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Oak Park presents interim results from ECHO alternative response pilot after 181 referrals
Summary
Village staff told the board that ECHO, an alternative call-response program launched in early 2025, has taken 181 referrals since staff onboarding and is providing timely care coordination intended to reduce repeat 911 uses and connect residents to housing, behavioral health and other services.
The Village of Oak Park presented an interim report on ECHO, its alternative call-response pilot, at a village board meeting; staff said the program has handled 181 referrals since staff were onboarded in early 2025 and is providing case management intended to reduce repeat emergency responses. Vanessa Matheny, community services administrator for the Village of Oak Park, told trustees the board approved phase 1 of the ECHO initiative on June 11, 2024, and the village onboarded program staff in January–February 2025.
The program manager and care coordinators provide follow-up and service navigation for residents who interact with emergency responders or seek help directly at Village Hall, Matheny said. "ECHO has received a 181 referrals from across the Oak Park community," she said, and added that referrals have come from walk-ins, the fire department, the police department and several village departments.
Matheny said the phase-1 team includes one program manager, two care coordinators and three community service officers embedded with the police department. The team provides comprehensive assessments and handoffs to community providers for issues ranging from mental health and substance use to housing instability and aging support. "For most referrals, our team initiates contact within 48 hours. For urgent referrals, like those involving unhoused individuals during business hours, we aim to respond within 15 minutes," Matheny said.
Staff described the volume and intensity of the work. Matheny estimated each ECHO case can require "12 to 15 hours of work" depending on complexity, and said the team logged an estimated 2,500 to 2,700 staff hours over the preceding five months. She also reported that some residents engaged repeatedly: "Some residents engaged with us multiple times, 54 instances, 23 individuals," she said, and framed repeat contacts as relationship-building rather than failure: "Every repeat call to ECHO instead of 911 is a step forward system level success," Matheny said.
Trustees and staff discussed how referrals arrive and how the village is building trust with police, fire and the public. Kira Chang, assistant village manager and HR director, said the pilot currently focuses on care coordination and follow-up — not direct dispatch from 911 — and that adding dispatch would expand the program's scope. "This phase 1 is really focused on the care coordination piece," Chang said.
Board members pressed on usability and capacity. Trustees asked whether the ECHO phone number could be made easier to find on the village website, whether community outreach to nonprofits and schools could increase nonofficial referrals, and whether case-management software could be improved. Matheny said the team is exploring a case database beyond Google and will work with communications staff to increase visibility of the ECHO contact information.
Police and fire chiefs said they have observed reductions in repeat crisis and welfare-related calls after coordinated follow-up. "We actually see success when we don't see the same residents again," Police Chief Johnson said, adding that the department has seen fewer crisis-level calls since ECHO began and that the program fills a gap in follow-up capacity.
Matheny said ECHO coordinates with local partners including Housing Forward, Oak Park Township senior services, VA outreach and other nonprofits, and that care coordinators have joined police and fire roll calls and street outreach to build relationships. She also noted a state-level implementation timeline referenced in the presentation: staff said a state CESA implementation timeline for crisis response has been proposed to extend to June 30, 2027, and that the village will monitor how that intersects with the pilot.
The board did not take formal action on ECHO at the meeting. Trustees generally praised the pilot's early results and asked staff to return with further operational details, including options for technology, capacity and how the village could expand referral pathways in subsequent phases.
The ECHO team includes a program manager who is a licensed clinical social worker and in-house care coordinators who conduct field and follow-up work; Matheny and the chiefs said ongoing attention to staffing and interoperable data tools will be necessary as referrals grow.
