It is part of a new strategic plan amid what the organisation’s leadership has labelled an “increasingly complex and uncertain government funding environment”.
In a 7 March announcement on the decision, the archdiocese said that it notified government funders that the transition will begin on 1 July 2024.
The contracts it will cease to participate in cover services that include childcare, youth programs, behavioural counselling, senior care, adult protection and veterans.
“Over the past year, we have come to understand that if we want to increase our impact over the years ahead, we must sharpen our strategic focus, while simultaneously reducing the time our staff spends navigating an increasingly complex and uncertain government funding environment,” Michael Monticello, Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Chicago Board Chair, said in a statement.
Sally Blount, the president and CEO of Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Chicago, said in a another statement that the decision to reduce the organisation’s footprint as a government contractor allows it to refocus its efforts to provide services as a private humanitarian organization.
Blount explained that over the last decade, navigating the government services sector has become more of a challenge because funding has not kept up with inflation.
This has meant that many contracts no longer cover direct costs, or the increasing costs of administering them.
Therefore, the organisation will now place a greater reliance on private funding.
“We remain steadfast in our founding mission to serve people in need across Chicago, Cook and Lake counties…while adapting to the changing needs of our times,” Blount said. “Going forward, Catholic Charities will continue to serve the same populations and provide many of the same services but will do so with greater reliance on private funding.”
Collectively the 75 government contracts that the Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Chicago is ending fund 12 per cent of its current operating budget, the organisation said, noting that it will continue to operate a budget of between $175-$200 million annually.
The organisation has also decided to reduce its staff by roughly 300 employees, 280 of whom work across the impacted government contracts, with the other 20 working in related administrative areas, according to its news release.
The organisation has roughly 1,000 employees.
“We announce these personnel decisions with a heavy heart and profound gratitude and respect for the contributions and many years of service given by each of these team members,” Blount said, adding that the departing employees will be supported with advance notice, severance benefits and assistance with job searches.
Blount also said that the organisation will work with the government and partners to “minimize disruptions” as a result of the decision, including by setting up special helplines for the people affected by the changes.
The Chicago mayor’s office did not respond to a Crux request for comment.
According to the 7 March announcement, the decision by Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Chicago is the result of a strategic plan effort.
It was billed as the “final step in a more than three-year journey…to strengthen Catholic Charities’ governance, operations, and financial oversight”.
Under the new strategic plan, the organisation said it will pilot several new programs and expansions to help low-income mothers and seniors, while expanding its general footprint in the city.
The Board has also voted to open a new community centre in 2025.
The board also voted to fund a standing “rapid response team” – “formalising the crisis response capabilities created during the Covid-19 pandemic that have been further honed by collaborating with community and government partners to resettle 20,000 migrants over the past 18 months”.
Cardinal Blase Cupich, the Archbishop of Chicago who has proven a controversial figure in the US Catholic Church, applauded the organisation’s decision.
“Over the past four years, Catholic Charities’ Board and leadership have undertaken an important strategic exercise – one that all organizations of substance must regularly do,” Cupich said in a statement.
“I laud them for their courage, vision and commitment to
deepening the Church’s impact on behalf of the region’s most
vulnerable.”
Chicago has long endured high levels of crime,
poverty and political incompetence and corruption, which have been
widely reported on in US media.
The Chicago archdiocese was mired in the sexual abuse scandal involving the Catholic Church in the US.