Schaumburg adult day care will end May 2

Friendship Village in Schaumburg was hoping to be helpful when it started its adult day care program five years ago, only to learn the market wasn't quite ready.

After making its first attempt to close the program a year ago, the retirement community's parent organization will do so for certain on May 2.

"It breaks our hearts to do this," said Robert Alston, president of Friendship Senior Options Inc. "The thing about adult day care is that it seems to be ahead of its time."

Alston met with Schaumburg's village board Tuesday night to end the financial agreement that had brought the program $212,000 in start-up money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

That money, paid to Friendship Village Neighborhood Services from a grant received by the village, would have had to be returned in full if the program had ended short of its fifth anniversary on April 30, 2008.

Schaumburg trustees last year asked Friendship Village officials not to give up on the program prematurely -- not only because Schaumburg itself would be responsible for repaying the money, but because they truly believed there was an untapped demand for adult day care.

The past year changed that opinion, however.

Trustee Marge Connelly said she was kept aware throughout the year of the advertising efforts being made for the program.

Still, attendance continued to average about 15 seniors a day for a program designed to handle 40 to 45.

As early as last year, the program had already lost about $500,000.

"Although I'm extremely disappointed about this, I have come to terms with the fact that this is a costly operation," Connelly said.

Alston said the only organizations that seem able to support adult day care are those subsidized by other sources of revenue.

One possibility for the low demand is another government program that subsidizes caregivers to stay home with aging parents, he said.

But Friendship Village officials said they still intend to plan for adult day care by designing space for it in future phases of their retirement community.

They also intend to help current clients find other options, they said.