Download the O&I Service Provider directory here.

The goal of the Outreach and Interpretation Project (O&I) is to ensure that immigrant families and other limited English-speaking persons in Illinois are able to thrive by reducing the barriers that low-income immigrants and their children face when seeking public benefits and services (nutritional, medical, housing, psychological, childcare, employment) as well as the cash support they need for proper health, well-being and economic self-sufficiency.

A needs assessment completed by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights in 1999 identified four primary barriers between immigrants and access to safety net services and public benefits. These were:

1. A lack of clarity regarding eligibility for safety net programs and services, among both immigrants and service providers working in these communities;
2. Concern that receipt of public benefits will interfere with the immigration and citizenship processes;
3. Language and communication barriers that prevent immigrants from applying for and receiving benefits and services; and
4. Complex application and re-determination processes for IDHS benefit programs.

Additional barriers uncovered during the past two years of O&I service delivery include:

1. Transportation difficulties for suburban and downstate immigrants;
2. Complexities in serving mixed-status families, requiring agency knowledge of a wide range of referral agencies.

This project provides funding to organizations and organizational collaboratives that demonstrate the ability to:

• Provide information and referral services to immigrant families who need quick information and referrals about benefits and other services, and/or
• Provide case management services to immigrant families who need long-term assistance accessing and maintaining benefits and services, and/or
• Provide accurate interpretation and/or translation services for immigrants who have difficulty communicating with the Illinois Department of Human Services and other agencies offering supportive services due to language barriers.

These services also include outreach activity that informs immigrants about the availability of public benefits and other services that support personal and family well-being and economic self-sufficiency, and the eligibility criteria and immigration issues related to applying for and receiving these benefits and services.