As expected, Orland Park’s Village Counseling Department will close Sept. 30, but the village will ask two outside agencies to step in with similar services.
Orland Park officials unanimously voted in favor of contracting with Orland Township Youth Services and with Family and Mental Health Services of Southwest Cook County to replace the village department.
OTYS will provide services for children under 18 and their families, and Family and Mental Health Services will take over the crisis intervention and employee assistance programs.
The village proposes to offer OTYS free use of the office building at 147th Street and West Avenue that now houses the counseling department and will pay $17,000 to hire an additional part-time counselor. The township board is expected to approve the 5-year intergovernmental contract this week, said Trustee Kathleen Fenton.
Family and Mental Health Services will conduct in-service training programs for police officers, be responsible for crisis intervention for emergency police calls and provide counseling to village employees.
The village proposes to pay $65 per hour for each employee’s first hour of counseling; any further cost is expected to be covered by individual insurance. The hourly rate would be $95 for crisis intervention calls, said Trustee Brad O’Halloran, who has long favored “getting out of the counseling business.”
The annual cost for the contracted services from both agencies is estimated to be about $50,000, compared to the previous village department budget of about $250,000, said Fenton. “We’re taking advantage of two existing services, saving more than $200,000 for the village, and eliminating duplication of services,” she said.
But some residents at Monday’s meeting didn’t agree with the Village Board about the proposal.
Robert Puls, a clinical psychologist who has worked as a consultant with Village Counseling, asked the board to reconsider. “This is a disservice to the economically challenged of Orland Park and the Police Department, which has an ongoing relationship with Village Counseling. This is a model program.”
After hearing from several residents who oppose the change, Trustee Tom Dubelbeis said, “I am convinced that what we’re proposing is going to work.”
