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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
2-1-1 METRO CHICAGO INITIATIVE TO BE LED BY THE UNITED WAY OF METRO CHICAGO
WHEREAS, the social services network in Cook County includes a complex system of service providers and the burden of navigating available services often falls on residents; and
WHEREAS, the COVID-19 pandemic brought greater focus to the needs for various social and human services, highlighting the need for a comprehensive, centralized information and referral system for human and social service access; and
WHEREAS, Cook County, the City of Chicago, the United Way of Metro Chicago, and the Heartland Alliance desire to implement a 2-1-1 system, an information and referral system for health and social services that has been implemented successfully across the country; and
WHEREAS, the above stakeholders convened an Advisory Committee with participation by the Bureau of Economic Development (BED) in early 2021 to determine how to establish and implement a 2-1-1 system in Cook County; and
WHEREAS, that Advisory Committee, after a systematic review of the top 2-1-1 systems in the United States and research on operating and governance options, determined that the United Way of Metro Chicago was the recommended entity to receive a grant to operate the 2-1-1 system in Cook County; and
WHEREAS, Cook County, in collaboration with the City of Chicago, desires to support the implementation of 2-1-1 Metro Chicago to better serve our residents; and
WHEREAS, Cook County and the City of Chicago have each agreed to provide funding through the 2024 calendar year to operate the 2-1-1 system with the intent to determine and provide further funding of the system on an ongoing basis, subject to annual appropriation by the City and County's governing bodies.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners hereby authorizes BED to enter into a multiyear Grant Agreement with United Way of Metro Chicago on behalf of Cook County, subject to annual appro...
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