County renews psychiatric-services contract for juvenile detention at about $60,000 a year

Kane County Court Services on Thursday asked the Judicial and Public Safety Committee to renew a contract with Family Counseling Services of Aurora to provide psychiatric nursing and medication-management services at the county juvenile detention facility.

Court Services Director Lisa Aust said roughly 60 percent of youths detained at the facility are on psychotropic medication and the county uses Family Counseling Services to provide a psychiatric nurse who meets with youths weekly and assists with prescriptions and mental-health care. “When we investigated hiring our own [psychiatrist]…it was well over a $100,000 a year,” Aust said. Contracting with Family Counseling Services provides the service at a lower cost, she said.

Aust told the committee the cost for the contract renewal is approximately $60,000 per year and that the amount was already budgeted. Part of an expected $5,000 increase will be offset by the county’s new agreement with Blue Cross Blue Shield for mental-health services for frontline providers, she said; no additional general-fund dollars were requested at the meeting.

The committee approved the renewal by roll call. Committee members asked whether services would be reduced under the new contract; Aust said the change maintained the same level of services and reflected increased insurance costs for community providers.

Court Services also reported that problem-solving court caseloads have increased from about 135 in December to about 164 and that the DUI court has reached maximum capacity.

The contract renewal will be processed through county procurement and finance as required.