Local LSSI student and family counseling services, protective care for the elderly, and an emergency program for kids going into foster care were shut down permanently Friday, and the staff who ran them are being let go.
Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, the state’s largest provider of social services, is closing more than 30 programs serving 4,700 people statewide, and is laying off 750 employees – about 43 percent of its staff – because of the state budget impasse, it announced Friday afternoon.
It’s part of the faith-based agency’s plan to “restructure its services and shore up resources for the viability and continuation of the organization,” it said in a news release.
Getting the ax locally are counseling services for children, adults and families in Dixon; school-based counseling services in Sterling; adult protective services and those who coordinate those cases in Sterling; the youth emergency shelter in Nachusa; and the Intouch Home Care program for seniors in Ogle County.
How many people those programs serve, and how many employees will be lost, was not immediately available.
The state, which has been without a budget since July, owes LSSI $6 million, and the nonprofit no longer can rely on bank credit or its fundraising foundation to cover its costs, President and CEO Mark Stutrud said in the release.
“After 7 months, we no longer can provide services for which we aren’t being paid,” he said.
Even if the state were to pony up the money it owes, the programs are not coming back, at least not in the same form: LSSI is restructuring in an effort to stay afloat, the release said.
“We are eliminating spending that is most linked to nonpayment of services and redesigning our administrative support around a newly restructured organization,” Stutrud said. “Our plans respond to this year’s budget impasse and an anticipated lingering state financial crisis over the next several years.
“We’re doing this at great cost to LSSI and those affected by our services. It has been an agonizing process, particularly its impact on our clients and their families who depend on us for their care, as well as our employees whose jobs were eliminated.”
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democratic lawmakers have been unable to agree on a budget for the year beginning July 1. Many private service-providers have been fronting the money for months to continue helping clients.
Rauner wants fundamental changes to Illinois law to boost business and curb union power, while Democrats say they must erase a multibillion-dollar deficit with a tax hike and spending cuts.
“Gov. Rauner is frustrated by the lack of action in Springfield,” spokeswoman Catherine Kelly said. “He stands ready to work with the General Assembly to pass structural reforms along with a balanced budget so we can adequately fund social services.”
“LSSI’s program closures should serve as a wake-up call for all state leaders,” state Rep. Mike Smiddy, D-Hillsdale, said in a statement, adding that he is urging Rauner to “return to budget negotiations in good faith and work with me to find a way to keep these critical lifelines open for the people who need them.
“The dedicated professionals that administer LSSI’s services in Moline, Rock Island and Sterling have made a career out of serving others, and they, and the people they help, deserve better. We can’t stand by silently while this, and many other dedicated organizations, close their doors.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
What's being cut
Lutheran Social Services of Illinois is closing more than 30 programs serving 4,700 people statewide. They are:
• School-based counseling services in Sterling.
• Adult protective services for seniors, and case management in Sterling.
• Mental health counseling for all ages in Dixon, as well as community-based counseling programs in Berwyn, Des Plaines, Downers Grove, Elmhurst, Mendota, Prospect Heights, and Wheaton, and West/Northwest Suburban Counseling in Villa Park.
• The Youth Emergency Shelter, for kids going into the foster system, in Nachusa.
• In-home support services for seniors, specifically, Intouch Home Care programs that serve Ogle, Winnebago, Boone, Stephenson, Jo Daviess, DeKalb, Kendall, La Salle, Fulton, Rock Island, Henry, Mercer, Peoria, Marshall, Stark, Tazewell, and Woodford counties, and Chicago south and southern Cook County.
• Residential alcohol and drug treatment, specifically, Behavioral Health Housing Opportunities, Social Detox, Women's Residence and Men's Residence North, all in Chicago; and Elgin Residential Rehab and Men's Residence West, in Elgin.
• Connections in Chicago; Employment Skills School and Homeward Bound Supportive Housing, both in East St. Louis; and River Bend Re-entry in Alton, all of which provide re-entry services for former prisoners and their families.
• Legacy Corps in Rockford and Streamwood, which provide respite services for veterans and their families.
• Intouch Adult Day Care in Moline, which provides day care for seniors and adults with disabilities.
About LSSI
Founded in 1867, Lutheran Social Services of Illinois is a statewide, nonprofit social service agency of the three Illinois synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Go to www.LSSI.org or find it on Facebook for more information.