The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by David Grimes-Quill Correspondent
Oquawka- Residents of Henderson County who rely on the Department of Human Services offices here, for everything from food stamps to medical assistance, will have their cases transferred to the Warren County DHS office in Monmouth beginning January 26.
Some 500 Henderson County families will be affected by the consolidation of the Henderson and Warren County offices, according to Tom Green, with the Illinois state office of communications and information in Springfield.
"The office will close at 5 p.m. January 25 and the physical move day will be January 26," said Kelly Lanane from the Mercer county DHS office in Aledo who is assisting the Oquawka location in its final week of operation.
The Oquawka office closing is the only one of the 22 counties that comprise Region 3 and come under the jurisdiction of the regional office in Peoria that will be affected.
Oquawka's two caseworkers, Melody Hendrix and Jill Cokel, will join the Warren County office staff at the Monmouth DHS office located at 1245 South Main.
The closure has been discussed by state officials for about two years, but announcement of the closing was made late last year.
Green said the closing of the Oquawka office will mean about $1 million in savings in the current fiscal year and $3 million in the next fiscal year, the first full year of consolidation.
The Oquawka office closing alone will represent a savings of $73,000 in annual leasing costs. Over $6,000 a month was being paid.
The next closest state DHS office closings are in Dixon in Lee County and in Mount Sterling in Brown County.
The move to consolidate smaller community offices with larger offices came about as the state looked for ways to make DHS funding more efficient by maximizing resources and strengthening services and delivery.
"The dollars saved through consolidation will be devoted toward implementing more programs and increasing staff in existing offices," Green said.
According to their web site, DHS is Illinois' largest agency, with more than 19,000 employees and an annual budget of nearly $5 billion. DHS delivers services directly through nearly 200 local offices and in partnership with a network of local providers that reach every part of Illinois, and DHS services touch the lives of one out of five Illinois citizens in the course of a year.
DHS serves Illinois citizens through seven main programs:
*Alcoholism and substance abuse treatment and prevention services
*Developmental disabilities.
*Health services for pregnant women and mothers, infants, children, and adolescents
*Prevention services for domestic violence and at-risk youth
*Mental health.
*Rehabilitation services, and
*Welfare programs, including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Food Stamps, and child care.