On July 26, 2023, Gov JB Pritzker signed House Bill 2831, codifying the Illinois Interagency Task Force on Homelessness, the Community Advisory Council on Homelessness, and both the Chief Homelessness Officer and the Office to Prevent and End Homelessness (OPEH) into law.
The Illinois Interagency Task Force on Homelessness
The Task Force is comprised of leaders of Illinois State Agencies. The Task Force is charged with developing a state plan on homelessness (called Home Illinois: Illinois' Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness) and delivering it to the Governor and General Assembly. Annually, the Task Force provides an update on progress in meeting plan deliverables. The purpose of the Task Force is to coordinate strategy, effort, and impact in programs for persons experiencing homelessness and housing instability. The Task Force fosters collaboration across agencies to make regulatory, policy, and resource changes to end homelessness and make oversight recommendations that will ensure accountability, results, and sustained success and develop specific proposals and recommendations for action.
For more information on the Illinois Interagency Task Force on Homelessness, including past and upcoming meeting information, current appointees and past meeting minutes, please see: https://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=138564.
The Community Advisory Council on Homelessness
The Illinois Community Advisory Council on Homelessness provides guidance and recommendations to the Task Force on the strategy and implementation of the Illinois Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness. The Advisory Council also submits recommendations to the Interagency Task Force on Homelessness annually. The representation on the Advisory Council is representative of rural, urban, and suburban communities across the state.
For more information on the Illinois Community Advisory Council on Homelessness, including past and upcoming meeting information, current appointees, the Council's annual report of recommendations to the Task Force, and past meeting minutes, please see: https://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=138572.
The Youth Homelessness Prevention Subcommittee
The Youth Homelessness Prevention Subcommittee was created under 15 ILCS 60/10 to drive the State's work to prevent homelessness among youth leaving State systems of care across agencies. The Subcommittee's establishing legislation recognized that one in ten youth, ages 18- 25, experience a form of homelessness every year. Affected youth are disproportionately African America. Youth who have interacted with State systems of care, such as the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (IDJJ), the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) Division of Mental Health, and Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) are disproportionately represented.
The Subcommittee began meeting in 2023 and meets every other month. The Subcommittee is made up of State agency leaders and community leaders, including youth with lived experience in systems of care and leaders of nonprofit serving youth. The Subcommittee is tasked with:
- Reviewing the discharge planning, service plans, and discharge procedures for youth leaving the custody or guardianship of the DCFS, IDJJ, IDHS Division of Mental Health, and IDOC to determine whether such discharge planning and procedures ensure housing stability for youth leaving State systems of care
- Collecting data on the housing stability of youth for one year after they are released from the custody or guardianship of DCFS, IDJJ, IDHS, and IDOC
- Creating a plan to improve discharge policies and procedures to ensure housing stability for youth leaving State systems of care based on data collected regarding youth experiencing homelessness after leaving State systems of care
- Providing recommendations on community plans for sustainable housing and create education and employment plans for homeless youth and strategic collaborations between DCFS, IDJJ, IDHS and IDOC with respect to youth leaving State systems of care
The State of Illinois, in partnership with the Youth Homelessness Prevention Subcommittee and other partners, has been awarded the US Department of Housing and Urban Development's Youth Homelessness Systems Improvement Grant (YHSI) beginning in October 2024. The grant will directly advance the work of the Subcommittee. The State's $1.3M award includes a data matching project among local Continuums of Care, the DCFS, IDJJ, and IDHS to better understand youth experiences of homelessness after discharge from State systems of care. The YHSI Grants will also amplify the participation of youth and young adults in State programming to reduce the incidence of homelessness by enhancing discharge planning and post-care support .Through the grant, the State will also create a Statewide Youth Advisory Committee and a youth internship program at DCFS and the OPEH.
For more information on the Youth Homelessness Prevent Subcommittee including past and upcoming meeting information, current appointees, and past meeting minutes, please see: https://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=141351.
