Champaign County Regional Planning Commission

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History

The Regional Planning Commission (RPC) was created by the Champaign County Board in 1966 under state enabling legislation allowing counties to create planning commissions for the purpose of planning for the welfare of County residents. At the time, in response to the national emphasis on land use planning, and in order to benefit from many federal programs, local units of government needed to show written planning efforts. At that time RPC was the planning agent for the cities of Champaign and Urbana, as well as for Champaign County. Municipalities had to have written comprehensive plans, whether or not they were formally adopted. These plans had many elements: land use, housing, human resources, water and sewer systems, and open space design.

Along with its charge of comprehensive planning, RPC was the Census depository for the County and was responsible for statistical information about population groups. Accordingly, it was also responsible for general population projections along with map preparation needed by local municipalities. Since the agency employed a number of trained professionals, it was the major entity providing technical assistance to local units of governments and helping to solve programs these governments faced in areas where internal staff specialties could be brought to bear.

As RPC was composed of the chief elected officials of the larger units of local government within the county, it qualified as a Metropolitan Planning Organization, which meant that it was eligible to receive state funds for transportation planning in the urbanized area. Therefore, the Champaign Urbana Urbanized Area Transportation Study (CUUATS) became another program administered through the Regional Planning Commission.

Originally each local government member of RPC agreed to a system of dues based on its population. These fees supported the intergovernmental, or A-95, review function. This activity also grew out of state enabling legislation, the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act. A-95 review was based on the premise that actions taken by one governmental body may impact others, and the Commission acted as a clearing house through which state and local governments and other interested agencies had the opportunity to learn about and to comment on proposed public-funded projects. At the time all federal and state agencies were highly responsive to review results noting potential duplications and adverse effects. Through this review process RPC staff assisted local government officials to examine project proposals in relation to accepted planning practices and potentially harmful environmental impacts. Further, it served to keep RPC informed about all public proposals originating within the county.

New federal legislation in 1980 discontinued the emphasis on planning as such, and reshaped many federal agencies and discontinued others. One of those discontinued was the Law Enforcement Administration. The Law Enforcement Administration through the Illinois Law Enforcement Commission funded local bodies for planning programs related to criminal justice. Up to that time the East Central Illinois Criminal Justice Commission had been responsible for criminal justice planning in Champaign and Vermilion Counties. With no funding, the Criminal Justice Commission was forced to dissolve. However, the police training function continued under the Sheriff’s Association, with RPC absorbing the program.

During the last 30 years RPC has responded to many opportunities for local governments brought about by federal and state initiatives. RPC’s original mission of planning for the welfare of county residents expanded to include planning for the public social welfare when in 1974 the RPC accepted the charge of administering the Comprehensive Employment and Training Program (CETA) for Champaign, Piatt, Ford, and Iroquois Counties, together labeled the Consortium. This program, using Public Service Employment funds, provided employment for many county residents through a work crew. With cooperative efforts of RPC, County Highway Department, and many villages and special districts, the crew undertook numerous small construction and maintenance projects: sidewalks in Royal, a park in Sidney, Village Hall renovations in Savoy and Homer, street tree plantings, and a sizeable weatherization project in Urbana.

Although the Champaign Consortium project was under RPC auspices for only two years, this experience, along with RPC’s traditional planning and technical assistance roles for local units of government, helped pave the way for the multi-year comprehensive County Housing and Urban Development grants for home rehabilitation, public facilities, and economic development activities. This community development activity has continued to the present with the Department of Commerce and Community Affairs requesting that RPC help villages access Community Development Assistance funds for needed public programs. During 1997, RPC staff developed and administered approximately 25 Community Development programs for rural villages in a ten-county area.

The original six-year comprehensive Community Development program for Champaign County continues with a large economic development loan program and county-wide housing rehabilitation under a grant-loan program for low-income homeowners. This extensive assistance to individual low-income homeowners, begun in 1979, expanded the role of RPC to that of a limited social service agency.

This history meant the Commission had the capacity to absorb the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) program, which grew out of the new Federalism of the early 1980’s. Thus administration of the CSBG established the Regional Planning Commission as capable of direct social service delivery. This expansion considerably broadened the contest of the mission of planning for the welfare of Champaign County residents.

In 1985 RPC became the official Community Action Agency for the County. This designation significantly enhanced RPC’s ability to attract additional state and federal funding. In the late 1980’s, RPC received Emergency Community Services Homeless and Federal Emergency Management Administration rental assistance funds specifically to help homeless and near-homeless residents obtain or retain permanent housing. The Community Services Block Grant allocation itself increased, allowing expansion of direct service programs. Currently, the CSBG program encompasses 10 social services-related programs, along with an active economic development small business loan program to create employment opportunities. The Community Services program alone provides services to over 2,500 unduplicated very low-income individuals each year.

In addition to the CSBG entitlement, RPC receives other funding for social services from the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) for eight counties, Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities (DMHDD) for three counties, and local one-time assistance through the cities of Champaign, Urbana, the Village of Rantoul, and the University of Illinois for the Daycare Network program. Also, RPC’s Senior Services program receives funding from a variety of sources, including the East Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging, the cities of Champaign and Urbana, the 708 (Mental Health Board) Board, and additional private sources. RPC has been fortunate to have Americorps member volunteers during the last two years to help in the homeless and family reunification (CDFS) programs, and Urban League community service workers in other programs.

In 1994, RPC began operation of the largest social service program in the county – Head Start. This pre-school program, with a staff of 75 and annual budget of $3 million, services approximately 479 children and their families with 92 additional children in the Migrant program.

This brief overview of the history of the Regional Planning Commission shows its progression from the mid-sixties through the late 1990’s. During this time, RPC has considerably expanded and broadened its operation. From development of programs needing traditional planning expertise such as comprehensive city plans, housing, transportation, rural wastewater studies, and zoning ordinances, to preparation of a comprehensive rural address system for emergency vehicles, the RPC has remained a coordinated intergovernmental planning body. Its venture into social services has been underscored by the annual “Comprehensive Needs Assessment and Resource Analysis” as well as by the State of the County Report, with both documents in heavy demand by other organizations and businesses. Regional Planning Commission documents such as these have traditionally been the basis for planning many grant requests and business ventures originating from within the county.

All facets of the RPC currently have strong bipartisan support at the local, state, and federal levels, with many opportunities existing for all sections of the organization. RPC’s extraordinary growth during the last few years has established healthy programs responsive to public needs. Throughout its existence the RPC has been an extremely viable and versatile entity, sensitive to local issues in an intergovernmental forum to resolve problems faced by local governments.

HUMAN SERVICES PROGRAMS

Case Consultant / Clinical Manager

Since programs operating within the Community Services division are consumer-oriented, the Case Consultant provides professional accountability to client-centered interventions of the Community Services staff. Case consultation across all community service programs ensures continuity of care and coordination among community services programs.

One of the charges of this position is to oversee measures necessary for DMHDD accreditation. The mandate of agencies providing coordination services for the developmentally disabled is to achieve accreditation by December 1999. Measurable outcomes of this accreditation process, as well as all other social services programs, include the following:

1) development of a quality assurance program;

2) practice protocols;

3) staff development in the arena of professional practice; and

4) adherence to funding accountabilities and outcomes.

This position is staffed by one full-time licensed clinical social worker.

The School-To-Work Transition Program

The School-To-Work Transition Program (STW) is a community service program offered to students in Champaign County’s public middle and high schools. STW’s goal is to help its participants make meaningful connections between their education and the world of work. In the broadest sense, STW targets classes with students who are low-income, non-college bound, and/or at-risk of not achieving their career potential. A STW Coordinator provides middle school students background information about a wide variety of careers by scheduling guest speakers and arranging on-site field trips. Business volunteers in the STW Speakers Bureau explain what a typical work day is like, the job’s responsibilities, expected salaries, promotional opportunities, advantages and disadvantages, along with advice on needed related high school classes. The STW staff selects small groups of students at the high school level to participate in several career exploration workshops led by a STW Coordinator. After students complete the workshops, STW staff arranges a job shadow experience for each student based on his or her career interest. This one-time job shadow experience gives each STW participant the opportunity to visit a local business to talk with and observe an employee during a regular workday. During the 1998-1999 school year, the STW staff facilitated over 90 contacts between students and business volunteers through guest speaker presentations, job shadow experiences and field trips.

Schools outside the Champaign and Urbana school districts have requested that RPC include them in the STW program. In the future, STW would like to expand its services to these districts, but would need additional staff.

The Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Scholarship

Each school year, the CSBG Scholarship Program provides $500 scholarship assistance to several low-income Champaign County residents to help pay for tuition, books, or other costs associated with their education at a post-secondary institution in Illinois. Over 50 students have benefited from CSBG Scholarships since the program started in 1986. The scholarship Committee of the Community Services Board is responsible for nominating candidates for board approval. RPC’s School-to-Work staff is responsible for advertising the availability of scholarships, coordinating the application and selection processes, distributing funds to the recipients, and ongoing student follow-up and record-keeping for the program.

Family and Community Development Program

The Family and Community Development (FCD) Program provides case management services to low-income families at risk of long-term welfare dependency. The goal of FCD is to cultivate family self-sufficiency as well as to establish community partnerships with other community resources for additional family services and support. The Case Manager focuses on comprehensive assessment, self-sufficiency planning, goal development and a plan to work toward achievement, employment preparation, job training and numerous other activities designed to move a family to self-reliance.

RPC has implemented the Illinois Job Advantage: Employment and Training Targeted Service Initiative Program. This program employs three Case Managers. The projected service outcome over a 14-month period is that from 134 total FCD participants, a minimum of 89 will remain continuously employed for at least 90 days.

INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT ACCOUNTS (IDA) Program

In November 1998, the RPC initiated an Individual Development Accounts (IDA) Program as an extension of services to existing welfare-to-work clients. The IDA model provides opportunities for the RPC to continue to support for persons who are completing a transition from economic dependence on welfare payments to financial self-sufficiency.

IDA’s are savings accounts that are established for low-income workers. Each month, IDA Program participants deposit a portion of their earnings, in accordance with a formal savings plan. Each dollar deposited by the saver from employment earnings will be matched by funding sources. Cooperative agreements with one or more banks eliminate barriers to savings, such as monthly service charges and minimum-deposit requirements.

After accumulating savings plus matching funds for 1-2 years, the account-holder may expend the monies for home purchase, business capitalization, and/or postsecondary occupational education.

The program design reflects the belief that the motivation, self-discipline, and knowledge needed for money management will be achieved most effectively through significant changes in behavior, attitudes, and lifestyle. Participants are required to attend monthly workshops, focusing on saving-related issues/topics, as well as an individual meeting with project staff.

As of February 1999, six IDA’s had been opened for low-income families. Currently, the Illinois Community Action Association (ICAA) and the Women’s Self-Employment Project (WSEP), Chicago are contributing matching funds for the IDA’s.

Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) Family Housing Preservation Program

The DCFS-funded Family Preservation Program places DCFS-referred households in permanent housing throughout the eight-county area. These families are ones which have been split up, removing all barriers to reunification except that of poverty. Other eligible families are those in danger of being split up because they are too poor to afford housing. The DCFS program has money to assist these families with first month’s rent, security deposit and other household needs. Many of these families are placed in subsidized or Section 8 housing. In addition to locating housing, negotiating with landlords, and ascertaining the family’s basic needs are met, staff also performs limited case management to help these households become stabilized. This program, known as Norman Program, is a result of a recent lawsuit against DCFS, which removed children from homes only because the family was too poor to afford housing.

Information and Referral

The Information and Referral Program provides assessment, information, referral, and supportive services to individual clients needing assistance in coping with difficulties in their lives. Although this operation is agency-wide, one full-time staff is funded to provide this service.

Homeless and Near-Homeless Rent Assistance Program

The Homeless and Near-Homeless Rent Assistance Program helps homeless households obtain housing and near-homeless households retain housing by paying first month’s rent or up to one month’s past-due rent. Services provided in this program include information and referral, assistance with landlord negotiations, and housing counseling. Program staff also compile and distribute CCRPC’s Pocket Resource Guide, a brief listing of community resources for food, shelter, financial assistance, clothing, health care and other basic necessities.

Champaign County Family Day Care Network

The mission of the Champaign County Family Day Care Network is to support affordable, accessible, quality child care for children with limited resources through a partnership of agencies that deliver training, technical assistance, and material resources to family child care providers and families in Champaign County. The Network delivers community-based support services, technical assistance, training, and resources to day care homes, predominately serving low-income families. Home Day Care Providers receive one-on-one consulting in their homes, have access to a lending library, may earn equipment for their day care homes, and may be eligible for grants. Providers may also attend monthly trainings, be part of a child care provider support group, and attend special events hosted in partnerships with churches, businesses, and service clubs. The program is implemented through a system of Hubs, each sponsored and funded by a different local business or organization. Current Hubs include Parkland College, Provena Covenant Medical Center, Carle Foundation Hospital, the Village of Rantoul, and Head Start. A Coordinating Council comprised of 18 organizations advises and assists in accessing resources for the Network.

The RPC has received funding for IDHS and our community to sustain the program. The Family Day Care Network has been in existence for about two years. We have worked to improve the quality of child care with approximately 90 home day care providers per year, who are serving approximately 550 children per year in Champaign County.

Individual Service Coordination and Pre-Admission Screening

Pre-admission screening (PAS) for developmentally disabled individuals determines eligibility for a range of services focused on preventing institutional care. The least restrictive environment is central to planning for care of developmentally disabled persons. Consumers and their guardians direct the choices for care once an individual is determined eligible.

In addition, case law requires services to a class of clients known as Bogard clients. This mandate includes intensive case management and monitoring to ensure choice and the least restrictive environment to meet individual needs.

These programs are administered through RPC staff in Champaign, Ford and Iroquois Counties. This program is funded through the Department of Human Services, formerly the Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities.

Senior Services

The mission of Senior Services is to maintain the independence of Champaign County seniors (60 years and holder) by preserving their dignity and right to choose options that best suit the senior and/or his/her family. Senior Services meets the needs of this diverse population by providing assistance through eight programs:

1) Rural Transportation Service is coordinated with the Illini Chapter of the American Red Cross to enhance independence and reduce rural isolation among county residents. In FY 99, 155 seniors used this service with over 2,700 trips in the county.

2) Information and Assistance is a centralized referral program designed to ensure that seniors, caregivers and families are equipped with necessary information, education and knowledge of community programs available to increase independence. Information is provided by telephone inquiries, face-to-face interviews, public speaking engagements and the publication of the county’s only Senior Guide which details over 300 services available to seniors.

3) Minority Outreach Program is designed to reach seniors who may not have participated in the aging network before, but are in need of various services.

4) Elder Care Program matches seniors who have a need for in-home care, with carefully screened individuals wanting to provide care. In 1998, 472 in-home care positions were listed and filled or referred. Two hundred forty positions were filled by elder care workers and 32 were referred, with 562 follow-up calls, including counseling.

5) Money Management Program (based on the national AARP model) uses trained volunteers to assist seniors who are having trouble paying monthly bills in a timely fashion. In 1998 the program served 25 clients for a total of 750 units. (A unit equals one hour spent on behalf of a client.)

6) Senior Repair Service provides needed repairs to a client’s home to provide a safe, healthy living environment and minimize future repair expense. In 1999, 125 seniors were served by this program.

7) “Ageless Solutions” is a fee-for-service geriatric consulting program which provides comprehensive in-home consultation to ensure that Champaign County seniors take full advantage of the network of aging services. This program has no income eligibility guidelines.

8) Community Outreach through Education focuses on providing timely, professionally prepared mini-courses on the care of seniors, prevention of diseases, current legislation, or current issues related to treatment of disorders. Numerous presentations are provided throughout the year.

Urban League Fresh Start

The RPC contracts with the Urban League to support the Urban League-Mental Health Center Fresh Start Program. The purpose of this program is to lower the recidivism rate. Urban League staff provides 24 weekly counseling and educational sessions to initiate a corrective-thinking approach for changing irresponsible/criminal behavior for 40 men currently charged. The objective of this program is that 20 of these 40 males will change past irresponsible/criminal behavior to continue education and/or become gainfully employed, with none being charged with new criminal offenses within 12 months. During 1997, 14 of the 20 targeted individuals completed 12 months with no new arrests.

Frances Nelson Health Center

The RPC contracts with the Frances Nelson Health Center to provide pharmaceutical assistance to uninsured and low-income Frances Nelson Health Center clients. During 1998, 169 individuals accessed needed medicines through this program.