421 N. COUNTY FARM ROAD  
WHEATON, IL 60187  
DU PAGE COUNTY  
Human Services  
www.dupagecounty.gov  
Final Summary  
Tuesday, April 2, 2024  
9:30 AM  
Room 3500A  
1.  
CALL TO ORDER  
9:30 AM meeting was called to order by Chair Greg Schwarze at 9:40 AM. Due to absence of a  
quorum, County Board members Liz Chaplin, Lucy Chang Evans, Sheila Rutledge, and Sam  
Tornatore were appointed to the committee as temporary members by Chair Schwarze to  
establish a quorum.  
2.  
ROLL CALL  
Committee Members Dawn DeSart (9:53), Kari Galassi, (9:55) and Vice Chair Paula  
DeaconGarcia (9:55) all arrived late due to the Public Works Committee meeting running late.  
They all arrived during the presentation, prior to any voting items being presented for approval.  
Other Board Members present: Member Patti Gustin and Yeena Yoo.  
Staff in attendance: Joan Olson (Chief Communications Officer), Renee Zerante (State's  
Attorney Office), Mary Catherine Wells, Keith Jorstad, and Tabassum Haleem (Finance), Donna  
Weidman (Procurement), Natasha Belli, Joan Fox, and Julie Hamlin (Community Services).  
Remote: Mary Keating (Director of Community Services), and Janelle Chadwick (Administrator  
of DuPage Care Center).  
DeSart, Galassi, Garcia, and Schwarze  
Childress, and LaPlante  
PRESENT  
ABSENT  
3.  
PUBLIC COMMENT  
No public comments were offered.  
4.  
CHAIR REMARKS - CHAIR SCHWARZE  
Chair Schwarze stated that County residents seeking Human Services assistance can now text to  
the 211 line. This will initiate a conversation with a live, specially trained operator who will  
connect residents to the right resources. By simply texting their zip code to 898-211, residents  
can receive referrals to assistance near them. While texting 211 is only available during business  
hours M-F 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., residents can still dial 211 or visit 211dupage.gov to find  
services 24/7. A press release will be distributed later in the day.  
Jennifer Komis, Intake & Referral Coordinator over the 211 DuPage phone line, added that 211  
staff will ask a few statistical questions, such as age, gender, and zip code to find relevant  
resources based on the DuPage County resource database. If texts are received outside of  
business hours, staff will respond to the texters the next business day.  
4.A. Presentation of the Best in Class Award to the DPCC  
Chair Schwarze introduced Annabel Leonida, Director of Nursing at the DuPage Care Center,  
along with Sara Friel, a representative from Telligen.  
Sara, a Senior Quality Improvement Facilitator with Telligen, stated Telligen is a quality  
innovation network, quality improvement organization. They work to support the Centers for  
Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to implement the key elements of the Department of  
Health & Human Services national quality strategy and federal healthcare reform. Telligen  
provides over 1500 nursing homes in their network with support for data analysis, quality  
improvement coaching, implementation of best practices, and useful tools, resources, and  
education on topics such as 5-star quality rating and quality measures.  
In response to the covid pandemic, Telligen created the Blue Ribbon Covid- 19 Vigilance Award  
to support and recognize nursing homes for all their hard work as it related to creating policies,  
developing new protocol, and implementing a robust education program for staff, residents, and  
families. In 2023 Telligen introduced the Best-In-Class recognition program to recognize  
nursing homes for their ongoing commitment to quality and safety in resident care. Only 76  
nursing homes in their four-state network were recognized in 2024, the DuPage Care Center  
being one of them.  
Annabel spoke to the numerous Care Center staff in the room praising them for all their hard  
work and dedication and noting that this award solidifies them being recognized.  
5.  
APPROVAL OF MINUTES  
5.A.  
24-1127  
Human Services Committee - Regular Meeting - March 19, 2024  
APPROVED  
Dawn DeSart  
Kari Galassi  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
SECONDER:  
6.  
COMMUNITY SERVICES - MARY KEATING  
6.A.  
6.B.  
6.C.  
FI-R-0063-24  
Acceptance and appropriation of the fiftieth (50th) year of the Community Development  
Block Grant PY24, Company 5000 - Accounting Unit 1440, in the amount of $4,539,329.  
(Community Services)  
APPROVED AND SENT TO FINANCE  
Dawn DeSart  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
Paula Garcia  
SECONDER:  
FI-R-0064-24  
Acceptance and appropriation of the thirty-third (33rd) year Home Investment  
Partnerships Grant PY24, Company 5000 - Accounting Unit 1450, in the amount of  
$2,011,683. (Community Services)  
APPROVED AND SENT TO FINANCE  
Dawn DeSart  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
Paula Garcia  
SECONDER:  
FI-R-0065-24  
Acceptance and appropriation of the thirty-sixth (36th) year Emergency Solutions Grant  
PY24, Company 5000 - Accounting Unit 1470, in the amount of $288,247. (Community  
Services)  
APPROVED AND SENT TO FINANCE  
Dawn DeSart  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
Paula Garcia  
SECONDER:  
7.  
DUPAGE CARE CENTER - JANELLE CHADWICK  
7.B.  
HS-P-0017-24  
Recommendation for the approval of a contract purchase order to Brightstar Care of  
DuPage, for supplemental nursing staffing, for the DuPage Care Center, for the period  
April 13, 2024 through April 12, 2025, for a total contract amount not to exceed  
$290,000; per RFP #24-002-DCC.  
APPROVED AND SENT TO FINANCE  
Paula Garcia  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
Kari Galassi  
SECONDER:  
7.C.  
HS-P-0018-24  
Recommendation for the approval of a contract purchase order to Novastaff Healthcare  
Services, Inc., for supplemental nursing staffing, for the DuPage Care Center, for the  
period April 13, 2024 through April 12, 2025, for a total contract amount not to exceed  
$500,000; per RFP #24-002-DCC.  
Janelle Chadwick, Administrator of the DuPage Care Center, explained that it is difficult to get  
nursing staff to fulfill all their shifts. At least three vendors are kept on contract for supplemental  
staffing. The use of each vendor is dependent on availability to get staff at any given time. The  
committee will see budget transfers throughout the year as the use of each agency fluctuates  
throughout the year.  
APPROVED AND SENT TO FINANCE  
Paula Garcia  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
Kari Galassi  
SECONDER:  
7.D.  
HS-P-0019-24  
Recommendation for the approval of a contract purchase order to RCM Health Care  
Services, for supplemental nursing staffing, for the DuPage Care Center, for the period  
April 13, 2024 through April 12, 2025, for a total contract amount not to exceed  
$200,000; per RFP #24-002-DCC.  
APPROVED AND SENT TO FINANCE  
Paula Garcia  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
Kari Galassi  
SECONDER:  
8.  
TRAVEL  
8.A.  
24-1128  
Travel Request for Community Services Director to attend the National Association for  
County Community and Economic Development (NACCED) Conference in Tampa,  
Florida from July 10, 2024 through July 16, 2024. Expenses to include registration,  
transportation, lodging, and per diems for approximate total of $2979. (Community  
Services)  
APPROVED  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
SECONDER:  
AYES:  
Dawn DeSart  
Paula Garcia  
DeSart, Galassi, Garcia, and Schwarze  
Childress, and LaPlante  
ABSENT:  
9.  
INFORMATIONAL  
9.A.  
FM-P-0018-24  
Recommendation for the approval of a contract to Builders Chicago Corporation, for  
preventative maintenance and repair services for automatic and manual doors with  
threshold closers, as needed, for County facilities, for Facilities Management, for the  
two-year period of April 10, 2024 through April 9, 2026, for a total contract amount not  
to exceed $127,392, per lowest responsible bid #24-032-FM. ($66,692 for Facilities  
Management, $700 for Animal Services, $30,000 for Division of Transportation, and  
$30,000 for Care Center).  
ACCEPTED AND PLACED ON FILE  
Paula Garcia  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
Dawn DeSart  
SECONDER:  
10.  
11.  
RESIDENCY WAIVERS - JANELLE CHADWICK  
No residency waivers were offered.  
DUPAGE CARE CENTER UPDATE - JANELLE CHADWICK  
Janelle Chadwick, Administrator of the DuPage Care Center discussed the use of supplemental  
staffing. The Care Center budget annually runs between $990,000 to just under $1M on average  
for their supplemental agencies. During the covid pandemic, the costs have been as high as  
$1.2M but are on trend to be about $100,000 under budget this year based on the first quarter’s  
actual usage. The rates for supplemental staffing have increased between $9.00 and $18.00 per  
hour due to the covid pandemic, depending on the shift, day of week, holiday, and crisis pay.  
Now that we have really cut down on the crisis, we are trying to reduce agency usage. Annabel  
has done a great job managing when we offer overtime or bonuses for our staff.  
The hiring has greatly improved based on our new contract rates, however CNA's continue to be  
a challenge. The CNA tenure program where Health and Human Services pays a portion of the  
CNA rate allowed us to pay CNAs up to $6.50 more an hour but many other facilities are now  
offering the same program, so we are back to competing with them. The use of supplemental  
agencies will continue.  
In response to Chair Schwarze’s question, Ms. Chadwick stated they are averaging about five to  
six contract employees on the day shift, down from nine to ten, and average one at night, down  
from two to three. The Care Center has restorative aids in each unit which can be used as a CNA  
when needed.  
12.  
COMMUNITY SERVICES UPDATE - MARY KEATING  
Julie Hamlin, Administrator of Community Development, stated 2024 is the Community  
Development Block Grants (CDBG) 50th Anniversary. The Community Development  
Commission will celebrate in April, the onset of the current grant year, and throughout the year  
with a social media campaign, putting forth some project spotlights of CDBG infrastructure,  
capital improvement, and public service projects they have done over the last couple of years.  
They will also feature testimonials from communities’ nonprofits to have them talk about the  
benefits their CDBG projects have to the community. HUD will highlight the 50-year  
anniversary in August.  
13.  
14.  
OLD BUSINESS  
No old business was discussed.  
NEW BUSINESS  
Chair Schwarze referred to the $1.5M allocated to the Northern Illinois Food Bank to continue  
their program providing produce and for the addition of proteins to township agencies. Chair  
Schwarze wanted to revisit the townships that have previously opted out and get a consensus  
from the committee on how to proceed with the three townships in question, Bloomingdale,  
York, and Addison. Bloomingdale Township had opted out for cash early due to delivery  
logistic issues. Addison and York Townships opted out later in the program, not liking the  
quality of the produce.  
Chair Schwarze’s question to the committee was threefold. Do we want to ask the County Board  
for more opt out dollars for these agencies, ask agencies if they want to get back in the program,  
or do nothing?  
The committee discussed the options, with members noting they did not want to incentivize other  
agencies from opting out when the vast majority of the produce was fresh.  
The amount of funding the agencies would receive would depend on the tonnage of food  
townships received, Addison - $13,500, Bloomingdale - $15,500, and York - just under $9,000.  
Member DeSart asked about expanding the program to other agencies, specifically Conservation  
Foundation.  
After the consent of the committee, Chair Schwarze stated that he would have Human Services  
reach out to the three agencies that opted out and discuss their wishes moving forward.  
15.  
ADJOURNMENT  
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:25 AM.  
APPROVED  
Paula Garcia  
Kari Galassi  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
SECONDER: