The Community Mental Health Board meeting was called to order at 7:35 p.m. by President Maureen Russell.

Board members and guests Lynda Rivers of Kane, Kendall and DeKalb NAMI, Robert Putz of Consumer Advocacy Council of DeKalb County, Michael Flora of Ben Gordon Center and John Kroos of Opportunity House introduced themselves.

Mrs. Parker moved approval of the October agency claims as submitted; seconded by Mrs. Zitka. On a roll call vote the motion passed unanimously.

Mrs. Parker moved acceptance of the October office claims as submitted; seconded by Mr. Gilbert. On a roll call vote the motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Robert Putz of the Consumer Advocacy Council of DeKalb County reported on the NAMI Conference held in Minneapolis last June. The Conference covered information about persons with mental illness and provided information about brain chemistry and anatomy, and new medications and treatments. Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) serves persons with long-term severe and persistent mental illness. The case management approach has been shown to help people with long-term disability, persons dually diagnosed, homeless people, those in need of hospitalization, and persons with a criminal record. Quoting statistics from NAMI, Mr. Putz said it is estimated about a quarter of a million persons with mental illness are homeless in the United States.

A film, "Out of the Shadows" was shown at the Conference. Mr. Putz is negotiating to secure a copy to be shown at Campus Cinema as part of a fund raising and public education project.

Mr. Jim Repp, President of CACDC could not attend the meeting, but sent a written report on the Conference, which detailed some new treatments. His notes recommended a book, Recognizing the Many Faces of Depression, and a film, "Real Men, Real Depression" as possible additions to the Board’s list of items to be considered for the Library Project.

Senator Paul Wellstone was posthumously honored by NAMI for his work in behalf of persons with mental illness.

Ms. Lynda Rivers, Director of the Kane, Kendall and DeKalb Counties’ NAMI affiliate, explained to the Board its mission and activities. As the Kane and Kendall NAMI Chapter, it was instrumental in establishing the Kane County Protocol in cooperation with the law enforcement and the judicial system. NAMI also does outreach to families, public and family education, works to combat stigma against mental illness, and provides publicity about their services. Two DeKalb residents, presently members of KKD NAMI, are trained for teaching Family To Family programs, and will hold classes locally for interested families. They hold seminars five times a year in Aurora. If NAMI activities extend into DeKalb County, at least one seminar will be held in town. Local teachers are eager to begin Family-to-Family classes as well as a child and adolescent class called Visions for Tomorrow. In addition, a Peer-to-Peer program is available and will be held as soon as more teachers are trained. Support groups meet weekly.

John Kroos Executive Director of Opportunity House, spoke to the Board about their facility expansion project. The Developmental Training Program has grown to fifty persons. The need for larger quarters is complicated by the special needs for accessibility and space for this population. They are considering purchasing the property presently being rented in DeKalb, priced at $700,000. This spring they will mount a capital fund raising campaign and they are asking for additional funding above the $25,000 Grant the Board has already approved. The capital drive will also include funds to build an eight bed residential facility. This is largely to accommodate the adult children of aging care givers.

CMHB member recruitment continues to be an immediate concern. The Board is waiting for a letter of interest from Doug Fraley and from Brenda Merritt in Genoa. Both persons will be contacted and sent a Board background packet.

Mr. Lane reported on the County Jail expansion proposal. When the County brought in consultants to study the need to expand the DeKalb County Jail, their recommendations included a package of programs, after the Dartmouth model. The model includes follow-up to jail based services while incarcerated with Assertive Community Treatment, a case management approach that believes that part of recovery is gainful employment.

This the fourth year that BGC will run out of state money before the end of the fiscal year. In FY-02 BGC provided $308,000 in donated services. They anticipate providing over $400,000 in uncompensated services to state priority clients this year.

Mr. Lane met with ODD official Bob Vyverberg at Ben Gordon Center with Mike Flora and discussed the current state of mental health funding in Illinois. In a two and a half-hour meeting they talked about the failure of the state to increase the amount of their contract, the problems of the state’s slow pay record (as of October 20, 2003, The Epilepsy Foundation of North\Central Illinois has not been paid since June). Ben Gordon is running 58 days behind in payment. Since 1980 inflation has reduced the value of the dollar by forty cents. At 60% of face value, it seems as though fee-for-service will bankrupt many agencies. North Carolina ended up defunding agencies. The number of mental health agencies dropped from 328 to 30 in that state. In addition, people are not entering the mental health profession.