Dupage Policy Journal

DuPage County Human Services Committee met April 2

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

1. CALL TO ORDER 

9:30 AM meeting was called to order by Chair Greg Schwarze at 9:40 AM. Due to absence of a quorum, County Board members Liz Chaplin, Lucy Chang Evans, Sheila Rutledge, and Sam Tornatore were appointed to the committee as temporary members by Chair Schwarze to  establish a quorum.  

2. ROLL CALL 

Committee Members Dawn DeSart (9:53), Kari Galassi, (9:55) and Vice Chair Paula  DeaconGarcia (9:55) all arrived late due to the Public Works Committee meeting running late. They all arrived during the presentation, prior to any voting items being presented for approval.  

Other Board Members present: Member Patti Gustin and Yeena Yoo.  

Staff in attendance: Joan Olson (Chief Communications Officer), Renee Zerante (State's Attorney Office), Mary Catherine Wells, Keith Jorstad, and Tabassum Haleem (Finance), Donna Weidman (Procurement), Natasha Belli, Joan Fox, and Julie Hamlin (Community Services). Remote: Mary Keating (Director of Community Services), and Janelle Chadwick (Administrator of DuPage Care Center). 

PRESENT DeSart, Galassi, Garcia, and Schwarze 

ABSENT Childress, and LaPlante 

3. PUBLIC COMMENT 

No public comments were offered. 

4. CHAIR REMARKS - CHAIR SCHWARZE 

Chair Schwarze stated that County residents seeking Human Services assistance can now text to  the 211 line. This will initiate a conversation with a live, specially trained operator who will connect residents to the right resources. By simply texting their zip code to 898-211, residents can receive referrals to assistance near them. While texting 211 is only available during business  hours M-F 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., residents can still dial 211 or visit 211dupage.gov to find services 24/7. A press release will be distributed later in the day. 

Jennifer Komis, Intake & Referral Coordinator over the 211 DuPage phone line, added that 211 staff will ask a few statistical questions, such as age, gender, and zip code to find relevant  resources based on the DuPage County resource database. If texts are received outside of business hours, staff will respond to the texters the next business day. 

4.A. Presentation of the Best in Class Award to the DPCC 

Chair Schwarze introduced Annabel Leonida, Director of Nursing at the DuPage Care Center, along with Sara Friel, a representative from Telligen. 

Sara, a Senior Quality Improvement Facilitator with Telligen, stated Telligen is a quality  innovation network, quality improvement organization. They work to support the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to implement the key elements of the Department of Health & Human Services national quality strategy and federal healthcare reform. Telligen provides over 1500 nursing homes in their network with support for data analysis, quality improvement coaching, implementation of best practices, and useful tools, resources, and education on topics such as 5-star quality rating and quality measures.  

In response to the covid pandemic, Telligen created the Blue Ribbon Covid- 19 Vigilance Award  to support and recognize nursing homes for all their hard work as it related to creating policies, developing new protocol, and implementing a robust education program for staff, residents, and families. In 2023 Telligen introduced the Best-In-Class recognition program to recognize nursing homes for their ongoing commitment to quality and safety in resident care. Only 76 nursing homes in their four-state network were recognized in 2024, the DuPage Care Center  being one of them.

Annabel spoke to the numerous Care Center staff in the room praising them for all their hard  work and dedication and noting that this award solidifies them being recognized.  

5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 

5.A. 24-1127 

Human Services Committee - Regular Meeting - March 19, 2024 

RESULT: APPROVED 

MOVER: Dawn DeSart 

SECONDER: Kari Galassi 

6. COMMUNITY SERVICES - MARY KEATING 

6.A. FI-R-0063-24 

Acceptance and appropriation of the fiftieth (50th) year of the Community Development Block Grant PY24, Company 5000 - Accounting Unit 1440, in the amount of $4,539,329. (Community Services) 

RESULT: APPROVED AND SENT TO FINANCE 

MOVER: Dawn DeSart 

SECONDER: Paula Garcia 

6.B. FI-R-0064-24 

Acceptance and appropriation of the thirty-third (33rd) year Home Investment Partnerships Grant PY24, Company 5000 - Accounting Unit 1450, in the amount of $2,011,683. (Community Services) 

RESULT: APPROVED AND SENT TO FINANCE 

MOVER: Dawn DeSart 

SECONDER: Paula Garcia 

6.C. FI-R-0065-24 

Acceptance and appropriation of the thirty-sixth (36th) year Emergency Solutions Grant  PY24, Company 5000 - Accounting Unit 1470, in the amount of $288,247. (Community  Services) 

RESULT: APPROVED AND SENT TO FINANCE 

MOVER: Dawn DeSart 

SECONDER: Paula Garcia 

7. DUPAGE CARE CENTER - JANELLE CHADWICK 

7.B. HS-P-0017-24 

Recommendation for the approval of a contract purchase order to Brightstar Care of DuPage, for supplemental nursing staffing, for the DuPage Care Center, for the period April 13, 2024 through April 12, 2025, for a total contract amount not to exceed $290,000; per RFP #24-002-DCC. 

RESULT: APPROVED AND SENT TO FINANCE 

MOVER: Paula Garcia 

SECONDER: Kari Galassi 

7.C. HS-P-0018-24 

Recommendation for the approval of a contract purchase order to Novastaff Healthcare  Services, Inc., for supplemental nursing staffing, for the DuPage Care Center, for the period April 13, 2024 through April 12, 2025, for a total contract amount not to exceed $500,000; per RFP #24-002-DCC. 

Janelle Chadwick, Administrator of the DuPage Care Center, explained that it is difficult to get  nursing staff to fulfill all their shifts. At least three vendors are kept on contract for supplemental staffing. The use of each vendor is dependent on availability to get staff at any given time. The committee will see budget transfers throughout the year as the use of each agency fluctuates  throughout the year. 

RESULT: APPROVED AND SENT TO FINANCE 

MOVER: Paula Garcia 

SECONDER: Kari Galassi 

7.D. HS-P-0019-24 

Recommendation for the approval of a contract purchase order to RCM Health Care  Services, for supplemental nursing staffing, for the DuPage Care Center, for the period April 13, 2024 through April 12, 2025, for a total contract amount not to exceed $200,000; per RFP #24-002-DCC. 

RESULT: APPROVED AND SENT TO FINANCE 

MOVER: Paula Garcia 

SECONDER: Kari Galassi 

8. TRAVEL 

8.A. 24-1128 

Travel Request for Community Services Director to attend the National Association for County Community and Economic Development (NACCED) Conference in Tampa, Florida from July 10, 2024 through July 16, 2024. Expenses to include registration, transportation, lodging, and per diems for approximate total of $2979. (Community  Services) 

RESULT: APPROVED 

MOVER: Dawn DeSart 

SECONDER: Paula Garcia 

AYES: DeSart, Galassi, Garcia, and Schwarze 

ABSENT: Childress, and LaPlante 

9. INFORMATIONAL 

9.A. FM-P-0018-24 

Recommendation for the approval of a contract to Builders Chicago Corporation, for preventative maintenance and repair services for automatic and manual doors with threshold closers, as needed, for County facilities, for Facilities Management, for the two-year period of April 10, 2024 through April 9, 2026, for a total contract amount not to exceed $127,392, per lowest responsible bid #24-032-FM. ($66,692 for Facilities Management, $700 for Animal Services, $30,000 for Division of Transportation, and $30,000 for Care Center). 

RESULT: ACCEPTED AND PLACED ON FILE 

MOVER: Paula Garcia 

SECONDER: Dawn DeSart 

10. RESIDENCY WAIVERS - JANELLE CHADWICK 

No residency waivers were offered. 

11. DUPAGE CARE CENTER UPDATE - JANELLE CHADWICK 

Janelle Chadwick, Administrator of the DuPage Care Center discussed the use of supplemental staffing. The Care Center budget annually runs between $990,000 to just under $1M on average for their supplemental agencies. During the covid pandemic, the costs have been as high as $1.2M but are on trend to be about $100,000 under budget this year based on the first quarter’s actual usage. The rates for supplemental staffing have increased between $9.00 and $18.00 per hour due to the covid pandemic, depending on the shift, day of week, holiday, and crisis pay. Now that we have really cut down on the crisis, we are trying to reduce agency usage. Annabel has done a great job managing when we offer overtime or bonuses for our staff. The hiring has greatly improved based on our new contract rates, however CNA's continue to be a challenge. The CNA tenure program where Health and Human Services pays a portion of the CNA rate allowed us to pay CNAs up to $6.50 more an hour but many other facilities are now  offering the same program, so we are back to competing with them. The use of supplemental  agencies will continue. 

In response to Chair Schwarze’s question, Ms. Chadwick stated they are averaging about five to  six contract employees on the day shift, down from nine to ten, and average one at night, down  from two to three. The Care Center has restorative aids in each unit which can be used as a CNA  when needed.

12. COMMUNITY SERVICES UPDATE - MARY KEATING 

Julie Hamlin, Administrator of Community Development, stated 2024 is the Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) 50th Anniversary. The Community Development Commission will celebrate in April, the onset of the current grant year, and throughout the year with a social media campaign, putting forth some project spotlights of CDBG infrastructure, capital improvement, and public service projects they have done over the last couple of years.  They will also feature testimonials from communities’ nonprofits to have them talk about the benefits their CDBG projects have to the community. HUD will highlight the 50-year anniversary in August.  

13. OLD BUSINESS 

No old business was discussed. 

14. NEW BUSINESS 

Chair Schwarze referred to the $1.5M allocated to the Northern Illinois Food Bank to continue their program providing produce and for the addition of proteins to township agencies. Chair Schwarze wanted to revisit the townships that have previously opted out and get a consensus from the committee on how to proceed with the three townships in question, Bloomingdale, York, and Addison. Bloomingdale Township had opted out for cash early due to delivery logistic issues. Addison and York Townships opted out later in the program, not liking the quality of the produce. 

Chair Schwarze’s question to the committee was threefold. Do we want to ask the County Board for more opt out dollars for these agencies, ask agencies if they want to get back in the program, or do nothing?  

The committee discussed the options, with members noting they did not want to incentivize other agencies from opting out when the vast majority of the produce was fresh.  

The amount of funding the agencies would receive would depend on the tonnage of food townships received, Addison - $13,500, Bloomingdale - $15,500, and York - just under $9,000. Member DeSart asked about expanding the program to other agencies, specifically Conservation Foundation.  

After the consent of the committee, Chair Schwarze stated that he would have Human Services reach out to the three agencies that opted out and discuss their wishes moving forward.  

15. ADJOURNMENT 

With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:25 AM.  

RESULT: APPROVED 

MOVER: Paula Garcia 

SECONDER: Kari Galassi

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