Dear Coalition Partners,
Thank you to everyone who gave helpful feedback on our workforce survey. In response, we updated, streamlined, and edited many aspects of the survey so it is more accessible for health and human service providers of all sizes. Below you will find our research rationale and outcome objectives.
Click here to go directly to the instructions and access the survey link.
A list of frequently asked questions can be found here.
From our conversations and meetings with coalition partners, we’ve heard a consistent theme across all regions of the state: workforce is the #1 challenge in the health and human services sector. As a result, this is Illinois Partners’ primary strategic focus for our policy and advocacy initiatives.
We understand that the sector is collectively experiencing a workforce crisis with record vacancies, turnover, and wage gaps. We have also heard from you that COVID highlighted these problems and likely exacerbated them. In investigating these issues further, we have found that there is no publicly available, disaggregated data about the health and human services workforce in Illinois, including the impact of the global pandemic.
Our research questions are these: What factors are most significantly impacting the stability of the health and human services workforce in Illinois? Which segments of the workforce are feeling the most detrimental effects?
Survey responses and qualitative data from focus groups will:
- Inform and drive Illinois Partners’ policy and advocacy agenda
- Give our coalition partners the tools and data you need to engage in local, regional, and statewide advocacy on your own behalf with boards, donors, and elected officials at all levels of government
- Facilitate dialogue at the local and regional level about geographically unique workforce issues
- Facilitate organizational reflection and strategic planning around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for human service organizations
We understand that responding to this survey requires time and effort from you and your team, but the data we collect is going to tell an important story about our workforce that as a sector, we need to share. The instructions and FAQ should help make the process more efficient. If you need technical assistance, email [email protected].
With gratitude,
