Areas of Expertise: Programmatic Monitoring, Compliance Monitoring, Technical Assistance, Early Childhood Programs, Early Intervention, Community Mental Health and Crisis Intervention, Child and Family Services

​​​​

​

Jessica Coonrod serves as the Vander Weele Group’s Program Manager for Early Intervention Technical Assistance and Monitoring (EITAM). In her current role, she manages the EITAM program for the state of Illinois, leading a team of monitors providing compliance oversight and technical assistance services to more than 4,500 early intervention providers and 25 regional offices. She also serves as a liaison and subject matter expert for the Bureau of Early Intervention and Department of Human Services, and a member of the State Systemic Improvement Plan leadership team. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she led the transformation of the EITAM program to address the public shift to virtual-first services, including system and policy revisions, technology development and implementation, provider training and support service rollout, and recruitment and training of monitoring staff.  ​Recently, Jessica has piloted two endeavors for the Early Intervention Technical Assistance and Monitoring team: coordination of interrelated reliability for consistency related to systemic compliance reporting and active verification of improvement plans through continuous follow-up and ongoing support.

​

Since 2013, Jessica has specialized in programmatic monitoring, compliance monitoring, and technical assistance for early intervention providers and systems. An expert in birth-to-five programs and broader Federal and state social service policy, she has dedicated her career to improving the lives of vulnerable people impacted by poverty, disability, health challenges, and trauma. Jessica previously served as a Recovery Specialist at Memorial Behavioral Health in Lincoln, Illinois and as a Licensed Child Welfare Worker and Foster Care Licensing Representative for the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services. She holds a bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of Illinois.