Lawmakers said Tuesday that a legislative panel responsible for reviewing state facility closures will return to Tinley Park to continue a discussion on Gov. Pat Quinn?s plan to close the Tinley Park Mental Health Center.
The announcement came during a meeting of the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability in Springfield to discuss Quinn?s plan to close the Tinley Park center as well as the Jacksonville Developmental Center. The closures were announced in January as part of a long-term plan to serve those with developmental disabilities and mental health conditions more through community-based support and and less with institutional care .
During Tuesday?s hearing, the commission heard more detailed testimony from the Department of Human Services officials and the governor?s office about the plan, coined the Active Community Care Transition Plan. DHS Secretary Michelle Saddler said the plan is the same one presented during previous public hearings?in the fall, but additional details about how the plan will work have since been developed.
?So what is new? Really, nothing,? Saddler said. ?We have the same plan components that we had last fall and included the details you requested.?
Public hearings were held for facility closure proposals in the fall following an announcement by Quinn in September that he planned to close seven state facilities because of inadequate budget appropriations.
The commission previously voted not to recommend closures of all seven facilities, which included the Tinley Park and Jacksonville centers. In December, ?lawmakers and Quinn approved a budget plan to keep them open through the fiscal year, but Quinn?s office said at that time that he still planned to close some state developmental and mental health centers as part of the long-term transition from institutions to community-based care. That plan was put forward in January.
Several commission members said Tuesday during the meeting that they felt ill-equipped to ask questions about the closures because they had only received 120 pages of information detailing the most recent plans on Monday.
?I voted in the fall in favor of closure for both JDC and Tinley Park,? said Sen. Jeff Schoenberg, D-Evanston, who co-chairs the commission. ?But I have to say that I don?t feel like I can have an informed series of questions on the details that you provided because we only received them at the very end of the business day yesterday.?
He also noted that the plan is still missing details on how much it will cost the state to make the transitions and from where the money will come.
?There?s no breakdown of what upfront costs might be necessary, and there?s really no detail?on what this is going to cost over the next several years and how we?re going to pay for it,? he said.
Debra Ferguson, senior deputy and chief of clinical operations for DHS Division of Mental Health, said the department is currently working with community-based providers and hospitals to develop service plans that can replace those currently provided at the Tinley Park center.
Ferguson said DHS has received working proposals from St. Bernard?s, Loretto, and St. Mary?s and Elizabeth?s Hospitals in Chicago, and from Riverside Hospital in Kankakee. Exploratory meetings have been held with St. Joseph?s Hospital in Joliet and St. Mary?s Hospital in Kankakee.
Substance abuse care proposals or letters of intent have been submitted by Haymarket and HealthCare Alternatives Inc., both of Chicago, and Cornell Interventions is in the process of submitting a proposal, she said.
The Will County Behavioral Health program, Thresholds and the Helen Wheeler MHC in Kankakee have also expressed interest in reviewing possible plans for the transition. Ferguson said other providers are also in discussions with the department but have asked that their names not be released.
Rep. Al Riley, D-Hazel Crest, said he is concerned that the providers located near the Tinley Park center are not listed as being part of the discussions. Ferguson said all providers in the area have been contacted by the department and that work to develop the plan is ongoing.
?We will continue that engagement process in the hopes of filling that hole that you were talking about,? she said.
The commission heard about 15 minutes of public comment from those both in support and against the facility closures. Additional comments will be allowed at the subsequent public hearings. Schoenberg said hearings will be scheduled in both Tinley Park and Jacksonville in the near future.
Documents submitted by DHS to the commission on Tinley Park?s facility closure can be found on the commission?s website.
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