McHenry County Mental Health Board refines three-year strategic plan amid debate over workforce pay, wait times and AI use

McHenry County’s Mental Health Board spent its April 22 meeting completing a draft three-year strategic plan that sets four priorities — collaboration and awareness; accountability and quality; access and coordination; and community resource development — while devoting extended discussion to workforce compensation, service wait times and technology-guided administrative processes.

Board leaders introduced the plan and asked members to review completed objectives and action steps that staff had incorporated after an earlier workshop. The plan calls for a community needs assessment, clearer outcome measures by service pillar (mental health, substance use and developmental disabilities), and expanded outreach and partnerships to close service gaps.

Several members pressed for stronger, concrete action on workforce shortages and low pay for direct-care staff. “My son earns more at Amazon than people do providing care for some of the most vulnerable people that exist,” one board member said, urging the board to compile provider data showing turnover, recruitment costs and wage shortfalls to support advocacy to state lawmakers. Members proposed possible actions including drafting a board resolution, submitting witness slips for state budget debates, coordinating with existing advocacy organizations and participating in Springfield advocacy days.

Board members also discussed how to measure prevention and social-connection efforts. Members noted the difficulty of demonstrating prevented events, and suggested tracking intermediate metrics such as the number of participants reached through prevention programming and support groups, survey questions in a community needs assessment, and disaggregating wait-time data by service pillar so that developmental-disability wait lists do not obscure access for substance-use services.

The board debated language about “non-human services,” recommending the plan clarify that the concern is administrative technology (for example, chatbots and automated intake) rather than replacing clinical care. “If you are using AI or some kind of chatbot, you are treating it the same way as a voicemail system,” a member said, urging expectations that automated systems be monitored and routed into the board’s “no wrong door” intake and referral processes.

Staff said they will add or refine action steps to make objectives measurable, incorporate provider input on wage impacts, and keep the needs assessment as a large, stand-alone objective given its scope. Members agreed to continue wordsmithing the draft before a May review and to invite further written suggestions.

The board did not take a formal vote on the plan at this meeting; members were asked to submit edits offline and expect a revised draft ahead of the June officer election meeting.