Illinois' Out-of-Whack Budget
from The Chicago Tribune
After weeks of sounding the alarm about massive cuts in services to children, the elderly and the disabled, Gov. Pat Quinn said he wants lawmakers to return to Springfield before the end of the month to fix Illinois' out-of-whack budget. "I think all of the legislators have to return to the Capitol to confront reality," Quinn said. "This is an hour of need for the people of Illinois. It's not a time to meander. I think they should pack their bags, get ready." More

T.I.I - This Is Illinois...Dire Impact of the $9.2 Billion Funding Gap
from NASW IL
To paraphrase Leonardo DiCaprio in the 2006 film, Blood Diamond, T.I.I - This Is Illinois and Illinois is now in desperate straits. Providers are receiving official letters from state agencies announcing cuts of 50-75 percent. Members are calling the office informing us of havoc that is currently occurring in agencies around the state. The current 2010 doomsday State Budget if passed will have draconian results. More

Obama Tells AMA U.S. Health Care Costs are a 'Ticking Time Bomb'
from The Chicago Tribune
President Barack Obama called the cost of health care a "ticking time-bomb" that threatens to slow the nation's path to prosperity, as he pushed a massive reform plan during an appearance in Chicago before the nation's largest doctors group. "We are spending over $2 trillion a year on health care ‒ almost 50 percent more per person than the next most costly nation," he said during a nearly hour-long speech before the American Medical Association. "For all this spending, more of our citizens are uninsured, the quality of our care is often lower and we aren't any healthier." More

Area Social Services to Be Hit Hard by State Cuts
from The Pantagraph
Children in day care, families in crisis and the mentally ill would be among those whose services would be drastically reduced if Illinois state budget cuts go through as planned. Social service providers began receiving notices late last week about how state budget cuts would affect their programs. Several McLean County service providers said that cuts would be drastic and funding from other sources couldn’t make up the difference. More

Department of Children and Family Services Could Face $460 Million in Budget Cuts
from The Chicago Sun-Times
Illinois' child welfare agency has begun warning hundreds of caregivers to abused and neglected children that $460 million in budget cuts will occur by month's end if state lawmakers don't approve a fully funded state budget. Such a move would eliminate or severely curtail services to as many as 16,000 children and 40,000 families statewide and could put the state in violation of a federal court decree from the 1990s that instituted standards of care for wards of the state. More

Special Education Bill Opens Access to Classes
from The Chicago Tribune
While children with disabilities are guaranteed an education through the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the law is vague on the access that parents ‒ and the experts they hire ‒ can have to classrooms. House Bill 628, passed this legislative session and awaiting Gov. Pat Quinn's expected signature, removes the vagaries. The law guarantees a parent ‒ or an expert hired by the parent ‒ the right to monitor a child's special education classroom, or to observe in advance the classroom a school district believes is the best fit for the child. More

Elementary School Teaching Youth Healthy Ways to Solve Disputes
from The Pantagraph
As a mediator, Daena Hernandez of Bloomington, Ill., has helped solve problems that brought friends back together. “My first try, I got it right, and the two kids were friends again,” said Hernandez, who works with Lucia Rebollo of Bloomington to help solve student disputes. Their skills stand out because both girls are 9 and fresh from finishing third grade at Bent Elementary School.The efforts help reduce violence, bullying and provide coping skills. More

Elder-Abuse Cases on the Rise
from The Wall Street Journal
Lawyers and financial advisers are seeing more cases of adult children turning to their parents for financial help because of the troubled economy -- and more cases where those children cross the line. In some cases, adult children are making a grab for assets held by parents who are too fragile mentally or physically to make decisions that are in their own best interests. In other instances, parents may feel pressured to hand over money or property, or even change their will, for fear of losing a more-precious asset: a child's love. More

Mental Health Stigma Persists
from The Tennessean
Many experts call this problem a nationwide epidemic. Dramatic strides in mental-health treatment and pharmaceutical intervention have made it possible for students to attend academic institutions that they would not have been able to a generation ago. This is a good thing. More