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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
PROPOSED RESOLUTION FOR ARPA HEALTHY COMMUNITIES PROGRAM INITIATIVES IMPLEMENTED BY COOK COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH (“CCDPH”).
WHEREAS, on March 11, 2021, the federal government authorized the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”) which includes $1.9 trillion in federal stimulus funds to hasten the United States’ recovery from the economic and health effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, specifically, the federal government has authorized and allocated a federal award of approximately $1,000,372,385 of ARPA funding to Cook County to assist the County in its recovery from the economic and health effects of COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, on June 24, 2021, the Cook County American Rescue Plan Act Framework (the “ARPA Framework”) was presented to the Cook County Board of Commissioners; and
WHEREAS, the Cook County Board of Commissioners via Resolution 21-3654 accepted the ARPA federal award allocated to Cook County to assist the County in its recovery from the economic and health effects of COVID-19 in the amount of approximately $1,000,372,385.00; and
WHEREAS, Resolution 21-3654 further authorized the Cook County Budget Director and Comptroller to create and implement a Special Purpose Fund for the ARPA award and other accounting measures to track the acceptance and spending of the federal award; and
WHEREAS, the Cook County Board of Commissioners authorized the Chief Financial Officer, Budget Director, Chief Procurement Officer and applicable using agencies to issue grants, contracts and agreements for ARPA programs approved via Resolutions 22-3657 and 22-0637; and
WHEREAS, Cook County’s Policy Road Map, adopted by Cook County in 2018, is the foundation of the County’s strategic plan with pillars focused on Healthy Communities, Thriving Communities, Sustainable Communities, Vital Communities, Smart Communities, and Open Communities.
WHEREAS, to further the Policy Roadmap Goal, the Cook County Health has developed a menu of Healthy Community programs and initiatives which have undergone review and approval through the Project Management Office process to utilize ARPA funding for such programs and initiatives pursuant to the issuance of grants, contracts, and agreements; and
WHEREAS Resolutions 22-3657 and 22-0637 provided that any grants issued regarding ARPA programs in an amount over $1M shall require the approval of the Cook County Board of Commissioners.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Cook County Board of Commissioners hereby approves the issuance of the following agreement by Cook County Health to utilize ARPA funding for multi-year terms through Fiscal Year November 30, 2024, subject to annual appropriation by the Board, for Cook County Health programs and initiatives as follows:
1. Enter into a Subrecipient Agreement with NAMI Chicago in an aggregate amount of up to $1,485,000 to implement the Sustaining Mental Health Hotline for Suburban Residents, a program to utilize NAMI Chicago’s existing mental health and crisis lines within in the city of Chicago to provide support for suburban Cook County residents. NAMI’s Helpline will provides phone service Monday - Friday, 9am to 8pm and Saturday and Sunday, 9am to 5pm to suburban Cook County callers. The Helpline is expected to field 3,500 - 4,000 calls per year in suburban Cook County. The Helpline will provide emotional support, information on mental health and substance use, refer callers to appropriate mental health or substance use resources, and assist in connecting to other social services when needed. NAMI will also provide intensive case support for callers with significant needs using their Clinical Support program.
2. Enter into a Subrecipient Agreement with the Chicago Food Policy Action Council (CFAC) in an aggregate amount of up to $1,381,545.00 to implement the Good Food Purchasing Program, a program to direct institutional food purchasing towards five core values: local economies, environmental sustainability, valued workforce, animal welfare and nutrition. It provides a metric-based, flexible framework to assess the progress of public institutions as they work to become a recognized Good Food Provider. In 2018, Cook County approved a resolution promoting GFPP that requires all Cook County food-procuring departments and agencies to participate, including: Cook County Health, Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, Cook County Sheriff's Office, and Cook County Bureau of Asset Management. CCDPH has partnered closely with Chicago Food Policy Action Council (CFPAC) on Cook County’s Good Food Purchasing Policy implementation since its adoption in May 2018 (Resolution 18-1650), which specifically identified CFPAC as a key implementation partner. CFPAC is a non-profit organization that co-develops, facilitates, advocates for, and supports implementation of policies that advance food justice and sovereignty for all residents across Chicago and the region. CFPAC specifically focuses on advocacy, network building, resource sharing and cooperative movement to dismantle systemic racism in the food system and uplift Black, Indigenous, Latinx and People Communities of Color who are mobilizing food in community. CCDPH and CFPAC jointly convene the Cook County Good Food Task Force (which includes all procuring departments and agencies, as well as local leaders in food system change). The task force is working collectively to ensure that GFPP implementation builds a more racially equitable, accountable, and transparent food supply chain. CCDPH and CFPAC will continue to partner with Illinois Public Health Institute/Alliance for Health Equity to expand participation in GFPP across the Cook County region by advancing good food standards in suburban Cook County hospitals. CCDPH and CFPAC have identified areas that require additional capacity to achieve our goals over the next five years including: program evaluation, communications/design, audits for scratch cooking equipment kitchen audit, food waste reduction auditing, scratch cooking kitchen staff trainings, and translation/interpretation services for GFPP-related outreach and events. Over the next five years, CCDPH will build upon existing Cook County GFPP implementation efforts with CFPAC, that which includes continuing to work with County Departments (Cook County Health, Cook County Sheriff's Office, and Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center) and our national partners at the Center for Good Food Purchasing to track and analyze Department’s food purchases, create Good Food Action Plans, and tackle plan recommendations. CFPAC will work with CCDPH and the Cook County Office of Chief Procurement Officer to incorporate GFPP in all County food-related solicitations based on latest recommended language and product availability/research. CFPAC will also work with CCDPH and the Cook County Office of Chief Procurement Officer to identify best practices and pilot innovative equity focused procurement and evaluation processes. In years 2-4, CFPAC will manage/monitor the release of micro-grants for suburban Cook County BIPOC food producers, suppliers, and cooperatives to expand their capacity to access Cook County institutional procurement channels.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Cook County Board of Commissioners recognizes that time is of the essence and authorizes the CEO of Cook County Health or his designee to negotiate and enter into the various agreements that outline the specific metric and impact data, and compliance with all ARPA reporting and monitoring requirements with the subrecipients listed above to implement the aforementioned programs.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Cook County Board of Commissioners hereby authorizes the CEO of Cook County Health or his designee to modify the agreements and funding allocations to the above identified subrecipients based upon need and utilization.
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