Schaumburg to upgrade Teen Center at The Barn in wake of management change
Following a change of management at Schaumburg's Teen Center just before the pandemic, the village is investing in a modernization of the lower level of the historic barn on Civic Drive that houses the program.
On Tuesday, trustees voted 5-0 to approve a $180,500 construction contract with Boller Construction Company of Waukegan and an $86,055 contract for furniture from Interiors for Business LLC of Batavia.
The Boys & Girls Club of Elgin took over management of the 40-year-old Schaumburg Teen Center in March 2020, under a five-year contract approved by the village two months earlier.
The transition to the Boys & Girls Club's management began after the Schaumburg Police Department had been overseeing the Teen Center for about a year. The agency receives $221,000 a year from Schaumburg to assist in serving its teen residents, Police Chief Bill Wolf said.
That police department oversight initially was triggered by the discovery that about 10 of the center's clients - many with special needs and their friends - had been allowed to keep attending into their 20s.
A gradual phasing out of those older members was initiated along with a search for new permanent management.
Wolf had been familiar with the Boys & Girls Club since it opened in Elgin in 1993, when he was a police officer there. He said its work with Elgin teens gave him the confidence to recommend the club to Schaumburg.
The Teen Center is open to junior high and high school students 12 to 19 years old. They must show proof of age and complete an application with a parent's signature for admission.
According to the village, the center's activities and programs are designed to encourage personal development in a supportive, accepting and safe environment.
The center in the Schaumburg Barn at 231 Civic Drive is wrapping up its summer hours of 1 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Its school year hours will both begin and end an hour later starting this Monday.
For more information, visit the Boys and Girls Club website at bgcelgin.org/schaumburg. Follow The Club at Schaumburg on Facebook or on Instagram @ClubSchaumburg.