2020 Year in Review
Department of Family and Support Services Lisa Morrison Butler, Commissioner December 17, 2020
Dear Mayor, Our role as the city’s lead agency for human and social services, is a role we take great pride in at the Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS). DFSS leadership, staff and partner agencies work every day with the needs and concerns of the city’s most vulnerable populations as a top priority. From serving children, teens, seniors, residents experiencing homelessness, underemployed communities and more – we remain steadfast in our mission to connect people to resources that help build stability, support their wellbeing and empower them to drive. And as the COVID-19 pandemic took precedence this year, we were challenged to re-strategize and respond to the needs of those residents quickly and efficiently. We learned throughout the year that implementing innovative solutions and collaborating with external partners helped expand our reach and capacity to serve residents in need. In this year-end report, you will find a detailed overview of our 2020 response initiatives, performance metrics and proposed 2021 landscape for each of our seven programmatic divisions: Children Services, Domestic Violence, Homeless Services, Human Services, Senior Services, Workforce Development and Youth Services. As the pandemic continues to impact all Chicagoans, DFSS has increased efforts and applied added resources to make social services more accessible for everyone. We are committed to doing everything within our power to ensure help is readily available. We are focused and positioning ourselves to meet people where they are – serving inclusively among backgrounds, ethnicities, race, gender, age, economic or social status, and more. We have been innovating and establishing a new normal, including launching a series of online initiatives. Virtual events now are available for older residents via Zoom and Facebook Live. One Summer Chicago and Chicago Youth Service Corps online programs have allowed young people in Chicago to stay engaged throughout the pandemic. And the new online application for the rental assistance program raised public awareness and allowed us to direct the assistance to more community members at risk of experiencing homelessness. In year 2021, we look forward to exploring more digital and grassroots solutions to outreach as we continue to train, coach and support our delegate partners. Sincerely,
Lisa Morrison Butler, Commissioner
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 2020 Delegate Agency Programming .................................................................................................... 3 2020 Key Accomplishments, Projects and Initiatives ....................................................................... 4-13 Children Services ............................................................................................................................. 4 Domestic Violence ........................................................................................................................... 5 Homeless Services ............................................................................................................................ 6 Human Services............................................................................................................................. 7-9 Senior Services ........................................................................................................................... 9-10 Workforce Development ........................................................................................................... 10-11 Youth Services........................................................................................................................... 11-12 Department Wide ..................................................................................................................... 12-13 2020 Goal Outcomes .......................................................................................................................... 14 Children Services ........................................................................................................................... 15 Domestic Violence ......................................................................................................................... 16 Homeless Services ......................................................................................................................... 17 Human Services.............................................................................................................................. 18 Senior Services .............................................................................................................................. 19 Workforce Development ............................................................................................................... 20 Top 2021 Initiatives....................................................................................................................... 21-22
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2020 DELEGATE AGENCY PROGRAMMING We generate 1,652 contracts (grants to non-profit delegate agencies) annually. From 2011 to 2020, DFSS has increased its delegate award funding from approximately $236M to $470M. Additionally the number of delegate contracts has increased from 976 contracts in 2011 to 1,652 contracts in 2020. This equates to a 100% increase in funding to delegate agencies and a 69% increase in the number of contracts/grants awarded annually. While DFSS does still offer some direct services, represented in the remaining balance of the Department’s annual budget, the majority of the work we now do flows through delegate agency partners and are represented across the city below.
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2020 KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS, PROJECTS & INITIATIVES Children Services Division • Maintained Chicago Early Learning (CEL) Services during COVID-19 -- DFSS CEL community-based agencies have played a major role in supporting children and families through the current pandemic. During the executive Stay-at-Home Order, CEL programs stayed connected to families, referring them to services, connecting them to emergency supplies, and ensuring that families had resources to continue supporting the development of their children. CEL sites were able to resume in-person learning with stringent cleaning and operating standards at the approval of the Illinois Department of Family and Child Services Licensing. In addition to the PrE-Learning website, DFSS created the CSD Spotlight, a weekly e-blast. Each Spotlight shines a light on the terrific job agencies are doing to support their children, families, and staff. The Spotlight is an opportunity for agencies receive recognition for the work they do and share strategies with peers.
• Prepared HHS Re-compete Application for the Head Start and Early Head Start Grant – In November of 2019, DFSS received notice that its Head Start and Early Head Start Grant would be up for re-competition due to two deficiencies incurred by one of its delegate agencies. Although these deficiencies have since been corrected, the Federal Head Start Designation Renewal System requires Head Start grantees that incur more than one deficiency due to an incident during a five-year grant period to re-compete for their Head Start grant funding. The notice of funding opportunity for the city of Chicago service area was released on October 28, 2020 and is due, via the Federal grants.gov system, on January 5, 2021. DFSS has contracted with consulting agency with expertise in Head Start and grant writing, to draft its re-competition grant application. DFSS will be applying for $141,113,037 to serve 6,615 Head Start and 1,916 Early Head Start children through 43 delegate agencies. Prior to finalizing the application, DFSS analyzed the City’s enrollment need and capacity, cost of maintaining quality programs, and the interest of its current delegate agencies in remaining with DFSS in this application. All delegate agencies decided to remain with DFSS.
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Division on Domestic Violence Services • Created a Hotel Placement Program for DV Victims - During the Illinois Stay-at-Home Order, the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) awarded $1.25 million in funding to place 156 DV-victim households in hotels through June 30, 2020. DFSS directed IDHS to fund the Network, the agency that administers the Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline, to receive the funding directly to expedite the placement of victims and to ensure that hotel placement would be available statewide. Based on this initiative, DFSS has allocated $600,000 of CARES Act funding to two DFSS-funded DV homeless shelter providers to recuperate the beds decompressed to implement socialdistancing guidelines in their shelters. The DV Hotel Placement initiative will operate from December 2020 to June 2021 and will provide hotel rooms for 16 households at any given time that would have not been placed in shelter due to COVID-19.
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Secured New Grant Funding for Survivors of Violence - DFSS was awarded a U.S. Department of Justice Office of Victims of Crime Grant for Transitional Housing for Victims of Human Trafficking. The Division on Domestic Violence (DDV) partnered with the Salvation Army Salvation Army’s Trafficking Outreach Program and Intervention Techniques (STOP-IT) Program to provide transitional housing for victims of both sex and labor trafficking. The transitional housing program will provide up to two years of housing subsidy and comprehensive services for victims and their children. DDV anticipates assisting between 10 to 12 households per year. DFSS and the STOP-IT Program was awarded $500,000 over three years with the City providing administrative support and $167,000 in cash match. The PetSmart Foundation awarded DDV $50,000 to assist domestic violence (DV) victims that call the Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline and seek DV services in the DFSS Community Service Center. The purpose of the funding is to assist victims to keep their family pet while fleeing violence. Persons that cause harm to their partner often threaten the safety or abuse family pets to control victims. Many of these victims refuse to leave their pets behind or cannot afford to keep pets while fleeing their violent situations. Further, the keeping the family pet is often a source of comfort for children experiencing family violence. The funding will provide victims financial assistance for leasing fees associated with having a pet; emergency boarding; and gift cards to cover pet food and supplies – all needs that are increasingly critical as the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in victim calls for housing assistance and pet care is often essential in supporting access to housing options.
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Homeless Services Division • Maintained Shelter Decompression, COVID-19 Transmission Control, and Sustained Medical Partnerships with Shelter Based Service Teams - In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, DFSS opened five temporary shelter facilities with capacity for up to 699 beds to decompress congregate settings and allow for appropriate social distancing for individuals and families experiencing homelessness. Three temporary shelters were stood up within one week at the beginning of the pandemic – the first shelter opening on March 22nd for 145 guests relocated from three congregate settings. DFSS partnered with the Chicago Park District, Chicago Public Schools, YMCA of Metro Chicago, Salvation Army, and delegate agencies to provide facilities and services for relocated residents. This decompression continues to be supported by operating two temporary facilities to replace the beds lost in the regular DFSS-supported shelter system to implement social distancing measures. DFSS has worked closely with the Chicago Department of Public Health since the beginning of the pandemic to identify and respond to any outbreaks. Widespread testing began in early April in response to a couple early outbreaks. The percent of residents or staff in homeless shelters who test positive for COVID-19 following at least one reported case has declined over time with 21% of specimens testing positive in April, 6% in May and less than 2% in June. Percent positivity at the start of October was at 2% with positivity rates increasing to 7% at the end of November 2020 as positivity rates rise citywide. In addition to adding temporary facilities, overnight shelters have expanded operations to 24 hours of operation. Most recent guidance from Chicago Department of Public Health is a need for shelter decompression through at least June 2021 and likely until widespread availability of a vaccine. To prevent spread in homeless encampments, DFSS’ Homeless Outreach Prevention team and delegate agency partners regularly visit encampments to assess safety and nutritional needs, conduct symptom screenings, identify locations that require cleaning, and respond to requests for shelter. DFSS has also installed 12 portable washrooms and hand-washing stations at encampments with more than 10 residents. The Chicago Department of Public Health has partnered with Heartland Alliance Health and Lawndale Christian Health Center to establish Shelter-based Service Teams (SBSTs) across the City that now work with DFSS funded shelter providers and drop-in centers. Their goal is to provide trauma-informed, on-site primary healthcare, behavioral healthcare and – critically – infection prevention and control services to slow the spread 6
of COVID-19. The SBSTs are helping to build sustainable access to health care, building off partnerships that established through COVID-19 pandemic response efforts. •
Expanded the Flexible Housing Pool (FHP) to 27 Youth - In 2020, the FHP was expanded with a $5 million annual investment to focus on reducing youth homelessness. DFSS partnered with the Chicago Continuum of Care’s youth line of work, Youth Action Board and the Center for Housing and Health to expand the FHP from funding meant to serve single adults to fund developmentally appropriate housing models for homeless youth ages 18-24. Youth-dedicated FHP resources are used to test a non-time limited housing model (a tailored package of housing subsidies and supportive services) with transition to Permanent Supportive Housing as needed, to serve youth experiencing homelessness and previously or currently involved with other systems. Support staff include an outreach worker, case managers, and an employment specialist to provide wraparound services to clients entering the program. Other youth housing innovation has been incorporated including roommate matching opportunities, peer supports, and flexible subsidy amounts and case management intensity. As of November 30, 2020, twenty-seven unaccompanied youth have been housed through the FHP Youth Expansion initiative since the program launched in July.
Human Services Division • Implemented an Online Rental Assistance Program (RAP) platform- Beginning in March 2020, as a direct response to COVID-19 and in anticipation of the adverse economic impacts the growing global pandemic would have, DFSS completely revamped and upgraded the RAP process. By leveraging CARES ACT funding, DFSS increased resources to the program by $16 million and began building an online application submission and processing portal designed to increase the number of households with access to rental assistance and to decrease the time it takes to process, approve and fund applications. The funds are available through September 2022 and will provide up to six months of rental assistance to stabilize 1,200 individuals and families in their homes. The move to a web-based platform allows residents to complete the entire application online and upload all program eligibility documents remotely. This tool eliminates the need to visit the Community Service Centers in person for rental assistance, helps keep residents safe by encouraging social distancing, and reduces the spread of the coronavirus. The portal also allowed our Community Service Centers to provide timely emergency assistance to families experiencing domestic violence and other housing
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disasters like fire and flood. These emergency requests are not included in the randomization and are processed immediately. Since the City of Chicago launched the Chicago Housing Assistance Portal for renters impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic that includes the RAP platform on July 27th, two flights of funding have been released. To date, 3,586 applications have been submitted and 548 applications have been approved for $1,070,617 in funding. Additional funding flights will be released in 2021. To ensure we were able to manage the large number applications for assistance, the Department reassigned 14 staff from the Program and Fiscal Monitoring Teams whose work was suspended due to COVID-19. These staff have provided vital support to with processing applications and will remain with the Centers to support processing through December 2020. •
Provided Key Resources at the Community Service Centers (CSC) - During the City’s COVID-19 pandemic response, our Community Service Centers have remained open – these locations never closed. While there was limited foot traffic to the CSCs, staff continued to provide services and connect individuals and families to vital resources. So far in 2020, more than 43,000 individuals have visited the CSCs for resources despite the pandemic (this number represents the visits for services provided by DFSS staff and on-site delegate partners), the staff have responded to more than 29,000 calls and requests for services and have completed assessments and provided services to more than 8,000 clients. A few selected highlights are below: o Building on lessons learned in 2019 during the Coordinated Case Management (CCM) pilot, the CSCs launched a revised CCM program which was launched in August 2020 using a sub-population of participants recruited from the RAP. Due to the expected increase in the number of families in need, and the decrease in the number of walk-in clients at the CSCs, each center prioritized the coordination of service delivery that would help stabilize families within their homes instead of the original sub-population of clients (young people ages 16 to 24 who are disconnected from school and work and were parenting). o In addition to CCM, the CSCs in partnership with Heartland Alliance launched a new public Financial Navigators Program. The Financial Navigators Program is designed to help residents deal with the financial impact of the COVID-19 8
pandemic, providing remote assistance in navigating critical financial issues and making referrals to other social services and resources. Financial Navigators provide structured guidance over the phone that will help people strategize around supports for disruptions to their income and other financial concerns. o Through our CSBG Scholarship Program, DFSS awarded 46 scholarships ranging from $500 to $3,000, with a total value of $125,000. Of the 46 awards, 8 scholarship recipients are pursuing a master’s or doctorate degree, 36 are pursuing a bachelor’s degree while the rest are pursuing other qualifying educational programs. The upcoming CSBG Scholarship Application will be released in the spring of 2021. o Our Food Assistance Programs were expanded. In response to COVID-19, DFSS awarded $2,380,208 to GCFD to continue serving residents experiencing hunger and food insecurity through September 30, 2022. This funding increased the availability of fresh produce across programs; flexibility for clients seeking food assistance in terms of choice and location; as well as enrichment and jobs programs focused on nutrition education and urban agriculture. o Finally, the CSCs distributed Thanksgiving meals to 500 families (877 adults, 1,125 children).
Senior Services Division • Maintained/Increased Feeding Programs for Seniors - The safety, feeding and overall well-being of Chicago’s seniors continues to be a priority for DFSS. Our Home Delivered Meals (HDM) program serves older residents, 60 years and older, who are frail and/or homebound because of illness or an incapacitating. As part of our COVID-19 strategy, significant effort was made to ensure older adults who did not have any other resources for obtaining meals during the Stay-at-Home Order did not go hungry. To that end, the following action steps were taken and implemented around feeding:
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The HDM program grew from approximately 6,500 people being served weekly to nearly 11,00 seniors being served weekly at the height of the Stay-at-Home Order in June. Currently, we are serving approximately 9,500 older adults a week.
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Through the HDM program, three distributions of shelf stable meals to seniors were made. DFSS will continue to provide a one-week supply of shelf stable meals to seniors on a quarterly basis through 2021.
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Beginning in July 20th, we opened 48 congregate dining sites to allow seniors to pick-up “To-Go” box lunches Monday-Friday from 10:30am to 1pm. Over 200,00 box meals have been distributed through the end of November 2020.
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In October, we embarked on a new, Senior Food Box Pilot Program that delivers groceries to caregivers of older adults and people with Alzheimer’s Disease or a related neurological and organic brain disability. In partnership with the Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD), we plan to continue the program through September 30, 2021. Each food box accommodates a 2-person household, that includes fresh products with a choice to receive meat-less, vegetarian options. Based on an analysis of census-level community data, the program will eventually target 21 communities that have a high percentage of older adults in poverty.
Maintained Senior Safety and Well-being Checks - DFSS continues to make senior wellbeing checks a priority. By working with delegate agencies, over 1,175 in-person checks were made this year. This is a 102% increase over last year’s numbers. We continue to conduct good neighbor calls with staff and community members and have staff available at City Hall Room 100 to provide information and assistance to seniors and their caregivers that call our senior hotline with a less than 10% call abandonment rate. DFSS continues to receive over 350 calls a day. As a direct response to COVID-19, we had 24 Senior Services staff members certified as State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIP) counselors to provide health insurance counseling for Medicare recipients from October through December.
Workforce Development Services Division •
Awarded CARES Act Funding to Delegate Agencies - Through the CARES Act, the Workforce Services Division received an additional $3M to support Workforce Services through December 2020. This funding was used to invest in programs and services designed to support those agencies who were able to continue providing workforce services during the pandemic, especially returning citizens and other vulnerable residents who needed help reentering the workforce immediately. The Division used CARES funds to purchase software designed to increase residents’ access to job training and employment opportunities while optimizing capacity for workforce development delegates. In addition, the division allocated funds to three other delegates (Heartland Alliance, Employment and Employer Services, and Teamwork Englewood) to expand and increase their workforce services to people who are returning citizens, struggling with homelessness, and/or speak English as a second language. Finally, the Division allocated additional funds to Skills for Chicagoland’s future to join DFSS and the Mayor’s Office of Workforce Strategy and Business Engagement to 10
coordinate with delegate agencies as they connect clients to several employer partners including Walmart Health, Amazon and Advocate Aurora Health to connect them to the DFSS workforce delegate network of job seekers. •
Transitioned Delegate Agencies from Performance-Based to Line-Item Budgets - The economic fallout from the COVID-19 global pandemic dramatically impacted delegate agencies in the Workforce Services Division to provide services to clients. At the onset of the pandemic and Stay-at-Home Order, the Division chose to continue providing training and technical assistance to Delegate Agencies which was initially launched at the beginning of the year to help support Delegate Agencies and improve their understanding and usage of the ECM data management system upgrade and to monitor for program compliance. When Governor Pritzker extended unemployment benefits in August, the Division modified its strategy to focus on stabilizing delegates to prepare them for an increase in demand for Workforce Services in early 2021. This was done by transitioning our contracts from performance-based reimbursements to line-item budgets that allowed delegates to make the necessary investments in equipment and personnel, so they were able to continue providing services to vulnerable clients.
Youth Services Division •
Established Chicago Youth Services Corp (CYSC) - In 2020, OSC launched the CYSC, a sixweek program that employs youth ages 16-24 and offers opportunities for community service, project-based online learnings. As a result of COVID-19, CYSC was virtual in all its programming and events. Youth utilized the My CHI My Future web platform to access activities, connect with each other and share progress on their projects. We also utilized our Comp-U-Dot relationship to link needy youth to technology to ensure they could participate fully in this exciting new program.
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Throughout the summer, CYSC youth learned about service, leadership, and the impact they can have in their own neighborhood. Over 2,200 CYSC youth participated in the first year of this Mayoral initiative. DFSS delegate agencies linked 531 of those youth with participating delegate agencies including programs like Everyone Can Code, Economic Awareness Council (EAC) Money Mentors, Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council, SGA, Lurie Children’s Hospital, Mikva Challenge, and Center for Companies that Care. The Fall Service Corps is twelve-weeks, with 413 youth participating. Over 47% of the youth are either homeless, touched by the judicial system, speak English as a second 11
language, or are currently unemployed and out of school. Further, 60% of them reside in one of the 15 priority community areas for the Mayor’s Office of Violence Prevention, as outlined in the Our City, Our Safety plan. In addition, out of 413 participants hired for this cohort, 36% of them participated in the inaugural summer program. •
Executed a Virtual One Summer Chicago (OSC)- In the past, OSC has been the second largest summer youth employment program in the country. As a result of COVID-19, the largest summer youth employment program in the country, New York City’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), canceled their program offerings in 2020, which made Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s OSC program the largest in the country, serving over 20,000 youth representing all of Chicago’s 77 communities and 50 aldermanic wards. 80% of youth surveyed, reported that their experience in OSC this year made them more hopeful about the future. A feat important now more than ever, with young people facing school closures and other challenges due to the pandemic. From COVID-19 relief to racial justice progress, OSC created new leadership roles for youth, providing them a meaningful outlet for their intellect and energy – transcending to help others. For the first time since 2014, the OSC Program received a significant increase to the youth wages. Thanks to a $4.4M increase to the OSC budget, the youth wage rate for the Summer Jobs program increased from $8.25/hour to $14/hour. This change came at a time that when families were struggling to preserve through COVID-19. Youth reported that their family income was negatively impacted by COVID and their summer earnings were very important to their family
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Transitioned DFSS In-person Services to Virtual Formats Across All Program Divisions Many of our clients are accustomed to coming to DFSS sites and delegate agency partners for services. They prefer the in-person interaction and assistance they are able to receive. While our six Community Service Centers have remained open since the beginning of COVID-19, a number of our programs quickly pivoted to provide virtual programming for clients’ safety and efficiency. These programs include: o Early Learning: In collaboration with CPS and the Mayor’s Office, DFSS launched a Pre eLearning site for parents and teachers to provide educational resources for children. This site was particularly important for parents who were isolated and wanted to continue working with young children. Nearly 60,000 teachers and parents have accessed the site. o Rental Assistance Program: DFSS transitioned its paper-based rental assistance application to an online platform that can be accessed through a tablet, 12
smartphone or desktop computer at Chi.gov/housinghelp. The system randomizes applications based on geography and area median income. To date, 548 households have been approved and stabilized with emergency rental support. o Seniors Programming: We have created a virtual programming for seniors that includes a Halloween and Christmas parties, fitness classes and virtual counseling session for caregivers. o Youth Programs - To address the digital divide in our shift towards offering some summer programs exclusively online, we partnered with Comp-U-Dot, a national organization that provides reconditioned devices to youth who are in need. This effort was supported by generous donors. After completing our program, youth were the owners of the devices. Comp-U-Dot provides up to a year of tech support and information about free and low-cost internet options. Hotspots were also provided. •
Delegate Agencies Were Able to Voucher for Services During the Stay-at-Home Order Between March and June during the Stay at Home order, we continued to pay our nonprofit delegate agency providers wages for their staff. This meant that program staff, teachers, janitors, and cooks were paid even though some facilities were closed. This change was through the generous support of our state and federal funders. We allowed agencies to modify their budgets to transfer funding from lines such as transportation to supplies to purchase PPE and other online meeting services such as Zoom, WebEx and UberConference. Additionally, we were able to secure PPE through donations for some of our delegate agencies when they could not. In partnership with the Mayor’s Office and CPS, we launched online learning tools to support parents and teachers during the shelter in place. This was especially important for parents who were isolated with their young children ages birth to five and wanted to continue learning at home. Finally, beginning in April each of our seven program divisions we hosted bi-weekly webinars with our delegate agencies. This allowed us to convene our delegate agencies, provide the latest COVID-19 updates and allow them to ask us questions about changes to their programs.
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2020 OUTCOME GOALS In early 2016, DFSS launched an initiative to transition the department to a more outcomeoriented and data-driven approach to delivering services – one that moves the department beyond measuring how many people receive services, to focus instead on whether vulnerable Chicagoans are better off after receiving services. DFSS programs and administrative divisions developed outcome goals to reflect a refreshed mission and department priorities. The following pages are a sample of 2020 Q3 progress toward program division goals. Please note, each of the following divisions has different funding sources and is supported by different data platforms. The Youth Services Division’s data is not included due to outstanding data share agreements that would allow us to see data on all of our investments on a regular basis, and how they are helping us achieve city wide outcomes. We look forward to providing full year data for 2020 by mid first quarter 2021.
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Children Services Goal: 95% of children will have a medical home as a result of the implementation of continuity of relationships and improved family goal setting (note: program cycle is from 9/1 - 8/31) Actual = 89%
Goal: Increase Chicago Early Learning online applications citywide by 5% each year (note: program cycle is from 4/1 – 12/31; no Q1 data each year) Actual = 33% decrease
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Domestic Violence Goal: Increase calls from victims to the Domestic Violence Hotline by 3% each year Actual = 48% increase
Goal: At least 33% of clients seeking an order of protection are granted a plenary order of protection Actual = 49%
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Homeless Services Goal: Reduce by 5% the number of homeless individuals identified in the PIT Count each year Actual = 2% increase
Goal: Increase by 5% the number of households who are placed into permanent housing (includes intake for PH and self-resolve exits to permanent housing) Actual = 16% decrease*
*All Chicago has changed the way this metric is calculated in 2020, complicating comparison to last year
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Human Services Goal: 60% of clients in crisis progress at least one step in their area of primary need within a year of engaging with DFSS Community Service Centers or their local agencies Actual = 34%
Goal: Increase the number of people utilizing the Community Service Centers by 5% Actual = 59% decrease
*Community Service Centers will begin to track virtual engagements with clients in 2021
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Senior Services Goal: Increase the Information and Assistance call answer rate by 10% Actual = 26% increase
Goal: 100% of the calls entered into ECM for well-being checks will result in the Case Advocacy and Support delegate agency engaging with the client within 24 hours Actual = 72%
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Workforce Development Goal: 90% of participants placed in employment receive a base hourly pay equal to or greater than the Standard City Minimum Wage Actual = 93%
Goal: 75% of participants enrolled into Workforce Services programs will belong to a priority population Actual = 39%
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TOP 2021 INITIATIVES 1. Address Structural Issues that Threaten DFSS Services (i.e., staffing, funding cliffs, back log of invoices, etc.) - The steady growth of funding and delegate agreements at DFSS over the past 9 years has allowed for greater impact in Chicago's communities. This growth, however, has also created departmental structural issues around our ability to be responsible stewards of the funding. DFSS staffing has not kept pace with the portfolio growth resulting in a continual struggle to keep up with essential administrative tasks such as delegate agency contract execution, timely reporting to funders, and delays in invoice payments. The department's ability to properly manage the funds that must flow from funders to community partners is at risk due to staffing. The $105M received in CARES funding has greatly intensified this issue. An area of concern regarding funding is the sunsetting of the Human Capital Fund at the end of 2021. This fund was the result of a one-time settlement to the City in 2019. If replacement funds are not identified as a part of the 2022 budgeting process, the Youth Mentoring program will lose $1.551M and the Youth Enrichment program will lose $285K to their portfolios in 2022, resulting in the reduction or elimination of some delegate agreements. 2. Continue to inform Chicagoans of available financial assistance support (e.g., RAP, Financial Navigators, etc.) – In 2020, DFFS launched various programs and platforms to connect vulnerable residents to services. DFSS created the following pathways to make access to resources easier by creating an online Rental Assistance Program (RAP) platform that provides funding to Chicagoans who are at risk of becoming homeless. The RAP platform helps Chicagoans who have housing right now, but who may become homeless because they lost income or had another eligible emergency which prevents them from paying by applying for rental support online. For those with financial and employment issues, the Financial Navigators program is designed to help residents deal with the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, providing remote assistance in navigating critical financial issues and making referrals to other social services and resources. Financial Navigators provide structured guidance over the phone to help people strategize around supports for disruptions to their income and other financial concerns. In addition, DFSS has launched a pilot program that increases client capacity to connect to jobs more efficiently, training programs and supportive services so that underrepresented job seekers can rise above barriers to employment. As we move towards FY21, we will continue to make these resources available to residents. 21
3. SCaN Program – In March 2020, DFSS released the Service Coordination and Navigation RFP that aligned with the ongoing strategies and priorities of the Mayor’s Office of Violence Reduction and its plan to address violence in Chicago's most vulnerable neighborhoods. The SCaN program model seeks to stabilize eligible youth in their environment, increase their self-efficacy (confidence in the ability to exert control over one’s own motivation, behavior, and social environment) and assist in their transition to adulthood. The target population is youth ages 14-24 years old at the highest risk of violence involvement who live in Auburn Gresham, Austin, East Garfield Park, Englewood, Humboldt Park, North Lawndale, Roseland or West Garfield Park. SCaN is unique in that it will utilizes “navigators” as the primary contact for youth beginning at outreach. They will provide coordinated care intervention for youth, and will connect and coach youth to services and provide feedback around youth’s short- and long-term goals through a trauma-informed and equity lens. SCaN is not a cohort model, nor does it have a set “dosage”. Youth will work closely with their Navigator to develop goals that guide their individual service/case plan. Client success is determined by the completion of their goals and meeting the needs identified in the service plan. We look forward to launching SCaN with 13 delegate agencies in 2021. 4. Reimagine Early Learning Landscape - In October of 2020, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a Notice of Opportunity for an open competition to provide Head Start and Early Head Start in Chicago. This is the first open competition for Head Start and Early Head Start in the city since the program’s inception in 1965. HHS anticipates awarding up to 24 grants. Applications are due on January 5, 2021. DFSS will submit an application that includes all of its current (43) delegate agencies. Many DFSS delegate agencies will apply individually for direct funding. In the Spring of 2021, the Office of Head Start (OHS) will announce funding decisions that we anticipate will change the Chicago early childhood landscape by creating more Head Start/Early Head Start grantees in the City of Chicago. We do not anticipate that OHS will decrease its commitment to children and families in Chicago. DFSS and the City will have to adapt to the new funding landscape when OHS announces awards. This will involve creating new ways to collaborate across Head Start grantees to ensure that the Chicago children and families have access to high-quality, early learning opportunities, as well as adjusting the administration of programs at DFSS. Nonetheless, DFSS will continue to target the most vulnerable children and families in high need and under-resourced communities. 22