421 N. COUNTY FARM ROAD  
WHEATON, IL 60187  
DU PAGE COUNTY  
Human Services  
www.dupagecounty.gov  
Final Summary  
Tuesday, November 18, 2025  
9:30 AM  
Room 3500A  
1.  
CALL TO ORDER  
9:30 AM meeting was called to order by Chair Greg Schwarze at 9:30 AM.  
2.  
ROLL CALL  
Other Board members present: Member Saba Haider and Member Yeena Yoo  
Staff in attendance: Nick Kottmeyer (Chief Administrative Officer), Joan Olson (Chief  
Communication Officer), Renee Zerante (State's Attorney Office), Keith Jorstad and Karina  
Holman (Finance), Donna Weidman (Procurement), Gina Strafford-Ahmed (Community  
Services), Mary Keating (Director of Community Services), and Janelle Chadwick, remote  
(Administrator of the DuPage Care Center).  
Cronin Cahill, DeSart, Galassi, Garcia, LaPlante, and Schwarze  
PRESENT  
3.  
4.  
PUBLIC COMMENT  
No public comments were offered.  
CHAIR REMARKS - CHAIR SCHWARZE  
Chair Schwarze talked regarding the food insecurity issue. He thanked the committee for their  
willingness to consider requests from local food pantries who are seeing the extra activity due to  
the federal government shutdown. Full SNAP benefits were delayed for 67,000 DuPage County  
recipients. On Thursday, November 13, 2025, the Illinois Department of Human Services  
announced that people would receive their full month of November SNAP benefits by November  
20, 2025. The urgency to meet what we thought would be escalating needs at the food pantries  
appear to have abated at this time. The bill passed in Congress provides SNAP benefits through  
September 2026 but also includes SNAP benefit cuts, impacting. 360,000 Illinoisans and  
thousands of DuPage County residents. The funding bill that was passed for the upcoming year  
imposes work requirements for 23,000 un housed individuals, veterans, or youth that have aged  
out of foster care in Illinois. Most people who receive SNAP benefits are currently required to  
work until reaching age 54 to qualify except for parents with dependents. Now the work  
requirements will be raised to age 64, and work requirements will be imposed on parents with  
children younger than 14 years old.  
In conversation with County Board Chair Conroy, Human Services Vice Chair Garcia, and Mary  
Keating, we are proposing to go back to the drawing board to confer with the pantries and social  
service agencies to devise a more proactive plan to address a slower growing emerging need  
within the community. We must be mindful of the increased costs of medical insurance now that  
the Affordable Care Act subsidies have expired. Chair Conroy created her sustainability initiative  
in next year’s budget that we will be voting on next week to respond to the needs of the  
community related to the federal budget cuts. We will be working on a longer-range plan based  
on input from our stakeholders on how to address these issues. I will bring you more information  
as we develop it.  
The headline today is that we will hold off on funds to the food pantries for now. We will move  
forward with the funds requested for DuPage Pads because we know we must house residents  
this winter. The resolution will be on next week’s Finance and CB agendas.  
Chair Schwarze opened the topic for questions.  
Member Cronin asked about the status of the committee consensus at the previous meeting to  
move $2M for food insecurity. Ms. Cronin mentioned a potential resolution for $1M. Chair  
Schwarze replied that a memo was sent regarding the $1M which is now on hold but there is a  
consensus to move the $2.1M (a different allocation of funds) into a food line item. This will be  
done via a budget transfer and is still in the works.  
Member DeSart noted that she is in support of leaving the $2.1M for the small nonprofits, as  
originally budgeted. She feels a small $5,000 donation could sustain a program for a whole year  
and that the County Board is already earmarking $2M for food insecurity. She was also in favor  
of splitting the $2.1 M into 18 portions and allowing the board members to determine how the  
funds are utilized.  
Chair Schwarze replied that the Assistant State’s Attorney recommends that this subject be  
brought up in the future under old or new business as the immediate need and conversation is on  
hold. He added that we should get through the budget process and talk to the pantries to  
determine their immediate needs. There will also be some future SNAP reductions the County  
will have to address.  
5.  
APPROVAL OF MINUTES  
5.A.  
25-2798  
Human Services Committee - Regular Meeting - November 4, 2025  
APPROVED  
RESULT:  
Cynthia Cronin Cahill  
Kari Galassi  
MOVER:  
SECONDER:  
6.  
LENGTH OF SERVICE AWARD  
6.A. Length of Service Award - Janet Cather - 15 Years - Community Services  
7.  
DUPAGE CARE CENTER - JANELLE CHADWICK  
7.A.  
7.B.  
7.C.  
HS-P-0055-25  
Recommendation for the approval of a contract purchase order to LeadingAge Illinois, for  
annual dues, for the DuPage Care Center, for the period of January 1, 2026 through  
December 31, 2026, for a contract total amount not to exceed $36,000. Other  
Professional Services not suitable for competitive bid per 55 ILCS 5/5-1022(c). Vendor  
selected pursuant to DuPage County Procurement Ordinance 2-353(1)(b).  
APPROVED AND SENT TO FINANCE  
Cynthia Cronin Cahill  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
Kari Galassi  
SECONDER:  
HS-P-0056-25  
Recommendation for the approval of a contract purchase order to Symbria Rehab, Inc.,  
for Community Wellness Partner for the Wellness Center staffing and management for  
the Outpatient Center at the DuPage Care Center, for the period of December 1, 2025  
through November 30, 2026, for a contract total not to exceed $66,500; per RFP  
#25-100-DCC.  
APPROVED AND SENT TO FINANCE  
Lynn LaPlante  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
Kari Galassi  
SECONDER:  
HS-P-0057-25  
Recommendation for the approval of a contract purchase order to Professional Medical &  
Surgical Supply, to provide examination gloves, for the DuPage Care Center, for the  
period of January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026, for a total contract not to exceed  
$90,000; per bid #23-102-DCC, second of three one-year optional renewals.  
APPROVED AND SENT TO FINANCE  
Paula Garcia  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
Kari Galassi  
SECONDER:  
7.D.  
HS-P-0058-25  
Recommendation for the approval of a contract purchase order to Symbria Rehab, Inc.,  
for Physical, Occupational, Speech and Respiratory Therapy Consulting Services, for the  
DuPage Care Center, for the period of December 1, 2025 through November 30, 2026,  
for a contract total not to exceed $700,000; per RFP #25-092-DCC.  
APPROVED AND SENT TO FINANCE  
Dawn DeSart  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
Kari Galassi  
SECONDER:  
8.  
9.  
RESIDENCY WAIVERS - JANELLE CHADWICK  
No residency waivers were offered.  
DUPAGE CARE CENTER UPDATE - JANELLE CHADWICK  
Janelle Chadwick, Administrator of the DuPage Care Center, stated they sent the 90%  
completion report to the state last week for units 2 North, 2 Center, and 2 South. Now that the  
federal government shutdown has ended, they hope that the inspection for occupancy will happen  
soon, and residents can take occupancy within the next month. They will move the 1 North  
residents up to 2 North and then begin the 1 North construction.  
There are no current covid cases at the Care Center.  
10.  
COMMUNITY SERVICES UPDATE - MARY KEATING  
Mary Keating, Director of Community Services, stated the Glen Ellyn Full Circle project she  
mentioned at the last meeting that was in peril with the federal government shutdown had the  
funds released prior to the shutdown ending. Glen Ellyn can now move forward with their  
contract for demolition.  
Ms. Keating talked regarding the anticipated changes to the Continuum of Care (CoC) program.  
HUD provides funds to communities under the CoC which provides services for homeless  
service providers. The County receives about $8M annually. Some of the grant funds are used in  
our department for HMIS and planning work. Most of the funds go to DuPage Pads, Midwest  
Shelter for Homeless Veterans, and Catholic Charities. In the past our emphasis has been on  
permanent supportive housing, individuals chronically homeless with disabling conditions. This  
entails about 60% of our funds going to support permanent supportive housing. The programs are  
also operating under a housing first model which means individuals have a very low barrier to  
entry. Research and evidence show how people need to be stably housed before they can work on  
their mental health or substance abuse issues.  
The funding was built on a two-tier premise. In the past you could put 90% of your funding into  
tier 1, which was protected. Tier 2 was competitive. Communities strategized on which programs  
they wanted to protect and what programs could be vulnerable to cuts.  
The new Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) came out yesterday with drastic changes.  
Tier one now will only protect 30% of projects. The other 70% of funds will be awarded  
competitively. The real issue is that only 30% of the awarded funding can now go towards  
permanent supportive housing which means there will be programs that are currently housing  
people that will lose that funding. These people all have disabilities and many of them are  
seniors. The new administration is pushing transitional housing models, getting individuals  
quickly employed and onto economic self-sufficiency. We will be meeting with providers,  
seeing if there are individuals who have the potential to move into transitional housing.  
Otherwise, we must address the impact of the lost funding.  
Additionally, housing first models are no longer allowed. Individuals must participate in services  
as of day one. That is a barrier and goes against all the evidence about what is the most effective  
way to get people successfully housed.  
Ms. Keating does not know if our annual demand will be the same or how the metrics will be on  
the scoring for DuPage County since there has been a large emphasis on permanent supportive  
housing in DuPage County. There are about 600 people in permanent supportive housing in the  
County and this new ruling will probably affect about half of them.  
Ms. Keating answered questions from the committee.  
11.  
12.  
13.  
OLD BUSINESS  
No old business was discussed.  
NEW BUSINESS  
No new business was discussed.  
ADJOURNMENT  
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:00 AM.