HealthWorks of Illinois
Bureau of Maternal and Infant Health
Division of Community Health & Prevention
Illinois Department of Human Services
Program Description
Target
DCFS wards under age 21 in downstate Illinois and under age 6 in Cook County.
Purpose
To ensure children in foster care receive comprehensive health services.
Services
HealthWorks of Illinois helps foster parents to meet the health care needs of children placed in their care. Local program staff can assist foster parents in finding a physician, understanding a child's health problems and ensuring that children receive the routine and specialized health care services they need.
Delivery Method
Health care networks are led by 19 HealthWorks agencies responsible for program operation, training medical case managers and recruiting more primary care physicians to serve foster children. Medical case managers from local health departments or community-based organizations work with foster parents and physicians to coordinate health care services.
Program Data
|
SFY05 |
SFY06 |
SFY07 |
SFY08 |
| Program Expenditure (Numbers in 000's) |
$1,595.7 |
$1,596.0 |
$1,596.0 |
$1,608.8 |
| Number of Grantees |
19 |
19 |
19 |
19 |
| Number Served* |
16,278 |
15,584 |
17,100 |
16,320 |
*Includes children age 0 through 21
Program Effectiveness
This program has proven to be most effective in improving access to health care for children from birth through 5 years of age. Ninety-Two percent of the wards downstate were current with their immunizations and 91 percent were current with their well child visits. Ninety-nine percent of all foster children in medical case management have been identified with a primary care physician.
