CHICAGO - To prepare nursing students and increase available nursing staff in Illinois, State Senator Lakesia Collins helped to secure nearly $150,000 in funding for the University of Illinois Chicago’s readiness education program for nurses.

“We need better access to health care across our communities, and that begins with strategic investments in our workforce,” said Collins (D-Chicago). “The need for nurses in Chicago cannot be overstated; we need nurses now to help decrease the time it takes to access care, to manage the workload of current nurses, and to improve health outcomes for our community.”

The Illinois Board of Higher Education awarded a $148,967 nursing school grant to the University of Illinois Chicago. The grant was awarded through a competitive application process where institutions submitted enrollment, retention, completion and job placement rates of their students during a multi-year period and how grant funds would be used to enhance their program’s efforts to close equity gaps and improve student success.

SPRINGFIELD – Continuing her advocacy for youth in care across Illinois, State Senator Lakesia Collins is pushing for legislation to address their struggles and how Illinois can help with the transition out of DCFS and support their future.

“As someone who has gone through the foster care system and faced homelessness on my departure, I cannot explain how vital this change is for so many who are currently in the state’s care,” said Collins (D-Chicago). “Making sure our youth can transition out of care to find stability and thrive in life is my top priority.”

Collins’ legislation, Senate Bill 2820, would extend the eligibility for youth in care from 21 years old to 23 years old, allowing youth to stay in the DCFS system for two more years.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Lakesia Collins is leading a measure to combat retaliatory efforts from nursing homes on patients.

“Patients in nursing homes should not have to worry about retaliation for wanting better living conditions for themselves,” said Collins (D-Chicago). “We are making an effort to expand the definition of retaliation to fit actions that are interfering with residents’ quality of life and are in response to protected activities.”

Senate Bill 3559 would expand the definition of “retaliatory action” to include retaliation against residents of nursing homes in the form of reduced access to services, neglect, selective restrictions and other adverse actions that interfere with the quality of life and are related to their involvement in a protected activity.

SPRINGFIELD – To stop the disproportionate impact of financial responsibilities on families in the foster care system, State Senator Lakesia Collins advanced a measure that would include family circumstances as part of the determination process when evaluating parents’ ability to pay for the cost of foster care.

“Right now, parents can be held responsible for more than they can afford to pay, causing reunification efforts to be significantly delayed,” said Collins (D-Chicago). “If we want to focus our efforts on reunifying families, then we cannot overload the financial responsibility for care on parents who cannot afford it despite giving their best efforts.”

Senate Bill 3367 would make parents of children living in foster care responsible only for the cost of the foster care if the Department of Children and Family Services has conducted a thorough, individualized review of the family’s circumstances and found that payment would not be contrary to the best interests of the child and would not harm reunification efforts.