Prairie State Wire

Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Latino Advisory Council met July 16.

Here is the agenda provided by the council:

I. Welcome and Roll Call (9:30 am ─ 9:45 am)

II. Review/Approval of Minutes *June

III. Reports and Updates (09:45 am ─ 10:45 am)

a. Committees *Approx. 10-15 min. each

─ Child Safety, Risk Reduction and Permanency: Lorena Hernandez, John Holtkamp, Moises Jimenez, Pending to Join: Jose Alex Medina, Lesby Ortega-Melgar, Angela Moncada, Candy Flores-Brown

─ Data Analysis, Disproportionality, and Staffing: John Holtkamp, Maria Gallegos, Moises Jimenez, Guadalupe Toledo

─ Strategic Communications: Evelyn Martinez, John Holtkamp, Julia Monzon, Jose Alex Medina, Beatriz Ramirez

─ Child Welfare Contributing Agencies: Damaris Acevedo, Maria Gallegos, Tarcisio Ornelas, Celina Orozco, Juan Maldonado, Jacqueline Dimmick

b. Mentoring Project ─ Lorena Hernandez, John Holtkamp, Moises Jimenez, Yeni Rojas (DCFS SALUD Group)

c. Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion ─ Jose J. Lopez, Chief of Office of Latino Services/DCFS

d. Language Access ─ John Holtkamp, SPSA, Special Projects, Office of Strategy and Performance/DCFS

e. Ad hoc Committee ─ LAC bylaws

IV. Old Business (10:45 am ─ 11:30 pm)

a. LAC Nominations/Election of Members

b. LAC Position Paper and KIND Act update

c. LAC Logo update

d. Latino Family Institute Day Planning- October 17th

V. New Business (11:30 pm ─ 11:45 pm)

a. In-person meeting location/ Member Etiquette/ Mandatory Trainings for LAC members

b. Joint Council Update (6/23/2025)

VI. Open Forum (11:45 am - 12:00 pm)

VII. Adjournment

https://dcfs.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/dcfs/documents/about-us/impact-public-policy/documents/lac/lac-agenda-071625.pdf