Bill Text: IL SJR0030 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Recognizes the dire need for statewide expansion of 211 Illinois services to prevent Illinois individuals and families who are experiencing poverty and/or financial hardship from requiring child welfare system involvement. Recognizes the importance of supportive funding for services that promote child and family well-being and prevent children from entering the child welfare system. Urges state agencies serving children and families to utilize data generated by the 211 Illinois online dashboard to identify gaps in services and to develop resources and services to fill the identified gaps. Recognizes state funding is necessary to adequately support the expansion and maintenance of 211 Illinois statewide and the community-based organizations that ultimately provide the supportive services. Urges support for prioritizing funding efforts dedicated to preventing the need for child welfare related services in counties that have been identified as experiencing gaps in offered services based on data collected from 211 Illinois.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-05-24 - Adopted Both Houses [SJR0030 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SJR0030-Introduced.html

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SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, 211 Illinois is a free, anonymous, and
confidential Illinois-based human services, emergency
preparedness, and response helpline that is available on a
24-hour basis and provides live assistance referrals for basic
needs, such as food, clothing, shelter, counseling, income
supports, employment, healthcare, and services for specialized
populations, including the elderly and persons with
disabilities; and
WHEREAS, 211 Illinois exists to connect individuals and
families experiencing poverty and/or economic hardship to
supportive resources for basic needs and to increase access to
early intervention and services that demonstrably reduce child
maltreatment and child welfare involvement; and
WHEREAS, Individuals who have children and who experience
poverty and multiple types of economic and material hardships
are three times more likely to be investigated for neglect,
four times more likely to be involved in a child protection
investigation, and seven times more likely to be investigated
for physical abuse; and
WHEREAS, Between FY2021 and FY2022, the 211 Illinois
hotline received 98,046 calls and texts and connected over

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50,000 individuals and families with housing and shelter
support and heating and electric utility assistance services;
and
WHEREAS, Through 2022, 64% of Illinois residents lacked
access to 211 Illinois services in their area; and
WHEREAS, 211 Illinois is a collaborative effort of
multiple United Ways, state departments, including the
Department of Human Services and the Department of Public
Health, and existing 211 Illinois Contact Centers to provide a
powerful, successful example of the public, not-for-profit,
and private sectors working together to improve the quality of
life for the individuals and families of Illinois; and
WHEREAS, When available, 211 Illinois data can be used to
identify gaps in the availability of service providers and
resources and to illuminate inequitable access to these
services; and
WHEREAS, The 211 Illinois online dashboard, currently
under development, will provide transparent and readily
accessible disaggregated data on statewide service utilization
and service provider gaps; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL

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ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that we recognize that
there is a dire need for statewide expansion of 211 Illinois
services to prevent Illinois individuals and families who are
experiencing poverty and/or financial hardship from requiring
child welfare system involvement; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we recognize the importance of supportive
funding for services that promote child and family well-being
and prevent children from entering the child welfare system;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That we urge state agencies serving children and
families to utilize data generated by the 211 Illinois online
dashboard to identify gaps in services and to develop
resources and services to fill the identified gaps; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That we recognize that state funding is
necessary to adequately support the expansion and maintenance
of 211 Illinois statewide and the community-based
organizations that ultimately provide the supportive services
to the individuals, families, and children of Illinois; and be
it further
RESOLVED, That we urge support for prioritizing funding

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efforts dedicated to preventing the need for child welfare
related services in counties that have been identified as
experiencing gaps in offered services based on data collected
from 211 Illinois.