This year, Illinois Partners is releasing a series of surveys and short-form quarterly reports to shed light on how changes in federal funding and policies are affecting community-based health and human service provision in Illinois.
The series, “Federal Changes, Community Consequences: The State of Human Services in Illinois,” will address the financial and operational impacts of social, political, and economic shifts and the effects of Executive actions on access to services. Cumulatively, these reports will provide a timely, ongoing, and sequential snapshot of our sector in a changing federal landscape, while also sharing strategies providers are deploying to address uncertainties, including advocacy to State officials, to mitigate impending threats.
Tthe first report in the series with you, “Quarter 1: Bracing for Impact,” t is based on survey responses collected in June and July and reflects organizational data for January through June of this year. The data shows that few providers have yet to experience significant financial cuts, but many see them coming and soon, and are acting accordingly in both their financial and operational outlooks for the year.
Additionally, we found that the chilling effects of Executive actions and orders related to DEI, immigration, federal staff reductions, healthcare, and education are undeniable. So, too, is the resilience of our sector as many respondents shared their resolute determination to continue serving their clients and communities despite the challenges coming from Washington – and, more often, because of them.
Please take a moment to read this important research which would not have been possible without the generous participation of so many of our coalition partners. Thank you to everyone who took the time to share their data and perspectives so that we could create this report.
We are currently crafting the next survey for the report we plan to release in November. If you would like your story reflected in the data for that report, you can sign up here to receive a direct link when the survey goes live at the end of the month.
