Boys & Girls Club likely to take over Schaumburg Teen Center for at least 5 years
Schaumburg trustees Tuesday are expected to approve a five-year contract with the Boys & Girls Club of Elgin to take over management of the 40-year-old Schaumburg Teen Center that the village's police department has been overseeing for the past year.
The discovery that about 10 clients with special needs were allowed to attend the Teen Center into their 20s led to the police department's intervention last year and paved the way for the gradual phaseout of the older members and the search for new management.
The contract signing will kick off a seven-month transition period culminating in an official grand opening for the rebranded teen center at The Barn, 231 Civic Drive. A local board of directors is hoped to provide input on the new name.
The Boys & Girls Club of America has long had its regional headquarters in Schaumburg, but it is the Boys & Girls Club of Elgin that will be the specific parent organization of the Schaumburg Teen Center's new management.
While technically the village's tenant, the Boys & Girls Club will receive $221,000 in annual funding from Schaumburg to assist in serving teen residents, Police Chief Bill Wolf said.
The club has plans to recruit potential members - the aim is to have 75 by the end of the year - from school districts serving the village. Though the ultimate goal is higher, it's been some time since the current version of the Teen Center has had 75 participants, Wolf added.
Wolf has worked with the club since its inception in Elgin in 1993, when he was a police officer there. He said its work with Elgin teens gave him the confidence to make his recommendation to Schaumburg last year.
And, according to Boys & Girls Club of Elgin CEO Cathy Russell, the feeling is mutual.
"I have a ton of respect for Chief Wolf," she said. "You can tell he really, really cares."
Russell said officials hope the transition will not interrupt any services Schaumburg teens are receiving. But helping program graduates transition to the next phase of their lives has always been a priority of the Boys & Girls Club, she added
This month, the club will begin searching for a director of program services and community development director, while the village begins design work for a new entryway door and security improvements.
The Boys & Girls Club will begin operating the Teen Center in March, assigning it a new name that still will reflect its Schaumburg location. The village, which retains responsibility for the building, will do the work on the outside signs.
As soon as 75 teen participants are confirmed, interior improvement designs can begin. Organizers hope that will be as early as the spring, with construction possibly starting in June.
But Russell indicated the start of a new school year in August is always the easiest time to recruit a large number of new members.