A southern Illinois human service provider is advocating for increased funding with members of the Illinois General Assembly.
Sherrie Crabb -- the CEO of Family Counseling Center and Chair of Illinois Partners for Human Service -- says she met recently with Southern Illinois Representatives Terri Bryant, Dave Severin and Patrick Windhorst as well as Senate President Don Harmon.
Crabb says she pointed out how the human service budget needs to increase by at least eight percent just to cover minimum wage hikes since the state sets their rates of reimbursement.
"If they don't continue to raise the rates to cover the minimum wage increase, unfortunately, everyone that works in the sector, no matter what type of educational background, no matter what type of specialty you have, we're all going to be compressed within the same wage category, just kind of meeting that bare minimum minimum wage."
Human Service providers throughout Illinois face a serious workforce challenge as they compete for employees in neighboring states that reimburse at higher rates and pay higher salaries.
Crabb says her southern Illinois agency still can't recruit behavioral health specialists.
"What that means is right now I've got a dozen benefit-earning, full-time positions I've not been able to fill. Some of them have been open for more than one year. What that result is that there are hundreds of people on our waiting list trying to get in to see someone for a particular health issue that they have and there's no one to see them."
Crabb say state funding for human services has been cut in half over the last 20 years.