Illinois Medical Respite Capacity Building Initiative
CURRENT Request for Applications (RFA) for new Track 1 Planning grants, due September 30, 2025.
The Illinois Medical Respite Capacity Building Initiative (IMRCBI) is led by the Illinois Public Health Institute with funding from the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) and support from the Illinois Office to Prevent and End Homelessness (OPEH).
RFA - Illinois Medical Respite Capacity Building Initiative, Track 1 Planning awards
Application Due Date: September 30, 2025
Award Amount: $50,000 - $75,000 planning award
Application Requirements: Track 1 Application, Letter of Commitment from Organizational Leadership, & Budget Form
Awardee Notification: by October 31, 2025
Award Period: November 1, 2025 - June 30, 2026
Questions: Email Jordan.Enos@iphionline.org, Senior Program Manager
Medical Respite Network Guide
https://www.allhealthequity.org/respite-guide/
The Network Guide is a tool for referring-hospitals and health centers to find Medical Respite programs across Cook County for people experiencing homelessness. This is a product of the Illinois Medical Respite Capacity Building Initiative made possible by the Illinois Office to Prevent and End Homelessness.
The Network Guide creates a central platform for information about programs and will be updated as new programs open. It is also a place to access links to websites and referral forms and locate contact information. Programs have differences in facility size, space sharing, and physical accessibility. The goal of this Network Guide is to expand awareness of the range and number of Medical Respite providers across Cook County, and the tool will be expanded statewide in 2026.
Home Illinois
Illinois’ Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness sets the foundational vision to ending homelessness in the state through both established and new innovative strategies. Under this plan, Illinois residents, community agencies and state government will work together to prevent entries into shelter. When literal homelessness does occur, the experience will be brief and one-time.
The Illinois Medical Respite Capacity Building Initiative is a direct result of the Home Illinois Plan. Medical respite was identified as a key activity within the plan because of its ability to interrupt cycles of homelessness, housing insecurity and health outcome disparities by connecting people experiencing homelessness with multiple resources at once, including housing, healthcare, and other social services.
In July, HB2831 codified the task force into law, continuing this important work and ensuring their mission is protected by state law. Gov. Pritzker’s FY26 budget affirms this commitment, including this continued and expanded funding for the IMRCBI.
FY 2023
The first year of this initiative ran from December 2022 through June 2023. During that time, eleven Illinois communities were awarded funding through the IMRCBI, in addition to one-to-one technical assistance provided by the National Institute for Medical Respite Care (NIMRC)- a project of the National Healthcare for the Homeless Council (NHCHC), and the chance to participate in three learning collaborative meetings. With this support, awardees were able to convene community partners, conduct needs assessments, engage people with lived expertise of homelessness, and either develop a plan for new medical respite programs or expand existing medical respite programs. The IMRCBI also engaged key medical respite partners to provide public comments on the proposed medical respite benefit within the Department of Healthcare and Family Service’s 1115 Healthcare Transformation Waiver.
FY 2024
Continued and expanded funding from the State allowed the IMRCBI to expand during this fiscal year. The award program grew to support 18 Illinois communities to build greater capacity for medical respite care across three tracks, including:
Medical Respite Planning – Awardees in this track are expected to develop a plan to bring new medical respite services to their community.
Medical Respite Pilot Implementation – Awardees in this track are expected to implement a pilot medical respite program by the end of the award period.
Medical Respite Expansion – Awardees in this track are expected to implement a service expansion or innovation at their existing medical respite program.
Awardees receive funding, technical assistance from NIMRC, and participation in learning collaborative meetings.
We produced a Gap Analysis Report to inform ongoing work.
FY 2025
Continued and expanded funding from the State allowed the IMRCBI to expand during this fiscal year. The award program grew to support 22 Illinois communities to build greater capacity for medical respite care across three tracks, including:
Medical Respite Planning – Awardees in this track are expected to develop a plan to bring new medical respite services to their community.
Medical Respite Pilot Implementation – Awardees in this track are expected to implement a pilot medical respite program by the end of the award period.
Medical Respite Expansion and Sustainability – Awardees in this track are expected to implement a service expansion or innovation at their existing medical respite program.
Awardees receive funding, technical assistance from NIMRC, and participation in learning collaborative meetings.
Onward
In addition to the awards, the IMRCBI now includes several other projects that all contribute to system building for medical respite across the state, including the Cook County Medical Respite Network (CCMRN) and partnership with the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to engage medical respite stakeholders on the implementation of the proposed Medicaid medical respite benefit.
Our Awards
Blessings Health System; Mary Frances Barthel
Home Sweet Home Ministries; Matt Burgess
Journeys: The Road Home; Todd Stull
Madison County Health Department: Emily Won
Phoenix Community Development Services; Christine Kahl
Respond Now; Jakala Garba
Swedish Hospital; Jonathan Lind
Franciscan Outreach; Robret Simpson
Heartland HOUSED; Josh Sabo
Project NOW; Ron Lund
UWHealth/Rockford; Angie Walker
BEDsPlus; Stephanie Evans
Connections for the Homeless; Micheal Mallory
Joliet Township; Nicole Garrett
MacNeal Hospital – Soujourner House; Chuck Bareis
PADS Lake County; Claress Pettengill
The Boulevard; Richard Ducatenzeiler
Cook County Medical Respite Network
This regional group includes:
developing and established medical respite providers
Continuums of Care, hospitals and healthcare providers
local health departments
other key partners in Chicago and Cook County
They meet regularly to share knowledge and best practices, coordinate efforts across the county, problem solve for region-specific challenges, and network and connect with other stakeholders. This group will produce a network guide that provides an overview of all available medical respite programs in the region, and they’ll create a referral tool outlining the criteria and process for entry and exit from all Cook County medical respite programs.
Statewide Medical Respite Collaborative
This statewide group engages key partners across multiple sectors to encourage greater collaboration, interest, and investment in the medical respite model across the state. Sectors include but are not limited to:
medical respite
healthcare
housing support and homeless services
local governments
the private sector, and more,
This collaborative will inform the creation of a gap analysis that will provide a high-level overview of critical gaps in medical respite service provision and highlight barriers to accessing medical respite services for clients. This gap analysis will also propose opportunities for greater expansion of the medical respite model across the state and further system building across the state.
Recordings
We invite you to learn more about the Illinois Medical Respite Capacity Building Initiative.
Informational Webinar: Illinois Medical Respite Capacity Building Initiative RFA
1115 Waiver Informational Webinar
Behavioral Health Coffee Chat
