Heartland Alliance devotes the bulk of its funding to initiatives that address poverty through health and housing, with further programs centered on jobs, justice, and international work.
[4] However, as the program entered the early 20th century, it began shifting its focus towards welcoming immigrants to the United States as well as providing aid to all people regardless of gender, age, class, race or religion.
[5] For instance, at the turn of the 20th century, Heartland Alliance worked to reconnect family members who had been separated from one another as they were processed at Ellis Island, America's largest and most active immigration station at the time.
[5][6] Additionally, Heartland Alliance workers served as designated emergency first-responders for individuals and families in need of housing during the Great Depression.
[13] Like the Kovler Center, this organization's main program works to rehabilitate survivors of human rights abuses through the provision of mental health, legal, medical, and case management services.
[15] A federal lawsuit alleges negligence regarding a child in Heartland Alliance's care who fell into a metal bed frame and needed three staples in the head.
[15] A 2017 DCFS inspection complaint regarding Heartland's Rogers Park, Chicago shelter cited “improper and inadequate supervision” and fire code violations.
[16] Heartland's Casa Guadalupe campus in Des Plaines, Illinois has multiple DCFS citations of employing staff members who lack the training to properly discipline children.
[17] Four children reported an incident in which an unruly 5 year old was given injections, “after which the boy became sleepy.”[17] Heartland Alliance conducted an internal investigation following three allegations of abuse at the Casa Guadalupe shelter and found no evidence to support these claims.