Sherrie Crabb went without pay for a third of the last fiscal year, laid off members of her staff, cut benefits for those who remained, and finally, closed the only homeless youth shelter in southern Illinois, all because the state legislature and governor couldn’t agree on a budget.
Family Counseling Center has closed six different office and residential locations, laid off 36 staff members, and cut holiday and personal time off as well as retirement funding, in addition to draining the agency’s reserve funds and shutting down a homeless youth shelter that had been up and running for a little more than a year. She says the organization is now operating “month to month.”
A survey conducted by CBHA in mid-June revealed that more than three quarters of the organization’s 65 member agencies have had to both lay off staff and cut back on the services they offer. One clinic, Delta Center, based in Cairo, Illinois, had to shut down altogether, Lindsey says.
Another consequence of the unprecedented budget crisis: lengthy waiting lists for clients. Unless a client is in imminent danger of hurting themselves or those around them, they’re placed on a waiting list, explains Bruce Sewick, manager of adult mental health services at the Franklin Park-based Leyden Family Service and Mental Health Center.
Complicating the issue is the introduction of the Affordable Care Act, which has allowed more people to get insured through Medicaid, Sewick says.
Greg Sullivan, director of the Illinois Sheriffs Association, a nonprofit agency that facilitates communication and training between and for state sheriffs departments, says state law enforcement agencies saw an uptick in the number of mentally ill individuals ending up in jail following the closure of psychiatric institutions. That’s “a direct result of the budget impasse,” he says.
