Contact Tracing Information

Through late December, 2021, contact tracers within the Skokie Health and Human Services Department (HHS) would reach out to COVID positive Skokie residents via telephone to ensure that COVID positive residents were isolating at home, to provide information for keeping their family safe, to help identify how the COVID positive resident may have been exposed and to identify close contacts to prevent further transmission of the virus.

Beginning Tuesday, December 28, 2021, Skokie residents testing positive will no longer receive a phone call from Skokie HHS contact tracing staff. Instead, each COVID positive Skokie resident will receive a text message from the Illinois Department of Public Health’s (IDPH) Surge Contact Tracing Call Center. The incoming text message will state: “IL COVID HELP: The IL state health department may try to reach you. Call 312-777-1999 with questions or go to: https://dph.illinois.gov/covid19/data/contact-tracing.html”

In response to the text, if Skokie residents have any questions or concerns while COVID positive or have a family member that is COVID positive, residents can respond to this text message by calling the number listed or visiting the website provided. 

Skokie HHS wants to remind residents that any information you share with public health workers is CONFIDENTIAL. This means that your personal and medical information will be kept private. Public health staff will NEVER ask for money, debit/credit card or bank account information, social security numbers or immigration status.

Skokie HHS continues to support our residents during this time. If you need additional support or clarification after reaching out to the IDPH Surge Contact Tracing Call Center, please email covid19@skokie.org or call 847-779-7726.

COVID-19 Information and Resources:

What to Do If You Are Sick

COVID-19 Testing: What You Need to Know

What to Do While Waiting for Your Test Result

What to Do If You Have Tested Positive for COVID

What to Do If You Have Been Exposed to COVID

Contact Tracing Information and Certification Programs 

Contact tracing is a specialized skill that requires training, and involves a bit of detective work, where people who have tested positive for COVID-19 are interviewed to determine everyone with whom they have had close contact during the time while they were infectious. Those individuals are then notified of their exposure, and the actions they should take to limit further spread of the disease. To protect privacy, contacts are only informed that they have been exposed to someone with the infection, not the identity of the person.

Skokie residents interested in serving as contact tracers need to take a certification course. Here is more information from the State of Illinois:

“The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is seeking interested individuals to support local public health authorities to perform COVID-19 contact tracing. This recruitment effort is developing through partnership with the state, local public health authorities, healthcare entities and community-based organizations. Hiring Contact Tracers will depend on the needs of the local public health authorities and by region of the state. Completing this form does not represent the promise of a job or job interview with the State of Illinois or any other entity.”

 Fill out the form below. 

https://redcap.dph.illinois.gov/surveys/?s=KWKJL93TM7

Additional questions can be directed to illinois.helps@illinois.gov.

Here is information on two online contact tracing certification courses:

Oakton Community College offers a "Public Health Contact Tracing Paraprofessional" course. See the OCC website for more information.

The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials is offering "Making Contact: A Training for COVID-19 Contact Tracers", a free introductory online course for entry-level COVID-19 contact tracers. See additional information.

The Village of Skokie has hired contact tracers and currently is not hiring additional staff for this purpose.