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Elizabeth M. Whitehorn, Director

March 1, 2012 Newsletter

Overview of February 29, 2012, Meeting and Future Meeting Dates

Thank you for participating in the recent Pathways to Community Living/Money Follows the Person (MFP) Stakeholder Committee meeting. If you were unable to attend we hope to see you at a future meeting. Please mark your calendars for the next two Stakeholder meetings - June 27, 2012, and November 7, 2012, from 10 a.m. to Noon. We would like to encourage greater consumer participation on the Stakeholder Committee. Please e-mail MFP the name(s) of consumers so that HFS can reach out to determine their interest in participating.

Purpose and Goal of Pathways to Community Living Stakeholder Committee

Stakeholders can provide critical targeted assistance and support to transition work because of their unique experience, resources, and care history with the individuals who want to transition to the community. Some of the general objectives of the stakeholder committee include:

  1. Obtain general program feedback

  2. Achieve consistent program improvement

  3. Develop new ideas and best practices

  4. Enhance communication with stakeholders and partners

  5. Invite public participation

The Purpose and goals of the Pathways to Community Living Stakeholder Committee will be posted on the program Web site.

Pathways to Community Living/MFP Program Update:

Pathways to Community Living Program staff at the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) plan to send out monthly program updates to stakeholders. This newsletter is the first program update to be sent out. Future newsletters will contain additional program updates on progress and improvements. In addition, past stakeholder meeting materials and presentations will soon be posted and available on the Pathways to Community Living Web site.

Calendar Year 2012 Transition Goals:

Pathways to Community Living program agencies have set transition goals for calendar year 2012. The total goal is 357 transitions.

Pathways to Community Living Outreach & Marketing Updates:

Print Marketing Material

HFS incorporated feedback from members of the stakeholder committee in addition to past feedback received via consumer based focus groups. Changes that were made include:

  1. Language was simplified in both the brochure and the consumer FAQ

  2. Excessive narrative was removed from the brochure to make it more clear and concise, with a focus on information consumers will be interested in

  3. The remaining material (fact sheets, Nursing Home staff program guidance) received grammatical edits and an updated Illinois Housing Development Authority Logo.

  4. HFS staff are working on creating a Spanish version of the consumer material

Thank you again for your feedback regarding the marketing and outreach material. HFS is asking for any additional feedback to be submitted by Wednesday – March 14, 2012. Please e-mail feedback to HFS.Webmaster@illinois.gov.

Web site

Once finalized, the marketing and outreach material will also be linked to the MFP Web site. Some key features of the Web site include:

Other Related News

Two State of Illinois Housing Coordinators Hired

Please help us welcome two housing coordinators, who joined the Governor's Office this month. Dan Burke and Brady Harden join the Long Term Care Rebalancing effort after years of related experience in the area of affordable and accessible housing.

Dan Burke - Statewide Housing Coordinator for Long Term Care Reform - Dan developed and preserved affordable housing under a variety of public and private funding programs as a private developer and as a nonprofit developer for 25 years with the Chicago Community Development Corporation and Preservation of Affordable Housing. Previously Dan worked as a legal services attorney specializing in housing law and as Chief of Staff to Alderman Luis Gutierrez. While working in Chicago's Uptown community Dan served on the founding Board of Lakefront SRO Corporation (now Mercy Housing/Lakefront) and on the Board of Directors of Residents for Emergency Shelter.

Brady Harden - Housing Coordinator, Region 1 - Brady has joined the Governor's Office to assist in the implementation of Illinois' Long Term Rebalancing Initiative. Brady was most recently employed as Executive Director of Project VIDA, and for nearly twenty years served as President and CEO of the Inner Voice, Inc. He was a founding member of the Chicago Homeless Task Force and the Chicago Continuum of Care. Brady serves on the Board of Directors of the Chicago Coalition for Homeless and has a long history of community activism.

Sincerely,

Lora McCurdy

Pathways to Community Living/MFP Project Director

Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services