The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services is hosting a series of virtual town hall meetings to gather input from residents as the state prepares for its regular review of Illinois child support guidelines.

The virtual town hall meetings are Wednesday evenings through the spring, and members of the public are encouraged to participate in one of the meetings for their areas. Each meeting will target a certain geographic region of the state that corresponds with one of the Division of Child Support Services regional office service areas. The Quad Cities Area fall under the Peoria Region, which serves Fulton, Henderson, Henry, Knox, Marshall, McLean, Mercer, Peoria, Putnam, Rock Island, Stark, Tazewell, Warren and Woodford counties.

“We see public input as a crucial part of our evaluation of the current child support guidelines for Illinois, and in how we determine where we need to make changes so we’re meeting families where they are,” Bryan Tribble, Administrator of the Division of Child Support Services at HFS, said. “We are hoping many Illinoisans will participate in these virtual events and tell us what they need from us so we can ensure we keep improving and can serve them better in the future.”

According to a press release, HFS is preparing for its four-year review of Illinois child support guidelines, aimed at evaluating the effectiveness and fairness of the guidelines and identifying where gaps in services or barriers to access exist. Illinois uses an income model for determining child support payments because it more fairly allocates financial obligations between parents for the benefit of their children. The series of town halls expands beyond past efforts to gather public input on Illinois child support guidelines and is part of an ongoing effort to increase transparency and public accountability.

“HFS’ Division of Child Support Services has been nimble in its efforts to evolve how we serve Illinois families,” HFS Director Theresa Eagleson said. “But families know best what their needs are, and we are asking them to take part in this dialogue so we can continue to improve how we serve them and reach more families across the state.”

The town hall for the Peoria region is Wednesday, April 13 from 7:00-8:30 pm To register, click here.

For more information about the Division of Child Support Services’ regional offices and their service areas, click here.