Illinois Opioid Remediation Advisory Board (IORAB)
Workforce Development & Infrastructure Working Group Meeting
June 30, 2025
Virtual Meeting Held Via Zoom
MEETING MINUTES
Workforce Development & Infrastructure Working Group Members
Blanca Campos, Community Behavioral Healthcare Association (Chair)
Chelsea Laliberte Barnes, Wolf Pack; Live4Lali
Angel Cruz, Peoria County Sheriff's Office
Dr. Trenton Fedrick, Habilitative Systems, Inc.
Kristin Hamblock, Rosecrance
Angie Hampton, Egyptian Health Department
John Horsely, Kenneth Young Center
Jen Nagel-Fischer, The Porchlight Collective, SAP
Lora Passetti, Chestnut Health Systems
Teressa Perdieu, CEAD Council (DBA Hour House)
Chris Schaffner, JOLT Harm Reduction
Mila Tsagalis, DuPage County Health Department
Welcome and Roll Call
Blanca Campos, Chair, opened the meeting. Sue Pickett, PhD, facilitator, Advocates for Human Potential (AHP), Inc., conducted roll call. All members were present except Chelsea Laliberte Barnes, Trenton Fedrick, John Horsely, Lora Passetti, Chris Schaffner, and Angel Cruz. Quorum was established.
Review and Approval of April 7, 2025 Meeting Minutes
Ms. Campos called for a motion to approve the April 7, 2025 meeting minutes. Mila Tsagalis made a motion to approve the minutes. Teressa Perdieu seconded the motion. All members present voted in favor of approving the minutes. The motion passed.
Recommendation Submission and Review Process
Ms. Campos introduced Verella Olguin, State Opioid Settlement Administrator (SOSA), IDHS/SUPR. Ms. Olguin stated that the next IORAB meeting will be on July 24. Ms. Olguin reviewed the recommendation submission and review process. Anyone can submit a recommendation for the use of settlement funds through the website (Illinois Remediation Funds Core Abatement Strategy Proposed Recommendation Form).The SOSA's office reviews all incoming recommendations to determine if they meet the basic criteria for funding. These criteria include that the request: 1) is general and not for a specific organization, 2) does not supplant existing funding, and 3) aligns with an abatement strategy, approved use, and a State Opioid Action Plan (SOAP) priority. Recommendations that meet these criteria may then be reviewed by the IORAB Working Group Chairs to determine if they should go directly to the IORAB or be reviewed by one or more of the Working Groups. Currently, the SOSA receives and reviews recommendations up until the day of the IORAB meeting. Therefore, recommendations that meet the basic eligibility criteria may be presented at IORAB meetings even if there was no time for the Working Group Chairs to review them. To ensure that Working Group Chairs review all recommendations prior to presentation at an IORAB meeting, IDHS/DBHR is establishing a new rule that recommendations must be submitted at least 3 days prior to the Working Group Chairs meeting. This requirement will be implemented for the October IORAB meeting.
Priority Recommendations for the IORAB
At their June 16th meeting, the Working Group Chairs reviewed one recommendation. The Public Education and Awareness Campaign recommendation seeks $15 Million (M) to implement a comprehensive public education and awareness campaign to decrease stigma, encourage recovery, and increase engagement with local harm reduction and treatment resources. The target population for the recommendation is non-Hispanic Black Illinois residents. Ms. Olguin stated that she will meet with the recommendation submitter next week and asked the group to share any questions that she should ask during that meeting.
Discussion:
- Ms. Campos asked for the length of time for the $15M to be spent. Ms. Olguin responded that it would likely be $5M per year for 3 years. She will clarify this when she meets with the submitter.
- A Working Group member stated this would be a large investment and that there were no examples of evidence-based practices provided in the proposal. Ms. Olguin responded that the Medical & Research Working Group had provided references to relevant research and had also stated that $15M was a large amount of funding for this project.
- A Working Group member emphasized that it would be important for the person or organization implementing this recommendation to connect with similar local work and resources to avoid duplication.
- A Working Group member noted that the new federal budget may result in a loss of the social safety net, including Medicaid benefits, for many Illinois residents. If this happens, they may need to use opioid remediation funds to stabilize this safety net. Communication campaigns may lead to frustration for people who are struggling to get access to services. The Working Group member recommended that they wait and see what the federal budget would fund and determine the associated impact on services in Illinois before deciding to fund awareness campaigns
- Ms. Campos agreed that given potential decreases in federal funds and potential duplication of existing efforts, the amount of $15M for this recommendation was too high. Ms. Olguin asked the Working Group to give her an appropriate amount of funding for the campaign.
- A Working Group member stated that there should be an assessment of current work in Illinois related to public education and awareness about opioid use. Ms. Olguin responded that there are currently public education and awareness campaigns Rethink Recovery and A Dose of Truth. However, these campaigns are ending and there will be no state money put towards awareness campaigns when this funding is effective.
- Tina Wilson, Deputy Director of the Illinois Regional Care Coordination Agency (IL RCCA) stated that the RCCA funds the $9M Public Awareness Campaigns on Substance Use and Supports (PACSS) but that this campaign focuses on cannabis. The funds have a 3-year award period and there are 3 recipients. Donnell Barnett, IDHS/DBHR, stated that the $9M for this program was added on to funds from a prior program that had completed research to craft the messaging. He stated that a research campaign to help inform messaging and the actual media buys for the campaign could be two separate proposals.
Re-Entry Recommendation
- The Working Group discussed a recommendation that had been drafted to use remediation funds for programs to support incarcerated individuals re-entering the community. Specifically, funding would support organizations that have staff in jails offering support, resources, and a lifeline for individuals preparing for release. The recommendation notes that funded services should include a comprehensive range of harm reduction approaches and should be trauma-informed and culturally responsive.
- A Working Group member stated that re-entry services are needed in their community. She stated that they have been working to embed staff within jails to assist people with planning for release, but that achieving this has been difficult.
- A Working Group member stated that counties in her area are using local opioid remediation dollars and court services funds to support re-entry.
- A Working Group member stated that the recommendation should not specify that funds go to organizations that have staff in jails as organizations that do not currently have staff in jails should be eligible to apply if they are willing to place staff in jails. A Working Group member stated that the recommendation should specify that funds should go to jails that are willing to cooperate and be engaged in the program.
- Ms. Olguin stated that there is an existing $6M Treatment for Incarcerated Populations program through the Illinois Department of Corrections (DOC) to address the needs of people with opioid use disorder (OUD) and substance use disorder (SUD) involved in the justice system. This recommendation includes training for staff in best practices and other services. Ms. Olguin discussed that they would want to ensure that any new recommendation addressed gaps in that program to avoid duplication.
- A Working Group member noted that preferences for re-entry services will differ by community. Another Working Group member noted that some jails may want in-person services and have space and safety measures to support these services; others may not have infrastructure to support in-person services and will want virtual services.
- A Working Group member reviewed the WARM program that the IORAB had funded to support reentry: WARM Subaward Announcement - Illinois Regional Care Coordination Agency. This program gave 6 organizations a total of $6M over three years for warm handoff and recovery support services for individuals with OUD or SUD who are re-entering the community.
- Ms. Campos discussed creating a recommendation for funding direct services and asked if the Working Group could discuss this recommendation via email. Dr. Pickett noted that due to the Open Meetings Act the group cannot have discussions via email. Working Group members can email Dr. Pickett suggestions that she can share with the group.
- Ms. Olguin noted that the WARM program does include funds for re-entry services and the contract with the DOC provides services for all justice-involved populations including individuals local jails. The new recommendation to fund re-entry services might be considered supplanting as these services are funded.
- Ms. Campos discussed that the Working Group will wait until budgets are finalized to determine gaps in funds for direct services. Then they will determine how much money is needed to address this gap and use it to craft a revision to the recommendation for $8M in bridge funds.
Public Participation
No members of the public participated in the meeting.
Adjourn
Ms. Campos asked for a motion to adjourn. Angie Hampton made a motion. Mila Tsagalis seconded the motion. Ms. Campos adjourned the meeting. The next meeting of the IORAB Workforce Development & Infrastructure Working Group will be held on October 6, 2025, from 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM.
