As demand for mental health services grows, providers turning to publicly funded 708 boards

As mental health agencies across the suburbs face increasing demands for their services, some local governments are trying to fill the funding gap with new voter-approved tax dollars.

A growing number of suburban townships in recent years have placed referendum questions on ballots asking voters to create community mental health boards, better known as 708 boards.

Comprising appointed volunteers, the panels receive public dollars through a new property tax levy authorized by the referendum. They then distribute those funds via grants to local agencies that assist people with mental health issues, substance use disorders, and intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Statewide, voters have approved the creation of more than 90 mental health boards for municipalities, townships and counties.

Many in the suburbs serve townships, including Vernon Township in Lake County, Addison Township in DuPage County and Wheeling Township in Cook County.

In November, voters are being asked to weigh in on ballot measures to create 708 boards in Elk Grove and Downers Grove townships. Downers Grove is the only township in DuPage that doesn’t have a 708 board.

Serving a growing need

Supporters of 708 boards point to the rising demand for mental health services and dollars to fund them. The boards provide an advantage by keeping the tax dollars local, they say.

“With the growing surge of need for mental health services, having a specialized board allows them to really focus on what their needs are for their communities,” said Doryce McCarthy, president of OMNI, which provides mental health and counseling services out of locations in Buffalo Grove, Wheeling, Libertyville and Palatine.

Much of that need, supporters say, was created by cuts in federal funding for mental health services.

“We’re still repairing ourselves from 30 years ago,” said Beth Nabors, CEO of Palatine-based JOURNEYS The Road Home, which offers services to those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. She was referring to a shift in services to the homeless from the federal government to communities.

Proponents say township government is well positioned to get help to those who need it.

“They live in this community,” said Quinette Hobson-Robb, executive director of the Schaumburg Township Mental Health Board of volunteers appointed to the board. “So none of this is like a political campaign for them.”

Palatine resident Justin O’Rourke, who leads the Community Mental Health Project, an advocacy group based in the Northwest suburbs, said the boards can tailor themselves to community needs, as opposed to sending money to Springfield or Washington, D.C., and never seeing it again.

Collectively, 708 boards distribute millions of dollars to mental health agencies. But the individual awards are relatively small.

Vernon Township in Lake County, for example, recently announced it is granting more than $1.1 million to 28 local agencies. The amounts range from $2,200 for the Homegrown Therapy Dogs to $365,000 for OMNI.

“Even though it’s small, it can make a huge difference,” said Michael Murray of the group Advocate for 708. He was instrumental in creating Bloomingdale Township’s 708 board, the first in DuPage County.

“Smaller agencies that would usually not be able to work with the state or federal government for grants can work with their local boards,” he said.

Larger agencies can fund programs they might not be able to get money for otherwise, Murray added.

He said he is especially proud that Bloomingdale Township’s 708 board funded therapeutic and medical services for Easterseals DuPage & Fox Valley.

Some recipients receive grants from more than one township. For example, in addition to a grant from Vernon Towship, OMNI received more than $150,000 from the mental health board in Wheeling Township.

JOURNEYS The Road Home, which serves 37 towns and townships in the North and Northwest suburbs, has received support from 708 boards in Wheeling and Hanover townships.

“Our service area covers 10 townships. And so as mental health boards come online, we have the potential of getting money from all of the townships that we cover,” said Suzanne Ploger, JOURNEYS’ chief financial officer.

Schaumburg Township’s mental health board levies around $2 million in taxes. Hobson-Robb said operational expenses only account for 10% or less of its spending.

The board funds agencies such as Hopeful Beginnings, which provides perinatal mental health counseling, the Northwest Center Against Sexual Assault and the Kenneth Young Center.

The Kenneth Young Center, which also received funding from Wheeling and Hanover townships, uses that money to support outpatient therapy, substance use prevention, crisis intervention and psychiatric services, among other programs.

Opponents to 708 boards have raised concerns about the additional taxation and added layer of government.

Former Wheeling Township Assessor Dan Patlak, who opposed the township’s 2022 referendum, said the township’s budget has been increased by 50% for mental health spending alone.

There’s also opposition to the Elk Grove Township referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot. Opponents say the township already provides substantial funding for mental health services.

Township Supervisor John Scaletta said during a recent meeting that the township’s mental health and wellness committee recently recommended distributing $640,000 to 29 agencies.

“Why are we creating more bureaucracy?” he asked.

But Lorri Grainawi, president of the Wheeling Township mental health board, said opponents often overlook a key part of 708 boards’ work — assessing the needs of the community.

“They’re actually going out there and figuring out what the needs are,” she said.

Mike Garfield, a member of the Vernon Township Mental Health Board, said people have approached him in public to tell him they voted against the referendum creating the panel.

“Every single one of them, after that conversation, said, ‘You know what? I should have voted yes. I’m glad you’re doing what you’re doing,’” he said. “You can eat an elephant one bite at a time. That’s what we’re all trying to do.”

szalusky@dailyherald.com