About this toolkit.
The Healthy Choices Healthy Futures Toolkit is designed to help families and social service providers access reliable, evidence-based tools and resources to support women during their reproductive years.
Racial disparities in maternal health are putting our families at risk and harming Black communities.
New! Healthy Choices Healthy Futures Toolkit Survey
If you have been using the toolkit we’d love to hear from you. The purpose of this survey is to better understand who is using the toolkit, what information is most helpful, and how we can improve the toolkit. The survey is anonymous and confidential, and it should take approximately 5-8 minutes to complete.
In Illinois, Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women, and 83% of pregnancy-related deaths were deemed potentially preventable by the Illinois Department of Public Health in 2021.
While Black women were more likely to die from pregnancy-related medical conditions, white women were more likely to die from pregnancy-related mental health conditions, including homicide, suicide, unintentional drug overdose, or other drug-related conditions. Of these deaths, nearly all were deemed potentially preventable.
We can change these statistics. We owe it to women.
See the Illinois Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Report for more info.
To learn more about how Illinois compares to other states on key maternal health indicators, review this report card from the March of Dimes.
About the Sponsors.
This toolkit was created initially by EverThrive IL, the Illinois Department of Public Health, the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, and numerous partners in Workgroup E of the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA). Funding is provided in whole or in part by the Illinois Department of Public Health, OWHFS, Maternal Child Health (MCH Title V Block Grant), Grant Agreement Number.
About EverThrive Illinois
EverThrive Illinois’ mission is to achieve reproductive justice in the health care ecosystem through community-driven partnership, policy action, and systems change.
The choice to have and raise a healthy family is a human right. Sadly, not all families have the same access to resources and opportunities to thrive. We ensure that communities most impacted by injustice have the access, resources, and health care necessary to create and sustain healthy families on their terms.
Our approach to change relies on our five strategic priorities coming together and building off each other. They drive us to foster a healthier, stronger state where everyone thrives.
ACHIEVE BIRTH EQUITY
We will ensure that pregnant and postpartum people in Black and Brown communities receive the high-quality care and services they need to have safe and healthy births.
INCREASE VACCINE CONFIDENCE
We will provide community-centered education to address the root causes of vaccine reluctance, including systemic racism within the health care system that breeds mistrust.
EXPAND ACCESS TO COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH CARE
We will secure high-quality health insurance for all people and access to the holistic care they need to thrive, including sexual and reproductive health care. We will also partner with health care and social service professionals to close the gaps.
LIVE OUR VALUES
We will increase our staff capacity, resource development, and board effectiveness, centering our values in our organizational practices to achieve greater impact and strengthen our leadership statewide.
Note about language – Language has so much power, from expression and connection to oppression and isolation. EverThrive IL seeks to address the barriers to access and health inequities preventing all Illinoisans from thriving. To this end, gender-neutral language is used wherever possible. In all other instances, we use an inclusive definition of women to include queer, trans, and gender-nonconforming persons.