Monday, April 27, 2020
Dear Community Partners,
IDHS has been here for you, and we will continue to be here for you.
We have been working with you to adapt your services, increase funding for critical areas, and protect the State's human services infrastructure. IDHS swiftly implemented several measures early in this public health crisis to shield organizations from catastrophic financial harm. Now, in addition to our efforts, the federal government is making resources available to ease the financial pressure on employers.
We need your help to maximize Illinois' share of these federal resources, so that we can continue to maximize your State support, as well. We are asking every eligible, IDHS-funded organization to apply for federal funding through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), but if you are not eligible, not approved, or face other challenges in doing so, IDHS will continue to support you through Fiscal Year 2020, as we have done for the past several weeks.
Every successful application for federal funding increases State funds available to continue to provide essential services. In addition, IDHS has the responsibility to ensure that government-funded services are accurately reported, and we believe the process we outline below will protect you, IDHS, and taxpayers from claims of double dipping -- and protect providers against audit findings in the future.
Please click here for more information and how you can reach out to our team with any questions; you will also see that IDHS has made every effort to keep this process as simple as possible. We have engaged the Illinois Collaboration on Youth (ICOY) and the Illinois Facilities Foundation (IFF) to support with technical assistance.
Also, please note that due to their unique billing systems, providers in the Child Care Assistance Program and the Early Intervention Program will receive separate notices from the Division of Family and Community Services regarding their processes.
We appreciate you and the work of your organization. We could not do this important work without you. We also thank you in advance for your cooperation and for your continued support to maintain Illinois' human delivery system during this challenging time.
Thank you,
Grace B. Hou
Secretary, IDHS
