Full Text of SR0167 102nd General Assembly
SR0167 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | SR0167 | | LRB102 17654 LAW 23484 r |
|
| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Health and human service organizations are | 3 | | important components of a strong Illinois, essential employers | 4 | | for a robust economy, and integral to healthy and safe | 5 | | communities throughout our State; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, These organizations contribute $4.5 billion to | 7 | | the economy annually, while ensuring people are healthy, | 8 | | stable, and able to realize their potential, care for their | 9 | | families, and contribute to their communities; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, These organizations play a fundamental role in | 11 | | providing person-centered, culturally sensitive, | 12 | | evidence-based healthcare, social services, and long-term | 13 | | services and supports aimed at promoting equality, | 14 | | opportunity, and advancing equity; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, According to national statistics, 81% of social | 16 | | workers are female, with 27% of social workers being people of | 17 | | color; 69% of counselors are female, with 24.7% of counselors | 18 | | being people of color; 87% of direct support professionals are | 19 | | female, with 60% of direct support professionals being people | 20 | | of color; 87% of nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides | 21 | | are female, with 39% of these professionals being people of | 22 | | color; and
|
| | | SR0167 | - 2 - | LRB102 17654 LAW 23484 r |
|
| 1 | | WHEREAS, Adequately supported health and human service | 2 | | organizations are crucial in preventing hospitalizations and | 3 | | addressing the increased demand for services, including | 4 | | childcare, access to food, housing, mental health services and | 5 | | supports to persons with disabilities, and healthcare for our | 6 | | most underserved populations; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, The COVID-19 pandemic greatly publicized the | 8 | | crucial nature of health and human service organizations, with | 9 | | increased expectations to provide high quality services and | 10 | | supports in an unprecedented environment, while ensuring the | 11 | | health and safety of as many Illinoisans as possible; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, It has been consistently documented across | 13 | | national and state level studies that many health and human | 14 | | services sectors were in precarious financial positions prior | 15 | | to the start of the pandemic, which significantly hampers the | 16 | | ability of these organizations to meet their missions of | 17 | | service; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, According to Feeding America's Map the Meal Gap | 19 | | Study, food insecurity in Illinois is projected to increase by | 20 | | 46% due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Northwestern University | 21 | | estimating 23% of Illinois households being impacted; and
|
| | | SR0167 | - 3 - | LRB102 17654 LAW 23484 r |
|
| 1 | | WHEREAS, According to data from the Illinois Department of | 2 | | Public Health, 85% of COVID-19 fatalities are among adults age | 3 | | 60 or older, with nearly half of these deaths being residents | 4 | | of nursing homes; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, According to the Illinois Department of Public | 6 | | Health data, opioid overdose deaths rose 36.5% in the first | 7 | | five months of 2020, from 197 deaths in January to 269 deaths; | 8 | | and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, According to data from Illinois counties, teen | 10 | | suicides were up in 2020 compared to 2019; Cook County's Black | 11 | | community experienced 71 suicides in the first 9 months of | 12 | | 2020, compared to 56 in all of 2019; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, There are 18,452 individuals with developmental | 14 | | disabilities on Illinois' Prioritization of Unmet Need for | 15 | | Services (PUNS), meaning these individuals and families are | 16 | | waiting for access to services and supports; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, According to the Illinois Department of Children | 18 | | and Family Services, there were 143,056 child victims | 19 | | associated with investigations of abuse or neglect in 2019; | 20 | | and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, According to the Child and Family Research Center |
| | | SR0167 | - 4 - | LRB102 17654 LAW 23484 r |
|
| 1 | | at the University of Illinois, Black children are more than | 2 | | two and a half times more likely to be taken into protective | 3 | | custody than white children; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, According to McKinsey and Company, students on | 5 | | average could lose five to nine months of learning by the end | 6 | | of June 2021, making learning enrichment and the social and | 7 | | emotional support provided in afterschool programs critical to | 8 | | helping Illinois children return to success; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Illinois early childhood programs were required | 10 | | to operate at a 30% reduced capacity during phases 3 and 4 of | 11 | | the Restore Illinois plan, putting significant financial | 12 | | strain on an already fragile system; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, According to the U.S. Department of Housing and | 14 | | Urban Development and the U.S. Census American Community | 15 | | Survey, an estimated 10,199 individuals experience street and | 16 | | shelter-based homelessness and an additional 106,443 people | 17 | | experience homelessness by temporarily staying with others | 18 | | across Illinois; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, More than 3 million Illinoisans live in 245 areas | 20 | | experiencing shortages in primary health care workforce across | 21 | | our State, limiting their access to basic health care; and
|
| | | SR0167 | - 5 - | LRB102 17654 LAW 23484 r |
|
| 1 | | WHEREAS, Nationally, 95% of community health centers have | 2 | | reported at least one clinical staff vacancy, impacting their | 3 | | ability to provide community-directed, primary and | 4 | | preventative care; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, While health and human services are always | 6 | | important components of a strong state, the current crisis | 7 | | facing Illinois elevates health and human services to the | 8 | | highest priority level for the General Assembly and the | 9 | | Governor as they approach the State fiscal year 2022 budget; | 10 | | therefore, be it
| 11 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | 12 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the State fiscal year | 13 | | 2022 health and human services budget should ensure that | 14 | | people and communities have access to essential services, | 15 | | including services that address the social determinants of | 16 | | health, economic support, and family well-being; and be it | 17 | | further
| 18 | | RESOLVED, That the budget should include funding to | 19 | | accommodate the increasing number of people in need of health | 20 | | and human services, to continue reimbursing for remote | 21 | | services, and to promote flexibility in order to adapt to | 22 | | evolving needs; and be it further
|
| | | SR0167 | - 6 - | LRB102 17654 LAW 23484 r |
|
| 1 | | RESOLVED, That the health and human services budget should | 2 | | prioritize funding for communities that have been hardest hit | 3 | | by the pandemic, including Black, Brown, and rural | 4 | | communities, and reflect the needs of those who have been | 5 | | disproportionately impacted by systemic racism, which has been | 6 | | exacerbated by COVID-19; and be it further
| 7 | | RESOLVED, That the health and human services budget should | 8 | | avoid historic silos and take a holistic approach to budgeting | 9 | | by understanding how the various State departments and their | 10 | | programs interact with and impact each other, avoid | 11 | | short-sighted and costly strategy of short-term cuts, and | 12 | | instead invest in prevention and early intervention to prevent | 13 | | suffering and control costs over the long term; and be it | 14 | | further
| 15 | | RESOLVED, That the health and human services budget should | 16 | | invest in the human services workforce both as a matter of | 17 | | equity and to ensure the sector is able to attract, support, | 18 | | and retain talented and committed individuals, recognizing the | 19 | | workforce is disproportionately female, disproportionately | 20 | | people of color, and disproportionately low-income to | 21 | | moderate-income people who have been acting as essential | 22 | | workers and have shouldered the burden of care in this | 23 | | pandemic; and be it further
|
| | | SR0167 | - 7 - | LRB102 17654 LAW 23484 r |
|
| 1 | | RESOLVED, That the overall budget should include new means | 2 | | of revenue including, but not limited to, closing loopholes | 3 | | and corporate perks, and should invest those revenues in | 4 | | health and human services that will help hasten Illinois' | 5 | | recovery from the pandemic; and be it further
| 6 | | RESOLVED, That we support the principles detailed in this | 7 | | resolution as we work with the Governor and his administration | 8 | | to finalize the State fiscal year 2022 budget.
|
|