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 Through the NOFO, IDPH will award a grant to one
organization in each of the nine regions outlined in Governor
Pritzker’s COVID-19 resurgence mitigation plan, with Cook County and
Chicago standing up their own contact tracing programs with
community organizations. Each of these nine organizations will serve
as coordinators in their region, awarding sub-grants to
community-based organizations in their region who can most
effectively conduct tracing, education and outreach in their
communities. The NOFO will be available on the IDPH website on
Friday, July 24, 2020.
“Today I’m proud to announce that applications for community-based
organizations to obtain funding through IDPH to collaborate with
local health departments will open on Friday. This opportunity –
called the COVID-19 Pandemic Health Navigator Program – is geared
toward organizations able to serve as coordinators for their region,
sub-awarding to other agencies, across three main areas of work:
education and outreach, contact tracing, and resource coordination
for those who need to isolate,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Because
Chicago and its immediate suburbs are running their own community
programs, these partnerships will be with regional leaders outside
of Cook County. Most important to our ability to minimize outbreaks
is the efforts of everyday people to do their part: if one of our
statewide force of 1,600 contact tracers calls you, please answer.”
The funding will assist organizations in contact tracing efforts
through the following three areas:
1) Provide education and outreach to promote everyday preventive
actions to help slow the spread of COVID-19, as well as identify
populations at greater risk of infection, and provide information to
breakdown myths and rumors. 2) Conduct
contact tracing through interviews and provide follow up information
for close contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases.
3) Coordinate resources, such as food, laundry, and
even housing if needed, for cases or close contacts of cases who
need to isolate or quarantine.
Expanding contact tracing efforts on a regional level will allow
local organizations to serve as coordinators for their community and
give them the ability to grant funds to other local agencies. To
apply, an organization must be a GATA (Grant Accountability and
Transparency Act) certified tax-exempt organization.
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 “By working with established community-based
organizations, we are hoping to reach people who may be at higher
risk of infection, but hesitant to talk with health officials,” said
IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “We need people who are trusted in
communities across the state to let people who have been in close
contact with a confirmed case know that they need to monitor their
health and take steps to potentially prevent spread of the virus to
their family, friends, co-workers, and other community members. This
is how we will help prevent outbreaks and the need to close
businesses or institute other temporary restrictions.”
IDPH continues to work closely with local health departments in
Illinois. Currently, the department has executed grant agreements
with 57 local health departments across the state, about 60 percent
of all local health departments, to enhance contact tracing efforts.
These local health departments will receive $50 million in contact
tracing funding over the next two weeks. IDPH is also finalizing
agreements with the remaining 40 local health departments. In total,
grants to local health departments for contact tracing amount to
more than $215 million. More than 1,600
contact tracers are currently available in Illinois. The number of
staff needed to conduct contact tracing varies depending on several
factors, including:
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Number of people seeking medical care or testing
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Number of new cases per day
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Amount of time that has passed from when symptoms start to
positive test results
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Number of contacts identified of each confirmed case
How quickly patients are isolated, and contacts
are notified and advised to stay home, self-monitor, and maintain
social distance from others
In addition to grants, IDPH has contracted with a software
application platform to ensure contact tracers across the state are
collecting all the same information and in the same way. A virtual
call center is also being established to ensure critical call
information is accurately conveyed. Additionally, IDPH has enlisted
Partners in Health (PIH) as a consultant to help build the contact
tracing program in Illinois. PIH has received acclaim for their
contact tracing work in Massachusetts and is providing IDPH with
technical assistance, including lessons learned through working with
jurisdictions nationwide.
[Office of the Governor JB Pritzker] |
