Unnatural Causes Town Hall Meetings

During June 2008, the Illinois African American Coalition for Prevention (ILAACP) partnered with Aetna insurance and UIC's Midwest Latino Health Research, Training, and Policy Center to convene three UNNATURALCAUSES town hall meetings in Cook, Peoria, and Kane counties. Each event included a 30-minute screening of clips from the series followed by a two-hour focus group, in which participants identified regional policies and intiatives to promote equity.

Over 270 residents and public health workers attended the screenings. With assistance from partners, the project rained over 40 facilitators and note takers to elicit and record discussions during the town hall meetings.

To learn more about this initiative, please contact Malik Nevels, ILAACP Executive Director, at 312.850.4444 ext. 222.

For more information on Unnatural Causes, please visit www.unnaturalcauses.org.

After School Funding Policy Taskforce

Convened in February 2008 by the Illinois Afterschool Partnership (IAP) through House Resolution 384, the After-School Funding Policy Task Force (ASFPT) developed policy recommendations to assure higher quality after-school programming for Illinois' 2.1 million children. The ASFPT's work resulted in publiction of The Report and Recommendations of the Illinois After-School Funding Policy Task Force. Recommendations also focused on creating a sustained, accountable, and dedicated stream of funding for a system of after-school time that strengthens and child's academic, social, emotional, and health outcomes.

As a task force member, the ILAACP provided guidance on the structure of programming, outcomes, qualifying services, accountability, and staff and volunteer qualifications. The ILAACP was particularly interested in making sure that smaller African-American managed after school programs, because of limits on organizational capacity, are not disparately impacted by the ASFPT's recommendations. To that end, the ILAACP worked with other members of the task force to include in the report a recommendation that additional resources be made available to provide capacity building, system development, and training and professional development services.

Illinois Diabetes Policy Coalition (IDPC)

The IDPC is comprised of several local and statewide advocacy organizations committed to preventing and reducing the incidence of diabetes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), African-Americans now make up one-fifth (1/5) of the United States diabetes population. The ILAACP is interested in leveraging the work of the IDPC to increase public awareness and consciousness in African-American communities about the steps they can take to prevent and reduce diabetes.

For more information, please contact Malik Nevels, ILAACP's Executive Director, at 312.850.4444 ext. 222.

IHDDI Taskforce

The Illinois Health Data Dissemination Initiative is a state-wide effort to make public health information more widely available on-line. As a member of the Illinois Public Health Institute's Steering Committee, the ILAACP is assisting the Illinois Public Health Institue (IPHI) in re-engineering our state's health data dissemination system through an expanded and improved web-based data query system.

The ILAACP is particularly interested in making sure the new system does a better job of tracking racial, ethnic and other health disparities and that community based organizations receive technical support and training to effectively utilize the system in building healthier families, schools, and neighborhoods.

Illinois' Fiscal Year 2011 State Budget

The state is currently facing a $13B budget deficit. This recent budget crisis has caused significant cuts in Illinois' funding for humand service, and potential cuts for FY 2011 are foreeseable. Given that Illinois has inadequately funded human services by approximately $4.4B since FY 2002, service providers should be worried that this trend will continue. Legislatures must realize that during this constriciting economy, there will be no decline in the demand for human services, cuts in funding will instantly harm vulnerable popultions and threaten small to mid-size bussinesses which impairs the economy even more.

To that end, the ILAACP has partnered with the Responsible Budget Coalition and the Illinois Parnters for Human Service, two networks of advocates dedicated to ensuring a responsible budget for Illinois. These coalitions believe that a responsible budget provides adequate funding, ensures quality services, and produces successful outcomes for Illinois essential priorities - i.e., Human Services.

To find out more about these coalitions and to join, please visit the following websites.

www.abetterillinois.com

www.illinoispartners.com

Established in 2005, the Illinois African American Coalition for Prevention (ILAACP) is a statewide, membership-based 501(c)(3) that strengthens early intervention and prevention systems, policies, and programs in African-American communities through culturally-relevant research, training, and advocacy.

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For general information about the ILAACP, please contact 312.850.4444 or ilaacpinfo@ilaacp.org