Advocate to make real change. Learn what is happening in our community, and share that knowledge with others. From reading articles on the working poor to handing out literature on eldercare, we can all do our part. Together, we can help raise awareness about the most critical health and human service needs in our region and what can be done to help.

Anyone can champion the cause. Whether you’re speaking out to improve education, income and health, reaching out to members of Congress, or wearing the LIVE UNITED shirt to show your support, you can help inspire hope and create opportunities for a better tomorrow. So go ahead and advocate in a LIVE UNITED world. Do it in public. Be visible. Be loud.
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As a leading community impact organization, United Way knows that real and sustained change in community conditions requires more than money. United Way engages decision-makers and policy leaders at the local, state and national levels to help address the most important community needs.

Illinois Public Policy
Advancing the common good through public policy

United Way of Illinois is a statewide association of 59 local organizations, including United Way of Metropolitan Chicago, that create long-lasting community change by addressing underlying causes of the most significant issues.

United Way engages in public policy advocacy because we recognize that it is our civic obligation to use our experience and knowledge to help inform policy-makers’ decisions regarding policy and funding of critical human service programs.

United Way advocates:

1. Wise, strategic investments to ensure that state government makes adequate appropriations to provide the critical service that communities throughout Illinois depend upon.

2. Responsible management honoring existing contracts and providing timely reimbursement payments for services provided to our most vulnerable citizens.

3. Greater Efficiency and Accountability by creating a public/private task force charged with review and study of the public contracting process to develop contract and administrative reforms that increase transparency, utilize cost-saving technologies and engage community service providers as equal partners.

4. Increasing access to health & human services so that all residents have access to the information necessary to benefit from important community services and volunteer opportunities. 2-1-1 is an easy-to-remember, toll-free, 24 hour, information line that connects people in need with health and human services and volunteer opportunities. 2-1-1 takes the burden off the 9-1-1 system. UWI seeks to establish a public/private partnership with state government to make 2-1-1 available to all Illinois residents.

In addition to its work in support of the human services sector and 2-1-1 UWI’s overall agenda will remain flexible to respond to emerging and urgent issues. Federal issues will be monitored in cooperation with the United Way of America’s policy team.

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United Way Public Policy Center
The United Way of America Public Policy office is located in Alexandria, VA and is dedicated to supporting local and state United Ways as they work to advance the common good. Policy staff educate and engage Members of Congress, the Administration, and other policymakers about the goals and priorities of the United Way movement, United Way’s community impact work, and United Way system expertise in education, financial stability, nonprofit sector strengthening, and health-related issues. United Way of America also supports and encourages local and state United Ways to participate in public policy at the local and state levels.

For opportunities on how to get involved and advocate on behalf of United Way’s federal legislative priorities, visit the United Way Legislative Action Center.

Advocate for Education
Education: Helping Children and Youth Achieve Their Potential

Every 26 seconds a student drops out of high school, with this educational crisis disproportionately affecting minority and low-income students. United Way is committed to improving educational opportunities for all students, regardless of ethnicity, disability, income, or geography. United Way realizes the importance of quality along the continuum of education and will advocate for policies aimed at increasing student achievement from early childhood education and school-readiness, to high school completion, college readiness, and workforce development.

Advocate for Income
Income: Promoting financial stability and independence

Given the cost of living today, a family needs to earn at least 2.5 times the federal poverty level to be considered financially stable in most communities. United Way will advocate for policies to enable the nation’s lower-income families and individuals to increase income, build savings, and grow assets, so that this population may enjoy not only decreased debt and sustained income, but also the ability to work towards attaining stable housing, post-secondary education or workforce training, entrepreneurship, or retirement. United Way of America will work to support state and local United Way public policy efforts that serve to advance this goal.

Advocate for Health
State Children’s Health Insurance Program
Improving health outcomes for all Americans is a key aspect of United Way’s goal of advancing the common good. With rising health costs, declining employer-based health coverage and increasing numbers of uninsured persons, it is imperative that we develop strategies to address the problems in our health care system. The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is a valuable weapon in the fight to address one of the problems we face — providing health insurance coverage for the millions of uninsured children in this country.

What is SCHIP?
Adopted in 1997 with strong bipartisan support, SCHIP builds on the Medicaid program, providing insurance for low income children who are not eligible for Medicaid. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services administers SCHIP, but states are free to design the programs, set eligibility limits, structure benefit packages, and establish operating procedures within federal guidelines. The federal government funds SCHIP like Medicaid, through state matching funds. SCHIP and Medicaid have helped cover millions of children who would otherwise go without coverage.

What Is the Current Status of SCHIP?
In December 2007, Congress passed and the President signed S.2499, the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007. S.2499 maintains current SCHIP funding levels which will allow states to continue covering children currently enrolled in SCHIP until March 31, 2009. Although the bill provides a necessary and welcome extension of SCHIP, it falls far short of expanding the program to cover the more than 9 million children who remain uninsured.

United Way’s SCHIP Policy Recommendations
We urge the federal government to:
Increase funding for SCHIP to cover all eligible uninsured children;
Offer “clean” legislation, meaning the bill addresses the children’s coverage issue only;
Provide states with fiscal incentives to encourage them to reach children who are currently eligible for coverage but not enrolled in SCHIP-funded programs;
Support streamlined enrollment, making it easy for parents to access coverage;
Ensure that states are allocated the necessary funding and flexibility to continue to expand coverage to more children; and
Retain Medicaid benefits, as Medicaid should not be weakened in order to finance SCHIP.

United Way of America will continue to monitor the SCHIP reauthorization process and advocate for its full reinstatement.