Message from the Executive Director – Fiscal Year 2007

Message from the Executive Director

Fiscal year 2007 will be reflected on as a defining year for Family Counseling Center, Inc. and its future successes.  With the foresight of the Tri-County Board of Directors to diversify the reliability of generating revenue as we have known it, the agency has taken some bold and challenging action investing in itself to grow and remain fiscally sound in the future.  This fiscal year has been pegged with notices of program and funding changes, decreasing grant funding and moving more toward fee for service.  Projecting potential loss of revenues with these changes drives us to take action for our future.

We are striving to maximize the best use of our assets, being proactive in reducing expenses, all the while trying to put our employees and clients first today and maintaining the agency’s goals of long-term growth into the future.  In March, the agency successfully achieved a three year reaccreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF).

The closed file storage building was completed, and all closed client files from the various facilities in Hardin, Pope and Johnson counties were transferred in January to the new facility, alphabetized and placed on appropriate shelving.  This action and this facility has significantly enabled us to reduce the agency’s risk and liability in the requirement of appropriately maintaining closed client files indefinitely.

When the new Hardin County office renovation was completed and staff were assigned to the facility, we immediately saw a steady increase in clients served and services offered to the citizens of Hardin County.  In FY06, we served 157 clients out of the old Hardin County office.  In FY07, we served 192 clients out of the new office.  The increased number of employees working out of the new Hardin County office has been a positive presence and has also lead to the establishment of monthly multi-agency meetings in Hardin County with representatives from local schools, Regional Office of Education, Probation, Parole, Law Enforcement, States Attorney’s office and Family Counseling Center employees, who, with appropriate releases, are able to discuss clients we have in common and serve as a resource “think tank” to work together as a team in effectively treating and guiding those clients.

The culmination of 2½ years of work in seeking approval and funding to build a 46-apartment Supportive Living Facility in Vienna became a reality.  Following a “very cold” January groundbreaking ceremony; construction began on the Autumn Ridge Supportive Living Facility.  Architechniques of Herrin provided the expertise in updating the blue prints our agency purchased from Brookstone Estates of Effingham to ensure current standards on accessibility and handicap compliance were met.  Agency design changes and additions were also coordinate by Architechniques.  Initial funding to determine feasibility, surveying costs, etc., was provided by SIDEZ; grant funding was provided by LISC of Chicago; and the construction funding was provided by Peoples National Bank of Harrisburg and USDA Rural Development of Harrisburg.  Evard/Strang of Marion was awarded the general contractor bid.  Construction began in early spring and has progressed steadily in a positive manner.  Completion and opening of the Autumn Ridge facility is anticipated by February 2008.

An opportunity to purchase a building in Vienna was capitalized on with the vision to move the Johnson County Day Training program allowing for expansion to receive new clients and generating more revenue.  At the same time relocating JCDT will resolve a very critical need to provide behavioral health counselors and therapists’ additional office and group room space.  This will result in a better work environment, enhanced confidentiality and coordination of services for our clients.  Plans are in progress to renovate the newly purchased facility and relocate the programs and services in FY08.

We must continually evaluate the time and cost to continue to grow.  Some will say we cannot afford to invest in growing, while others will say we cannot afford not to!  We must make the best decisions we can when opportunities present themselves and work diligently to make those decisions be the right decisions, while never forgetting to evaluate our direction as things change and new information becomes available.

Larry W. Mizell
Executive Director