eCornerstone Partners

Illinois Department of Human Services

The Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) helps Illinois families achieve self-sufficiency, independence, and health to the maximum extent possible. Through the Division of Community Health and Prevention (DCHP), DHS improves the quality of life of thousands of Illinois families by providing an array of comprehensive, coordinated services. The 40 programs within the DCHP address individuals’ needs in the areas of maternal and child health, family support, youth development, juvenile justice, substance abuse prevention, and violence prevention and intervention.

A guiding principle of DHS is that the integration of programs and services result in better health outcomes for clients. At the heart of this effort is "eCornerstone", a new web-based system that incorporates the Youth Services and Juvenile Justice programs, and the Teen REACH program. Eventually, eCornerstone will embrace most of the programs within the Division of Community Health and Prevention, including WIC and Family Case Management. Through its various partnerships, DHS is overseeing all aspects of the development and implementation of eCornerstone.

Community Health Training Center

The Community Health Training Center / Springfield Urban League provides computer-based training for the following program areas: WIC, Family Case Management, Healthy Families Illinois, Immunization, Healthworks, and Early Intervention. Beginning this fall, CHTC will introduce the first eCornerstone web-based training, which utilizes the Internet to provide training for the Teen REACH service providers.

Illinois Primary Health Care Association

The Illinois Primary Health Care Association (IPHCA) is a not-for-profit trade association representing Illinois’ community-based and migrant health centers. IPHCA’s experience in creating health care collaboratives and belief in the benefits of Cornerstone made the Association an ideal partner.

Through its grant with the Department of Human Services, IPHCA is involved in the following activities: developing new web-based architecture; testing eCornerstone; providing site-survey and installation services; facilitating communications between the various partners, as well as with the new eCornerstone sites, via eCornerstone bulletins and Web sites; providing first and second level help desk support to all eCornerstone sites post implementation; and developing and updating the "User Help" function within the eCornerstone application.

Community-based Service Providers

The most important partner in implementing eCornerstone is the community-based service provider. Without the willingness to learn and patience displayed by its providers, DHS could not usher in a system like eCornerstone.