General Assistance Information
Chatham Township General Assistance:
Chatham Township has an Intergovernmental Agreement with the Capital Township Relief Office to serve our township clients who qualify for assistance under the General (Public) Assistance Guidelines. Anyone in Chatham Township who needs assistance may call Capital Township at 217-525-1738 to schedule an Intake Interview appointment with a case worker. Make sure that you take all the paperwork that you are asked to bring to the Intake Interview at Capital Township, 901 S. 11th St., Springfield, IL. Their hours are Mon – Fri 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
If you do not have a way to Springfield, an appointment will be scheduled for your Intake Interview at the Chatham Township Office, at 109 W. Liberty St., Chatham, IL. There you will be met by a Capital Township Case Worker who will conduct the Intake Interview and determine if you qualify for assistance under the General Assistance Guidelines.
The Chatham Township Board of Trustees voted unanimously to enter an Intergovernmental Agreement with Capital Township to satisfy their requirement to offer assistance to those in need on April 1, 2010. There were at least three reasons for this decision: There was no one qualified to do the job in the township, Capital Township had very experienced case workers who would make sure the township client qualified, and service could be provided in Springfield or Chatham per request of the Chatham Township Client. To date, July 6, 2018, we have not had one client request an interview here at the township office in Chatham.
Capital Township charges Chatham Township $15.00 per Intake Interview and $20.00 per client who qualifies for assistance, plus the amount of the assistance provided. A total of $35.00 per client who qualifies, or $15.00 if the client does not qualify. Chatham Township has only twelve to fifteen clients who qualify for assistance per year. (In FY19, March through July, four clients have qualified.) (Several months in each of the past nine years have had zero applicants.)
This agreement saves the Chatham Township Taxpayers a minimum of $25,000.00 per year.