In Illinois, Pandemic Funding Is Running Out for Community Health Workers –

Illinois used federal pandemic money to hire community health workers who connect people with food banks and rental assistance programs, just like public health officials have long hoped to do. What will happen to the community trust that has been built up when the federal money runs out and the workers disappear?
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Platinum Goose
4 years ago

Scott is one of the over 650 community health workers the Illinois Department of Public Health hired through local, community-based organizations starting last March. The team has completed at least 45,000 assistance requests. Here’s the simple math for any visiting downvoters, 45,000 completed requests / 650 workers = 69 completed requests per worker or roughly 1.33 completed requests per week per worker.  Feel bad for the lady too, seems like she’d be a perfect fit as a public sector employee. It’d be interesting to know if these community-based organizations have any particular political affiliation.

Jerry
4 years ago

You don’t need a weatherman to tell you which way the wind blows. You don’t need a bureaucrat to tell you how to find free stuff. Word-of-mouth gets that news propagated fairly fast. How did everybody show up on time for the burning and looting? No need to pay for a station wagon and mileage and overtime and pensions. Just leave the warehouse door unlocked.

NB
4 years ago

This stories a good example where a lot of the arpa $ went instead of paying off unemployment insurance loan. $62K w benefits for community health worker? I’m sorry for the lady in story, a little, but I still have no idea what community health worker, violence interrupter, covid tracer, etc do, or if anyone in state gov is overseeing any of these grants? Or how any of these make work jobs add to long term value of state? But I guess jb looked good zooming around the state handing out the fed arpa bucks and thats whats important for… Read more »

ger42
4 years ago
Reply to  NB

Very good comment, I felt the same way when I read the article and that was before you posted your comment. We have 5% unemployment in Illinois which is above the national average and almost double our surrounding states. Why is JB not promoting getting people back to work (0ff the government tax dollars)? LOL to JB, your Lack of Leadership!

Pat S.
4 years ago
Reply to  ger42

Thanks for the ‘LOL’ lack of leadership comment – so apropos.

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