Initiatives

The Illinois Department of Human Services partners with internal and external stakeholders to support strategic initiatives throughout the State of Illinois designed to increase the availability, accessibility and/or quality of life and public services for thousands of Illinois families.

We offer these descriptions of state and local initiatives in order to share information that may be useful or of interest to you.

  • The IDHS-Business Enterprise Program (BEP) is committed to increasing BEP participation in contract opportunities within the department, as well as ensuring that certified BEP vendors benefit from contract opportunities with all state agencies under the purview of the governor.
  • IDHS recognizes that the communities we serve are also built through access to business and employment opportunities. For these reasons, IDHS is in full support of the Fair Practice in Contracting Act which seeks to improve representation of African-American owned businesses in all state contracts.
  • Healing Illinois is a racial healing initiative led by the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), in partnership with The Chicago Community Trust, designed to distribute $4.5 million in grants to organizations across the state to activate the work of racial healing.
  • The primary intent and purpose of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) law is to protect health insurance coverage for workers and their families when they change or lose their jobs.
  • The Illinois Disabilities Services Advisory Committee (DSAC) is an advisory committee, appointed by Governor Blagojevich, to assist in the development and implementation of the Illinois Disabilities Services Act; a policy adopted by the State of Illinois to draft a plan to enhance its compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the US Supreme Court's Olmstead Decision.
  • The Illinois Information Technology Accessibility Act became law on August 20, 2007, requiring Illinois agencies and universities to ensure that their web sites, systems, and other information technologies are accessible to people with disabilities.
  • Partners For Hope is an Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) Interfaith Welfare-to-Work Initiative. It is a partnership between DHS local offices and faith communities to help individuals and families become and stay self-sufficient and reach their maximum level of independence.
  • "Smart Path...to a unified DHS" was created to renew the original vision for DHS and unify the agency for the benefit of those we serve.