EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
Approved _June 1, 2011__
Not Approved ________
ILLINOIS PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION
RESOLUTION NO. 10
2011
MEMBERSHIP
Approved ___________
Not Approved __________
RESOLUTION ON THE RESTRUCTURING OF
MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH IN ILLINOIS
WHEREAS, Illinois’ Maternal and Child Health system consists of programs in the
Illinois Department of Human Services, the Illinois Department of Public Health, the
Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services and the University of Illinois at
Chicago Division of Specialized Care for Children; and
WHEREAS, the Illinois Maternal and Child Health system has made significant progress
in the reduction of infant mortality, promotion of early childhood development,
preventing child abuse and neglect, improving access to health care services, reducing
teen pregnancy, reducing alcohol and substance abuse, reducing juvenile delinquency and
improving women’s health and safety; and
WHEREAS, much of the Maternal and Child Health system’s effectiveness has been
achieved through the integration of services for women, mothers, infants, children and
adolescents; and
WHEREAS, the Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant authorized by Title V
of the federal Social Security Act serves as the anchor for the development of programs
and services for the direct provision of health care services, for enabling and promoting
access to services, for population-based services and for the development of an effective,
integrated infrastructure at the state level; and
WHEREAS, this integration of services is illustrated by the administration of
reproductive and early childhood services (including Family Case Management, the
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children [WIC], Early
Intervention, Healthy Families Illinois and Parents Too Soon) and the administration of
adolescent health services (including school health centers, Teen Parent Services,
substance abuse prevention, juvenile justice and youth services) as a single unit through
the Division of Community Health and Prevention; and
WHEREAS, these programs share a commitment to the promotion of health, the
avoidance of risky behavior, the prevention of disability and disease, broadly defined, as
well as the untimely death of infants from premature birth, illness or injury; and
WHEREAS, these programs share a commitment to using the science of epidemiology
and performance management in order to target resources to those of highest risk and
ensure that programs are operated as effectively and efficiently as possible; and
WHEREAS, these programs take a public health approach to their design,
implementation and evaluation; and
WHEREAS, these programs are supported by one of the most complex and interrelated
budgets of state and federal funds in any agency within state government; and
WHEREAS, many of these programs are supported by Cornerstone, a large and complex
management information system which currently supports programs at both IDHS and
IDPH; and
WHEREAS, the design, implementation, management, evaluation and integration of
these services requires specialized professional expertise in public health and related
academic disciplines; and
WHEREAS, these programs could be strengthened and the health of women and
children in Illinois could be further improved by recombining the Maternal and Child
Health Programs at the Division of Community Health and Prevention with the programs
which remained at the Illinois Department of Public Health when the Illinois Department
of Human Services was created in 1997; and
WHEREAS, coordination of effort between the Maternal and Child Health system and
the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services Early and Periodic Screening,
Diagnosis and Treatment program, a required element of Illinois’ Medicaid program, is
essential to promoting the health of nearly a million low-income children in Illinois;
WHEREAS, the funds provided to local health departments to implement the various
programs and services which comprise Illinois’ Maternal and Child Health system are
used to employ public health nurses and other health professionals who play a critical
role in the state’s response to health emergencies; and
WHEREAS, the separation of the programs in the Division of Community Health and
Prevention from the Illinois Department of Public Health has hampered DCHP’s access
to the data it requires for truly effective program planning and evaluation; and
WHEREAS, the promotion of Maternal and Child Health is regarded as an essential part
of the profession, practice and organization of governmental Public Health in the United
States; and
WHEREAS, Illinois still faces significant challenges in the improvement of maternal
and infant health, child health and adolescent health, especially in the reduction of health
disparities experienced by racial, ethnic, linguistic and cultural minority groups in
Illinois; and
WHEREAS, in his budget proposal for State Fiscal Year 2012, the Governor of Illinois
has proposed the dissolution of the Division of Community Health and Prevention and
the distribution of its programs to other Divisions within IDHS and to other agencies
under his authority; and
WHEREAS, this will be harmful to the health of women and children in Illinois; and
WHEREAS, this will further fragment and complicate the organization, management
and delivery of these essential services at both the state and local levels, increasing the
cost of program administration and losing the management expertise currently found in
the Division; and
WHEREAS, this will be detrimental to Illinois’ public health workforce at the
community level;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by that the Illinois Public Health Association urge
the Illinois Governor and General Assembly that:
FIRST, the programs and services of the Division of Community Health and Prevention
as constituted in Fiscal Year 2011 must not be dissolved and distributed among other
Divisions within the Illinois Department of Human Services or other agencies within
state government;
SECOND, that the entire Division of Community Health and Prevention, with its staff,
programs and state and federal funds and information systems be transferred to the
Illinois Department of Public Health; and
THIRD, that the Bureau of Maternal and Child Health Promotion in the Illinois
Department of Healthcare and Family Services be transferred to the Illinois Department
of Public Health; and
FOURTH, that this transfer be accomplished thoughtfully, carefully and strategically,
over the course of at least one state fiscal year through a strong inclusive and
collaborative process; and
FIFTH, that the Illinois Department of Public Health, the Illinois Department of Human
Services and the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services collaborate
earnestly and diligently to effect this transfer; and
SIXTH, that the Illinois Department of Public Health conduct a national search for a
qualified Maternal and Child Health Director who holds advanced degrees in Medicine
and Public Health to lead the integrated program at IDPH; and that
SEVENTH, that the Director of Public Health appoint and fund a transition team which
includes relevant management and staff of the affected agencies, representatives of local
public health agencies, advocates, advisory bodies and faculty from the University of
Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health and other consultants as the Director shall
deem necessary to advise the Director and the Governor on the creation of the nation’s
finest system of Maternal and Child Health for the benefit of all women, infants, children,
adolescents and children and adolescents with special health care needs.