Illinois Opioid Remediation Advisory Board
Workforce Development & Infrastructure Workgroup
August 31, 2023
Virtual Meeting Held Via Zoom
Meeting Minutes
Workforce Development & Infrastructure Workgroup Members
Blanca Campos, Community Behavioral Healthcare Association (Chair)
Chelsea Laliberte Barnes, Live4Lali
Angie Hampton, Egyptian Health Department
Kristin Hamblock, Rosecrance
Teressa Perdieu, CEAD Council (DBA Hour House)
John Horsely, Kenneth Young Center
Mila Tsagalis, DuPage County Health Department
Lora Passetti, Chestnut Health Systems
Chris Schaffner, JOLT Harm Reduction
Dr. Trenton Fedrick, Habilitative Systems, Inc.
Michelle Saddler, Kittleman and Associates
Tom Wright, MD, Rosecrance
Angel Cruz, Peoria County Sheriff's Office
Jen Nagel-Fischer, The Porchlight Collective, SAP
Bessie Alcantara, Alternatives, Inc.
Welcome and Roll Call
Sue Pickett, PhD of Advocates for Human Potential, welcomed the group and explained that she will help facilitate the working group meetings. Blanca Campos, Workforce Development & Infrastructure Working Group Chair, called the meeting to order. Roll call was taken. All members were present except for Chelsea Laliberte Barnes, Chris Schaffner, Dr. Trenton Fedrick, Michelle Saddler, and Bessie Alcantara. Quorum was established.
Working Group Purpose
Ms. Campos, discussed the purpose of the working group. Behavioral health workforce shortages are at crisis levels across the state. This working group will discuss, assess, and make recommendations on strategies that could reduce behavioral health workforce shortages as well as promote equitable organizational practices to the Illinois Opioid Remediation Advisory Board (IORAB). Ms Campos noted that hiring and paying a living wage to PWUD, people in recovery, and people who have criminal justice records is Priority 2 in the State of Illinois Opioid Action Plan 2022 (SOAP). Sherrine Peyton, State Opioid Settlement Advisor (SOSA), thanked everyone for volunteering to be a part of the working group. She reiterated that the group will make recommendations to the IORAB specific to workforce development and infrastructure. Recommendations must align with the SOAP priorities and/or the opioid abatement strategies outlined in the Illinois Opioid Allocation Agreement. Members of this group represent different regions of the state to facilitate equitable distribution of funds.
Open Meetings Act (OMA) Requirements
Rachel Diamond (Rachel.Diamond2@illinois.gov) discussed the Open Meetings Act (OMA) and how it pertains to this working group. OMA is a public statute that requires meetings of public bodies be open to the general public.
- A public body, as defined by the OMA, is a group of people who are convening a meeting to make determinations or recommendations that will impact the public. Public bodies covered by OMA include all legislative, executive, administrative, or advisory bodies of the State, counties, townships, cities, villages, incorporated towns, school districts, municipal corporations, and all committees/subcommittees of public bodies.
- Meeting agendas must be posted 48 hours in advance and must include the time, location, and subject matter of the meeting. There will be page created for this working group on the IORAB website (IDHS: Illinois Opioid Remediation Advisory Board (state.il.us). Meeting agenda, minutes and Zoom links will be posted on the website. All meetings must reserve time for public comment.
- The OMA defines a meeting as a gathering of a majority of a quorum held to discuss public business. This includes email and phone calls. The term quorum is the minimum number of members who must be present at a meeting to take official action. For this meeting, as a 15-member body, a quorum is nine members, and a majority quorum is five. If four or more members are meeting to discuss working group matters, this would be considered a public meeting and advanced notice to the public is required. You must contact Ms. Diamond if you plan to meet with other working group members by phone, email or in-person to discuss working group business outside of scheduled meetings.
- A schedule of regular meetings must be posted, and meeting minutes are required. If a meeting is rescheduled, there must be a ten-day notice of the change.
- The OMA requires every public body to designate one member as the OMA designee who completes training within 30 days of their designation and annually after that. All other members must take a one-time OMA training within 90 days (unless they have already received this training). This training is on the Illinois Attorney General's website and can be found at: https://foiapac.ilag.gov/. Members must file a certificate of training completion. In addition, annual trainings are required for all members in ethics, sexual harassment prevention, and confidentiality. If you have already completed training(s) in these areas for other committees or groups, then you do not have to take them again. Ms. Diamond will create a step-by-step guide for signing up and completing the trainings and will send it out to the group.
- Dr. Pickett requested that members notify her in advance if they cannot attend a meeting. This helps us determine whether we will have quorum.
IORAB Recommendation Process
Ms. Peyton discussed the IORAB recommendation process. The Illinois Opioid Allocation Agreement outlines how funds are to be used and the recommendation process. Recommendations must address the eight opioid abatement core strategies listed in the Agreement as well as SOAP priorities. Core abatement strategies align with the SOAP. Recommendations from this working group will go to the IORAB for review. The IORAB will vote whether to accept recommendations; recommendations are then sent to the Governor's Opioid Overdose Prevention and Recovery Steering Committee for approval. Recommendations approved by the Steering Committee must be certified by the Attorney General's Office and then subject to IDHS/SUPR's procurement process. The IORAB seeks to ensure an equitable allocation of resources to all parts of the State. To date, the IORAB has approved $16.25 million in strategies and $52 million is available for approval over the next three years.
All recommendations include rationale and evidence supporting suggested strategies and/or services. Recommendations for the January 2024 IORAB meeting should be finalized in October; this gives the SOSA and her team time to prepare necessary documentation.
Meeting Schedule
The meeting schedule was discussed. Meetings will be held on the second Monday of every month from 11:00 am-12:00 pm. The next meeting is September 11, 2023.
Public Participation
No members of the public attended the meeting.
Adjourn
Ms. Campos made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Cruz seconded the motion. All working group members in attendance voted in favor of the motion. The motion passed. Ms. Campos thanked participants and adjourned the meeting.
