Illinois

Illinois

Agency: Illinois Department of Human Services
Secretary: Howard Peters III
Public Information Number: (312) 793-2343

Agency: Illinois Department of Public Aid
Director: Joan Walters
Public Information Number: (217) 782-3458

Agency: Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
Director: Jess McDonald
Public Information Number: (312) 814-6847

Administration of Human Services

On July 1, 1997, the Department of Human Services began operations. This new department is made up of all or part of six state agencies, including all of the Departments of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities, Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, and Rehabilitation Services. Parts of the Departments of Public Aid [cash assistance, Food Stamps (FS), Medicaid eligibility determination, employment programs, child care, and social service programs]; Public Health [the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), family case management, and other health-related direct service and prevention programs]; and Children and Family Services (employment-related child care and youth services) also are included in the Department of Human Services.

Public assistance and social services in Illinois are now provided by three agencies
the Department of Human Services; the Department of Public Aid, which administers and supervises medical and child support programs; and the Department of Children and Family Services, which provides child welfare services to children and families.

The Department of Human Services has 131 full-service local offices to serve individuals and families in communities throughout the state. The mandatory and optional state supplements to the Supplemental Security Income Program (SSI/S) are administered by the Department of Human Services.

Local governmental units, usually townships, administer general assistance (GA). (In Chicago, the Department of Human Services directly administers GA.) The Department of Human Services allocates state funds for GA upon request to local governmental units that have a specified tax structure. The department has established a statewide standard for units receiving state funds.

Assistance and Services

Assistance programs administered by the Department of Human Services include Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); FS; SSI/S; services to adults (SA); guidance and counseling services; family planning and day-care services; WIC; the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Block Grant (ADAMHBG); mental retardation (MR) programs; vocational rehabilitation (VR); blind services (BS); vocational rehabilitation for the blind (VRB); and the Preventive Health Services Block Grant (PHSBG).

The Department of Public Aid administers the Child Support Enforcement (CSE) Program and Medicaid (MAP), which provides comprehensive medical care to TANF recipients and to persons who were receiving aid to the aged, blind, and disabled in December 1973 (other low-income families and individuals may qualify for this program if assets are limited and their medical bills exceed their ability to pay.

Services to families (SF), child welfare (CW), foster care/adoption assistance (FC/AA), and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are the responsibility of the Department of Children and Family Services. The department is responsible by law for the administration of the Illinois child abuse law (CA/N), the interstate placement of children, and the establishment of standards for and licensing of child-care facilities. Other child welfare services offered by the department, when not available through other public or private facilities, include family counseling, family preservation and support services (FP/FS), protective services (CPS), services to unmarried parents, homemaker services, child advocacy programs, day care, foster family care, adoptions, and interstate services.

Related state agencies are responsible for the correctional program for adults and youths (CP, YA), including parole (PAR, Y-PAR); services for crippled children; employment services (ES) and unemployment compensation (UC); the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG); the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP); veterans services (VET); services to the aged, including protective services (APS, OA). Adult probation is the responsibility of the Illinois courts.

Find out more about whom to contact in this state in the 1998/99 Public Human Services Directory.