Mental
Health and Mental Retardation Services, Inc., known as “INC,” is an
Illinois, not-for-profit corporation which was chartered on April
21, 1969, to promote the creation of local mental health boards authorized
under 405 Illinois Compiled Statutes §20/3a (see link below).
In
the November 1970 general election, the voters of Aurora
, Batavia
, Big Rock, Blackberry,
Kaneville and Sugar Grove
Townships
, Kane
County , Illinois
, approved a community
mental health tax by referendum. Each of the six township boards appointed
a seven-member community mental health board, known colloquially as
a “708” board after the number of the Illinois House of Representatives
resolution which created such entities. A seventh township, Virgil,
joined the previous six as the result of a referendum passed in November
2000 and subsequently appointed a 708 board.
Each
community 708 board recommends a mental health levy to its respective
township board for inclusion among their levy submissions to the county.
The county distributes the tax dollars collected to the townships,
who then remit the mental health portion of the taxes to the INC Board,
the administrative body. They are then pooled and distributed to agencies
for selected, eligible services by the INC Board.
The
INC Board of Directors is composed of fifteen (15) members. There
is one member from each of the township 708 Boards, and eight (8)
members-at-large elected by the board. Contractual agreements exist
between INC and the seven community mental health boards to carry
out the work of the seven 708 boards in a regional approach to administration,
which is permitted and delineated in Illinois
statute.
Annual
grants made by INC to local agencies for services to the mentally
ill, developmentally disabled, and substance abusing populations,
using the local mental health tax dollars, are over $1.1 million.
INC
built and is the owner of the buildings at 400 Mercy Lane, and both
309 and 409 W. New Indian Trail Court. These house not only the
INC offices but also the Association for Individual Development,
including both the Elizabeth Keeler Center and Thompson Rehabilitation
Center, Gateway Foundation - Aurora, an office for Communities In
Schools and one for National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. All
the buildings are situated on land purchased from Mercy Center for
Health Care Services and the Sisters of Mercy. There is still 1.8
acres of undeveloped land.
INC’s
continuing responsibility to the citizens of our seven townships is
to assure the availability, accessibility and continuity of appropriate
services for the mentally ill, developmentally disabled, and substance
abuser.
