ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP
The Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership (The Partnership) is a non-profit umbrella organization operating the public workforce system for the City of Chicago and Cook County. The Partnership combines federal and philanthropic resources to provide comprehensive workforce development services to both employers and job seekers.
As the largest workforce development system in the nation, The Partnership has helped place more than 70,000 individuals in employment; collaborated with more than 2,000 employers; and administered more than $300 million in federal and philanthropic funds. The Partnership’s network of 53 community-based organizations, 10 American Job Centers, and three sector- driven workforce centers serves more than 10,000 people annually. Learn more at www.chicookworks.org
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
“In order to combat the virus, we need contact tracers who are adequately trained to gain trust in Black and Brown communities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19,” said Wayne Giles, MD, MS, dean of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) School of Public Health. “The contact tracers need to come from the impacted communities, and we hope through this work we will create a pathway to the health professions and public health.”
NORC AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
“Chicago is taking steps to make systemic change that will have a lasting positive impact on the city. We are honored to be working alongside such dedicated organizations in our hometown,” said Caitlin Oppenheimer, Director of the Public Health research department at NORC.
MALCOLM X COLLEGE
“As a Center of Excellence in health sciences, Malcolm X College is proud to lead City Colleges of Chicago’s contact tracing training partnership with the Department of Public Health,” said Dean of Health Sciences Roy Walker. “City Colleges is committed to preparing Chicagoans, especially those from communities most deeply impacted by COVID-19, to keep our fellow residents safe and healthy. We are ready to work with contact tracers to launch and advance their healthcare careers.”
SINAI URBAN HEALTH INSTITUTE
“Sinai Urban Health Institute (SUHI) is an innovator and respected leader in the training, hiring and supervision of community health workers (CHWs). Through our Center for CHW Research, Outcomes and Workforce Development, or CROWD, we are excited to work with the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership to train CBOs and their project workforces on contact tracing, as well as develop earn-and-learn pathways to foster skills for long-term work to address health equity. We’re looking forward to working together to build workforce to not just respond to pandemic at this moment, but also have the skills and training that will make them valuable and marketable in the environment that will evolve out of COVID-19.” Helen Margellos, President, Sinai Urban Health Institute.