Impacts and Contributions

Health Care
The medically underserved population of DuPage County includes 45,000 to 63,000 low income uninsured individuals, and over 30,000 individuals with Medicaid. There is a widespread - and incorrect - perception that the health care needs of the underserved in DuPage County are somehow less acute than elsewhere because it is a comparatively affluent suburban area. In fact, the underserved in DuPage County - fairly evenly distributed across the county and largely "invisible" to the general population - often face even more daunting problems of access to medical services than those in areas of more obvious need because of the lack of health care infrastructure that normally addresses the needs of the uninsured.

Outcomes to Date:

• In collaboration with the DuPage County Health Department, the DuPage Medical Society, eight hospitals serving DuPage, and other partners, the Federation led a planning process to develop a single integrated approach to providing health care for those without insurance. The program, Access DuPage, began treating patients in February, 2002 and has since served over 12,789 uninsured low income persons.
  
• The Federation was a key member of the planning team for the first Federally Qualified Health Care Center in DuPage County which opened on October 1, 2003. The second FQHC in West Chicago opened April 1, 2005.
  
• The Federation was a key member of the DuPage Medical Access Planning Team, which developed an expanded system of health care resources for low income DuPage residents. The team has set a goal to develop services for 30,000 persons by 2010, including access to primary and specialty care, medications, etc. Currently, the Federation is facilitator of the DuPage mental health planning task force which is looking at expanding access to mental health services in the county.

Planning for Human Services
Planning for human services, and expanding access to health care and human services are at the core of the Federation’s mission. There is a critical lack of data on vulnerable populations in DuPage County, forcing decision makers to operate in an information vacuum. The Federation’s planning effort provides decision makers with data and policy recommendations that are the product of an independent yet expert organization that does not provide direct services, thus preserving our objectivity.

In the process of developing these Profiles, we have discovered a number of previously untapped programs that have not heretofore been developed in DuPage; many of these have now been developed and are providing previously unavailable services.

Five profiles are complete, A Profile of the Working Poor in DuPage County, A Profile of the Homeless in DuPage County, A Profile of Immigrants in DuPage County, Mental Health and Substance Abuse in Adults and Children in DuPage County, and Who Are the New Neighbors? Facts about Demographic Change in DuPage County. A sixth profile addressing domestic violence issues in DuPage County is currently in developmental stages.

Outcomes to Date:

• Identified untapped federal homeless resources & convened team to explore using them.
• Three of these are now in place. We identified a previously untapped funding source (Housing Options for Persons with AIDS) & brokered a connection between funder & local applicant organization, which received a substantial grant to provide housing in DuPage for persons with AIDS.
• Several recommendations from our working poor report were implemented in the recent legislative session, resulting in increased child care and other resources.
• Identified untapped Federal resource and convened team to explore using them, resulting in development of new Shelter + Care program.
• Uncovered and advocated for Illinois Juvenile Justice Grant.

Homeless / Public Benefits
As a result of the Federation’s planning efforts, the need for more low income persons to knowledgably and effectively access public benefits was identified.

The Federation developed a training for county and community organizations, attended by 500 persons to date, that contains practical information in an easy to understand format regarding the many programs available including SSI and Social Security, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Medicare, Medicaid, AllKids, other health resources, Food Stamps, and more. Each participant receives a comprehensive Resource Manual containing over 200 pages of valuable reference material.

Child Support
Lack of child support collection is the root cause of poverty for many single parent families. Often, the identity and whereabouts of the parents is known, yet the support is not collected. To address this problem, the Federation convened a "Child Support Summit" of the key officials responsible for the effective administration of child support to identify concrete steps that can result in improved child support collection, reducing dependence on welfare, and promoting self-sufficiency. Almost 8,000 families in DuPage got no money in 2003.

On January 6, 2003 the Governor signed legislation that authorized State’s Attorneys to lead development of a Unified Child Support Collection System. Federation staff and board members served on the team that helped to develop the legislation that became Public Act 98-0876, the Unified Child Support Services Act.