Public Accountability Report

The mission of the Department of Human Services (DHS) is to assist our customers in achieving maximum self-sufficiency, independence, and health through the provision of seamless, integrated services for individuals, families, and communities. DHS improves the quality of life of thousands of Illinois families by providing an array of comprehensive, coordinated services through programs for persons with developmental disabilities, mental illness, and substance use problems; employment, training, and independent living programs for persons with disabilities; and financial support, employment and training programs, community health and prevention programs, child care, and other family services for low-income families. DHS serves Illinois families through the following main programs:

Developmental Disabilities 

The Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) ensures an extensive array of services and supports for individuals with developmental disabilities, enabling them to obtain competitive employment, make decisions, contribute to the community, obtain and maintain health and safety, and have relationships with family and friends. The developmental disability service system is comprised of more than 230 community service providers and approximately 193 private intermediate care facilities; the division runs seven state-operated developmental centers (SODCs). In fiscal year 2021, DDD enrolled 358 people with developmental disabilities who were determined to be in crisis (homelessness, abused, or neglected) into a home and community-based (HCBS) waiver; another 1,561 people were selected from the PUNS and given the opportunity to apply for an HCBS service. To meet the increased need for community-based services, DDD continues to invest in and expand high-quality services and support. The supports and services provided by DDD enable persons enrolled in HCBS waivers to remain in their own homes or in community-based settings and avoid more restrictive residential settings and institutionalization. The division continues to expand its capacity of qualified community provider agencies by adding new services and increasing access for individuals to explore and obtain services, such as competitive integrated employment. In addition, DDD seeks to ensure the quality of its community-based services by implementing the federal CMS settings requirements. By March 2023, all DDD-funded sites receiving HCBS waiver funding must comply with the federal HCBS settings rule. The goal of the HCBS settings rule is to assure people receiving services have access to community living that meets their needs and is of their choosing. The division is currently validating that all provider-controlled/owned sites are in compliance by March 17, 2023.

Early Childhood

The Division of Early Childhood is the newest division at DHS. It was created with the goal of fostering stronger ties across DHS early childhood programs and other early childhood-serving agencies within the state. The new stand-alone division will provide more connected, holistic services to expectant families and families with young children. At the forefront of the division’s achievements for 2021 was continuing to prioritize the health and safety (both physical and economic) of Illinois’ children, families, providers, and educators. Since the start of the pandemic, this new division has helped to provide over $1 billion in relief funding, and as a result, 97% of 2020’s child-care centers remain open and operating. As part of the division’s initiative to consolidate and strengthen its evidence-based early childhood home visiting programs, 32 state-funded Healthy Families Illinois (HFI) programs were successfully onboarded into the Visit Tracker data system, which is used by the federal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program to report on family outcomes. This initiative follows the Governor’s Early Childhood Funding Commission recommendations to centralize and align early childhood programs. Challenges for the MIECHV program are a result of COVID-19, including difficulty in engaging and enrolling families due to restrictions on in-person contact. Strategies to address these challenges include utilizing technology to conduct visits virtually, providing enhanced training for home visitors to effectively serve families virtually, and accessing American Rescue Plan funding to fill the technology gap for families who need proper electronics to engage in virtual visits.     

Family and Community Services (FCS)

This division emphasizes a structure that provides services along a continuum of care from birth to death and represents a comprehensive approach to meeting the basic needs of DHS customers: access to food; nutrition education; prenatal care; housing assistance; quality child care; youth services; income assistance; employment and training; and other supportive services. FCS staff helps clients find services provided by other DHS divisions, state agencies, and local communities.

Rehabilitation Services 

DHS is the state’s lead agency serving individuals with disabilities. This division works in partnership with persons with disabilities and their families to assist them in making informed choices to achieve full community participation through employment, education, and independent living opportunities. The Division of Rehabilitation Services delivers services directly through nearly 200 local offices and in partnership with a network of local providers that reaches every part of Illinois. DHS services touch the lives of one out of five Illinois citizens in the course of one year.

Mental Health Services

The Division of Mental Health (DMH) provides inpatient mental health services through its operation of seven accredited state hospitals and one treatment detention facility. DMH provides funding to 200+ community mental health centers (CMHCs) and community hospitals to provide community-based mental health care across the state. CMHC staff include credentialed mental health professionals, such as licensed physicians, board-certified psychiatrists, licensed clinical psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, licensed counselors, registered nurses, and certified recovery support specialists. All services are targeted toward identifying and providing treatment to individuals who are diagnosed with mental illnesses/emotional disorders and co-occurring mental illnesses and substance use disorders with the goal of supporting an individual's recovery. The mission is to ensure equitable access to a full continuum of preventive, supportive, and recovery-focused resources that promote mental wellness for all people in Illinois.

Substance Use Prevention and Recovery 

The Division of Substance Use Prevention and Recovery (SUPR) is charged with designing, coordinating, funding, and licensing a comprehensive and coordinated community-based and culturally and gender-appropriate array of services throughout the state for the prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery of substance-related disorders. This system addresses the needs of at-risk or individuals with a substance use disorder and their families. The following five projects and initiatives were a major focus of SUPR in 2021:

1. Implemented Access Narcan across the state: Access Narcan is a program implemented throughout the state to increase the availability of Narcan to reduce opioid-related overdoses and overdose deaths. DHS/SUPR invested nearly $13 million aimed at fighting the opioid crisis through expanding community-based access to this lifesaving medication. Increasing access to naloxone is one of multiple harm reduction strategies DHS/SUPR is utilizing to support people experiencing substance use disorders.
2. Implemented "Seeking Safety - A Treatment Manual for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Substance Abuse": DHS/SUPR mailed a new resource, "Seeking Safety - A Treatment Manual for PTSD and Substance Abuse," to each licensed treatment organization that provides a trauma-informed resource to our substance use disorder (SUD) programs. "Seeking Safety" is an evidence-based counseling model that helps organizations address trauma and SUD.
3. Implemented Mobile Medication Assisted Recovery (MAR): In May 2021, SUPR awarded funds to the Community Outreach Intervention Project (COIP) to implement Mobile MAR. The goal of this project is to provide low-threshold buprenorphine initiation and primary medical care in tandem with naloxone distribution, syringe exchange, and harm-reduction services via mobile van-based outreach on the west and south sides of Chicago.  
4. Implemented a rate increase for non-Medicaid services: The rate increase is intended to reflect current average service costs and increase utilization of recovery supports for all phases of intervention and treatment. The increases will also provide funded organizations opportunities to address social determinants of health. The total annual impact is approximately $10 million.
5. Issued provider retention/sustainability payments to support workforce retention and development: SUPR processed fiscal year 2021/2022 retention payments resulting in $37,616,905 to the Substance Use Disorder Provider Network.