AID funding loss leaves gap in Kane County mental health service; agency blames technical glitch

The Association for Individual Development announced it closed its 24/7 Living Room crisis respite program in Aurora on June 30 after losing a $1.4 million state grant due to a technical funding glitch. Funding losses also impacted services in New Lenox, Joliet area

The Association for Individual Development announced it closed its 24/7 Living Room crisis respite program in Aurora on June 30 after losing a $1.4 million state grant due to a technical funding glitch. “The Living Room is for anybody in mental health crisis to have some place to go that doesn’t rise to the level of the need for hospitalization,” AID President and CEO Lore Baker said. The Living Room provided 1,200 visits for people experiencing mental health crises since opening in January 2024.

Baker said AID is asking people to call the governor’s office at 312-814-2121 on Tuesday, July 14 to urge its application to be considered for the grant funding. “We want them to make sure there is a Living Room for the second largest city in the state of Illinois,” Baker said. AID’s Living Room serves people from throughout the region, including North Aurora, Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles, Montgomery, Baker said.

“About 23% of our visits were dropped off by police, fire and EMS,” Baker said. “Even hospital emergency rooms would send us people.” Ecker Center for Behavioral Health has a Living Room in Elgin, but Baker said it’s a long drive for people in southern Kane County.

Baker blamed the state’s “ancient software system” that locked her out from clicking the final button for the noon March 19 deadline. And just so people don’t think AID staff waited until the last minute, Baker said they didn’t. AID staff accidentally used an old template and no one realized it until the day-of, Baker said.

“I updated and uploaded it the morning. It was due at noon,” Baker said. “Every time I try to log in, it feels like hours.

Because you log in, then you need to update your password. Then it tells you that you are successful. Then you log out and log in – and it tells you to change the password again.”

Baker said she was locked out of the system for half an hour. Finally, she filed it at 11:35 a.m., but it registered as received at 12:10 p.m., so their application was immediately rejected. That’s not only for fiscal year 2027, but for the next three years.

The Living Room It is open and staffed 24/7, 365 days a year, where people in crisis have a safe place to get stabilized, meet with trained staff and be referred for additional services. Association for Individual Development provides the additional $300,000 for the program, which is free to whoever needs it, bringing the total cost to $1.7 million.

“This is a heartbreaking day for our organization and our community,” said Baker said in a news release. “We will continue fighting to restore funding so this essential service can reopen.” In an email statement, a spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Human Services denied there was a technical glitch connected to AID’s application.

“There was no IT system error pertaining to this specific program application,” according to the spokesperson’s email. “Although there was no IT system error, IDHS recognizes that some organizations may require additional support during the process, and it remains committed to continuous improvement.” The email also stated the agency also offers technical assistance.

“Specific organizations cannot be guaranteed funding for programs,” the email also stated. “They must successfully complete and meet program requirements in order to receive funding.” Lawmakers step in Baker also sought support from local lawmakers, state Sen. Karina Villa and state Rep. Barbara Hernandez.

“There’s no more Living Room at all in this entire region,” Villa said. “So my job as a legislator isn’t to say AID has to get the grant. My job as a legislator, regionally, is now I don’t have a Living Room for my constituents to go to.”

Villa questioned why the state did not reopen a grant opportunity when staff saw there was no application for the region. In Rockford, Sangamon County and near East St. Louis, Villa said DHS reopened the grant process when officials saw there was no grantee in those regions. “This is an entire region that does not have a Living Room,” Villa said.

Hernandez said the agency will have to wait until the application process opens up for it to reapply. “It’s not a secret that it’s hard to apply for a grant in Illinois,” Hernandez said. “The state offers webinars throughout the grant process ...

I agree as a state, we need to modernize our way of submitting grants and reorganize the process we have.” But Hernandez said it also takes money to to invest in technology upgrades. Trinity Services grant loss AID was not the only Living Room provider that didn’t get its grant approved.

Thane Dykstra, CEO of Trinity Services Inc. in New Lenox said that the agency has Living Rooms in Joliet and in Grundy County – but it lost funding for one in Orland Park, also a $1.4 million grant. Its loss was similar to what Baker described. “When we hit send, our application was received 2.5 minutes late, was disqualified and not read,” Dykstra said.

“Our narrative was in there long before our proposed budget was entered. The only thing missing was the signature sheet. ... If the reviewers had opened our application, they would have had everything they needed to make a decision.”

As to the problems with the state’s portal system – Dykstra said the solutions are simple. “Create a small window for those having technical issues,” Dykstra said. “Create a grace period.

Or, how about go ahead and score what is submitted, even if it’s not received on time.”