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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to congratulate Carolyn Cochran
4 Kopel on the occasion of her retirement as Deputy Director of
5 Clinical Operations and Policy for the Division of Mental
6 Health of the Illinois Department of Human Services; and
 
7     WHEREAS, Carolyn Cochran Kopel received her bachelor's
8 degree in Social Work from Illinois State University in 1981
9 and her Master of Social Work degree from the University of
10 Illinois at Urbana in 1983; and
 
11     WHEREAS, Carolyn Cochran Kopel has had a long and
12 distinguished career in social work and public service; she
13 began her career as a caseworker for the Department of Public
14 Aid in Livingston County, serving there from 1972 until 1975;
15 she went on to serve as a Resource Coordinator for the Juvenile
16 Intake Unit of the Livingston County Court system, serving
17 there from November of 1977 until June of 1979; she served in
18 an internship as a Child Abuse Investigator for the Department
19 of Children and Family Services from September of 1980 until
20 May of 1981; and
 
21     WHEREAS, In June of 1982, Carolyn Cochran Kopel accepted a
22 position as a Budget Analyst for the Illinois Bureau of the

 

 

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1 Budget; as a Budget Analyst, she was responsible for the
2 analysis, budgeting, and development of policy recommendations
3 for the Departments of Aging, Rehabilitation Services,
4 Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, and Children and Family
5 Services; she served in this position until June of 1984, when
6 she accepted a position at the Illinois Department on Aging,
7 where she created and managed the department's Elder Abuse
8 Intervention Program; and
 
9     WHEREAS, In December of 1985, Carolyn Cochran Kopel
10 accepted a position as Manager of the Illinois Department of
11 Rehabilitation Services' new Division of Planning and
12 Analysis, where she was responsible for the creation, hiring,
13 and management of the division and its projects until her
14 departure in November of 1989; in December of 1989, she took
15 the position of Chief of the Bureau of Policy, Planning and
16 Program Development in the Division of Developmental
17 Disabilities at the Illinois Department of Mental Health and
18 Developmental Disabilities; where she served until May of 1993,
19 when she became the Chief of the Division of Human Services and
20 Education at the Illinois Bureau of the Budget; and
 
21     WHEREAS, In July of 1994, Carolyn Cochran Kopel was
22 selected to serve as the Chief of Staff for the Director of the
23 Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and served
24 in that capacity for seven years; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, In June of 2001, Carolyn Cochran Kopel was
2 appointed Associate Secretary of Human Services; as Associate
3 Secretary in the Department of Human Services, she was
4 responsible for the renovation and general management of the
5 department's Early Intervention program, the improvement of
6 the program's data system, the development and implementation
7 of performance contracts for the regional intake and service
8 coordination entities working with the department, and the
9 cultivation of improved relations with the program's advisory
10 council, advocates, and providers; and
 
11     WHEREAS, In June of 2003, Carolyn Cochran Kopel became the
12 Special Assistant to the Secretary for Special Projects for the
13 Illinois Department of Human Services, where she worked on
14 projects involving the increase in Medicaid claiming
15 throughout the department's six program divisions and the
16 improvement of integration and access to various services and
17 work processes; and
 
18     WHEREAS, In March of 2007, Carolyn Cochran Kopel became the
19 Deputy Director of Clinical Operations and Policy for the
20 Division of Mental Health for the Illinois Department of Human
21 Services; as Director, she has been responsible for the
22 oversight of the nine psychiatric hospitals operated by the
23 State of Illinois, as well as the implementation of various

 

 

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1 community clinical services and policies; and
 
2     WHEREAS, Carolyn Cochran Kopel has also been an active
3 member with many community organizations; she has served as a
4 board member and president of the Sojourn Women's Center, a
5 domestic violence shelter in Springfield; she was a board
6 member of Planned Parenthood of Springfield Area and the
7 Illinois State University Child Centers; she also served as a
8 board member and president of The Parent Place, an agency in
9 Springfield dedicated to strengthening the skills of parents;
10 and
 
11     WHEREAS, Carolyn Cochran Kopel was named Social Worker of
12 the Year, Springfield Region in 2005 in recognition of her
13 accomplishments in the field of social work; and
 
14     WHEREAS, Carolyn Cochran Kopel's dedication to her
15 profession and willingness to serve her community makes her a
16 model for the people of the State of Illinois; therefore, be it
 
17     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
18 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
19 congratulate Carolyn Cochran Kopel on the occasion of her
20 retirement and wish her continued success and happiness in the
21 future; and be it further
 

 

 

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1     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2 presented to Carolyn Cochran Kopel as a symbol of our esteem
3 and respect.