Boys and Girls Club of Elgin could take over Schaumburg Teen Center
Schaumburg might hire a well-known youth organization to operate the village's teen center, an idea coming after officials early this year said it shouldn't have become a hangout for about 10 special-needs clients who are beyond the 19-year-old age limit.
Under the proposal discussed Thursday night and endorsed by the village's Health and Human Services Committee, the Boys and Girls Club of Elgin would be the village's partner for the Schaumburg Teen Center at The Barn on Civic Drive. If a tentative agreement is reached between the organization and Schaumburg, it would require approval from the full village board.
Schaumburg village Trustee Mark Madej, a Health and Human Services Committee member, said he liked everything about the Boys and Girls Club of Elgin's proposal.
"It's like it's a deep breath of fresh air," Madej said.
At a previous meeting, Madej said an oversight led to the older teen center participants.
Police Chief Bill Wolf said the village initially approached the Boys and Girls Club of America regional office in Schaumburg for ideas on how to run the teen center "a little bit better" before the concept of a partnership with the Elgin branch followed.
The teen center was created in 1979 to cater to junior high and high school students ages 12 to 19, but nine clients are 20 to 24 and one is a 30-year-old man who uses a wheelchair as a result of the multiple sclerosis he's had since childhood.
Schaumburg police began overseeing the teen center in January. As the department reviewed the operation, it was determined the center was going beyond its original scope by allowing the overage participants.
"It just didn't seem like a good mix," Wolf said. "It was something that there was a potential for issues. That was one of the things that started the conversations with Boys and Girls Clubs. We started calling around to teen centers and organizations like that, (asking) is there anybody else that's allowing older kids to be with these younger kids, and we found out that there really was not. Our instincts were correct that this really was not a good fit."
Wolf said a phaseout process for older participants, which ends Monday, has included help from social workers, resource lists and others. Visits by older clients were restricted to three days a week in July, two in August and one this month.
Under the concept outlined Thursday by Cathy Russell, president and chief executive officer of Boys and Girls Club of Elgin, a Schaumburg branch at The Barn would have the village's name on it, similar to the localization of operations in Streamwood and South Elgin. The Schaumburg club also would have its own board of directors.
"So, ideally, what we would do is we would look at what are some of (The Barn) renovations that need to be done and how long is that going to take," Russell said. "And during that time, we would go out and our goal would be to build relationships with the schools that we have identified that are close, fundraise to get a bus, and then recruit up to a hundred members. We need to get to a hundred members before Boys and Girls Clubs of America will charter us."
Sports and recreation, the arts, education and career development are among the club's program areas. Russell said safety is of utmost importance, with workers needing to undergo fingerprinting and local, state and national background checks.
Wolf said the village could look at using its current teen center funding as part of an operations agreement with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Elgin. He helped the club begin in Elgin in 1993 when he was a police officer there.
The Elgin branch already receives corporate and private funding from about 200 Schaumburg donors, according to the organization. Average attendance in Elgin has gone from 325 to 800 in the past five years, and annual revenue from $1.2 million to a projected $2.5 million this year, according to Russell's presentation.