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A Motion To Direct The Finance Committee To Identify Funding Sources Through The 2027 Budget Process To Implement The Staff Recommendation For Phase Two Of An Alternative Response Model And Direct Staff To Further Study The Expansion of The ECHO Program
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Introduction
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The purpose of this agenda item is to seek Board approval to move forward with Phase Two of an alternative response model that aligns with the Illinois Community Emergency Services and Supports Act (CESSA), the BerryDunn Community Safety Study, and the Village Manager’s Alternative Response Task Force for Mental Health Crisis.
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Recommended Action
Adopt the motion.
Prior Board Action
The Board has taken the following prior action(s):
• On May 12, 2026, the Village Board heard a presentation (ID 26-230) on CESSA Updated Guidelines and Requirements Impacting the Village of Oak Park.
• On January 27, 2026, the Village Board heard a presentation (ID 26-131) and held a discussion on E.C.H.O. Phase 1.
• On July 15, 2025, the Village Board heard a presentation (ID 25-416) and held a discussion on E.C.H.O. Phase 1.
• On June 11, 2024, the Village Board approved Motion 24-185: A Motion to Adopt Phase 1 of an Alternative Response to Calls for Service Pilot Program.
• On April 30, 2024, the Village Board heard a presentation (ID 24-246) and held a discussion of Alternative Response to Calls for Service.
• On June 12, 2023, the Village Board heard a presentation (ID 23-294) on the Alternative Calls for Service Response Taskforce Report.
Background
The Village has been working over the last several years to respond to community calls for reimagining public safety, as well as CESSA, the BerryDunn Community Safety Study recommendations, and the Village Manager’s Alternative Response Task Force for Mental Health Crises.
On June 11, 2024, the Village Board approved a two-year pilot program for Phase One of the alternative response to calls for service. Phase One involved standing up the Engaging Communities for Healthy Outcomes (ECHO) program, which focuses on care coordination, proactive outreach, and service navigation, with particular emphasis on supporting residents experiencing homelessness and individuals with complex social service needs. This approach strengthened partnerships, improved service alignment, and helped reduce non-emergency calls for service while increasing connections to housing, behavioral health, and supportive services. Its work aligns strongly with the recommendations of the BerryDunn report.
Building on this foundation, the staff recommendation advances the Village’s efforts by implementing a response model developed in partnership with Thrive Counseling Center to expand alternative response to mental health crisis calls for service. Under the proposed framework, Thrive Counseling Center will lead the response to mental health crisis calls that are beyond the current CESSA criteria. In total, Thrive would respond to 233 calls annually from Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. They would also continue to provide on-call crisis response during other time periods at the police's discretion.
West Suburban Consolidated Dispatch Center (WestCom) will not be ready to launch an alternative response with either Village staff or a contractor at the outset of 2027 (i.e., until after the launch of the new CAD/RMS system). As a result, the initial Thrive response for 2027 would be a co-response, with Police responding alongside Thrive team members to ensure the safety of the scene before departing. This is like the approach taken when both Police and Fire respond to a call. Staff will work with Thrive and WestCom to change from a co-response to an alternative response for the identified call types in 2027, providing the Board updates on our progress in making this switch.
The current ECHO pilot ends in December 2026. Staff also recommend maintaining the current level of ECHO staffing, moving the program from a pilot to a permanent Village offering in 2027. Resident use of the program continues to grow, with the team on pace to respond to approximately 1,200 calls in 2026, up from about 700 in 2025. While the team receives referrals from Police and Fire, more than half of all referrals come from other sources (residents, businesses, community partners). In this way, ECHO is also advancing the recommendations of the BerryDunn report, encouraging residents to seek appropriate support outside of the traditional emergency response system, thereby reducing the need for a sworn/armed response to social service calls for service.
Finally, staff is seeking authority to continue exploring the expansion of ECHO, bringing back revised recommendations on this in 2027, based on feedback from community partners and the implementation of alternative response with Thrive. Expanding ECHO would allow the Village to further implement the recommendations of the Berry Dunn report by creating a team for co-response and alternative response to approximately 3,300 social service calls annually, where social service needs, housing instability, quality-of-life concerns, or non-emergency support needs are the primary drivers.
Timing Considerations
CESSA was passed by the State of Illinois in 2021. This legislation requires emergency response operators, such as those at 911 call centers such as WestCom, to refer callers seeking mental and behavioral health support to a team of mental health professionals instead of Police and Fire. Subsequent amendments extended its implementation until June 30, 2027. WestCom is currently working on implementation. Right now, a subset of 911 calls are being diverted to 988. Because of the current State guidance, the number of diverted calls is expected to be less than 12 calls a year. WestCom will continue coordinating with the State as that guidance expands what calls may be diverted. Staff and Thrive will continue to monitor these changes and adjust response protocols and call types in response to further expansion of the calls diverted via CESSA. Beyond this, staff will continue to work with WestCom to move beyond the CESSA minimum requirements for call diversion as outlined above.
On June 11, 2024, the Village Board approved a two-year pilot program for Phase One of the alternative response to calls for service. The pilot has run since January 2025, meaning it will end in December 2026. As such, the 2027 budget process will include the consideration of whether to continue the pilot, including retention of current pilot program staff.
Financial Impact
The proposed approach would have significant budget implications.
The current contract with Thrive is $166,000 annually. The expanded services would increase this cost to $303,276 in 2027, an increase of $137,276. Police budgeted $175,000 for the Thrive contract in 2026. The current ECHO pilot was funded for two years with $1,100,000 from the fund balance. That pilot is set to end as of December 31, 2026. The current ECHO program costs $344,400.
The staff recommendation includes two recurring components proposed for inclusion in the 2027 core operating budget: The expanded Thrive Counseling Center contract at an estimated annual cost of $303,276; and continuation of the existing ECHO team at an estimated annual cost of $344,400. Together, these components represent a total estimated recurring cost of $647,676 in 2027 and a net increase of $472,676 compared with the amount currently budgeted for the Thrive contract.
A formal funding strategy for the staff recommendation has not yet been finalized. If approved, staff will work with the Finance Committee through the 2027 budget process to evaluate sustainable funding options and develop a recommendation for Village Board consideration.
Approval of this motion would provide policy direction to incorporate the proposal into the 2027 budget development process, but would not constitute final appropriation authority or approval of a specific funding source. Final funding decisions would occur through adoption of the 2027 budget and any related contracts or personnel actions.
These estimates are preliminary and do not include any additional charges that may be assessed by WestCom for dispatch configuration, technology integration, training, or ongoing alternative-response operations. Any material implementation costs identified during the work with WestCom would be brought to the Board for consideration before final authorization.
Staff is also asking the Board to consider the benefits of expanding the ECHO program to advance implementation of the Berry Dunn report. The total cost of this expansion in 2027 would be $604,435. If funded on a pilot basis, this expansion may include a limited allocation of available fund balance, subject to review through the 2027 budget process and consistency with the Village’s fund balance policy. Because fund balance is a nonrecurring resource, it would not be recommended as the ongoing funding source for permanent staffing or contractual commitments beyond the pilot period. This expansion is not included in the staff recommendation and would not occur unless specifically authorized by the Board. The staff recommendation would allow staff to continue exploring this expansion for further consideration by the Board in 2027.
Operations Impact
Phase Two will impact the following Village departments: Police, Fire, and Neighborhood Services (Community Services Division). The Village received over 46,000 calls for service in 2025, including more than 37,000 for Police. The proposal would begin a shift to an alternative response for a subset of these calls in 2027. The Thrive proposal would involve more than 230 calls across five call types. To accommodate this, the Thrive team would expand their current 13-member crisis team by two members, adding a Crisis Therapist and an Engagement Specialist.
Additionally, Neighborhood Services will provide contract oversight and program management for the Village’s partnership with Thrive Counseling Center, including coordination with the Police Department to ensure alignment in response protocols and service delivery. It will undertake data tracking, performance measurement, and outcome evaluation.
As noted above, staff are proposing a phased approach to an alternative response model. While the 2027 Thrive response would begin with a co-response, the Village and WestCom would transition some of these calls to an alternative response over the course of the year. The shift from a co-response to an alternative response for many of the identified call types will further impact Police, as they no longer directly respond to these calls.
If the Board also chose to expand the ECHO team, it would add 3,300 more calls across 15 call types that could be diverted. To accomplish this, the ECHO team would expand by five, including one (1) Program Supervisor and four (4) Co-Responders. This would expand the ECHO team to a total of eight (8) staff members.
DEI Impact
The phased approach to an alternative response works to reduce the potential for escalation in behavioral health encounters, centers trauma-informed and clinically appropriate intervention, and enhances equitable access to behavioral health care.
Community Input
This item reflects extensive community engagement and stakeholder input conducted over multiple years. The proposed model is informed by ongoing work beginning in 2021 through the Village’s Mental Health Taskforce and the BerryDunn assessment.
The Mental Health Taskforce included representation from community stakeholders, service providers, and subject matter experts, and provided feedback that directly informed the development of recommendations. In addition, the BerryDunn report incorporated broad community input, data analysis, and national best practices to assess gaps in the Village’s response to behavioral health needs.
Staff have also engaged in continued collaboration with key partners, including Thrive Counseling Center, and have incorporated feedback from Police, Fire, and Neighborhood Services departments to ensure the model is operationally feasible and responsive to community needs.
A letter from the Mental Health Taskforce with feedback on a version of the recommendation they reviewed in April 2026. Staff has modified the recommendation significantly based on their feedback.
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends that the Board adopt the motion. This means staff would work with the Finance Committee to identify funding to include the expanded Thrive contract and retention of current ECHO staff (one Program Manager and two Care Coordinators) to the core operating budget. This would have a total cost of $647,676 and a net cost of $472,676 (factoring in the amount budgeted for the Thrive contract in 2026). It also means that staff would continue exploring the expansion of the ECHO program with community partners and, based on the information from the launch of alternative response with Thrive, bringing the conversation back to the Board in 2027.
Advantages:
• Supports the goals identified in the Village of Oak Park’s plans and goals to support community safety and improve access to mental health services.
• Expands response support for approximately 230 mental health calls for service annually.
• Ensures Thrive capacity to transition mental health crisis calls for service from a co-response to an alternative response in 2027, through work with WestCom.
• Retains existing ECHO staff and the support they provide for more than 1,000 social service calls annually, implementing recommendations from the Berry Dunn report.
• Ensures staff continue exploring opportunities to implement Berry Dunn report recommendations about increasing alternative call approaches for social service calls.
Disadvantages:
• The recommendation starts with a co-response rather than an alternative response.
• Lengthens the path for future transition of community response calls (approximately 3,300 annually) from a traditional response to an alternative response.
• Does not include any potential alternative dispatch costs from WestCom.
Alternatives
Alternative 1:
The Board could direct the Finance Committee to identify funding sources through the 2027 budget process to expand the Thrive contract and retain current ECHO staff, as well as expand the ECHO team on a pilot basis. This means a two-tier approach to funding. Staff would work with the Finance Committee to find funding to add the expanded Thrive contract and retention of current ECHO staff (one Program Manager and two Care Coordinators) to the core operating budget. This alternative would have a total cost of $647,676 and a net cost of $472,676 (factoring in the current Thrive contract) for the 2027 core budget. Staff would also work with the Finance Committee to pay for a two-year pilot of an expanded ECHO team, including through use of the fund balance. In addition to the $647,676 recurring core operating cost described above, staff would work with the Finance Committee to evaluate funding for a separate two-year pilot expanding the ECHO team. The incremental cost of the expanded ECHO pilot is estimated at $604,435 in 2027 and $630,292 in 2028.
The combined estimated 2027 cost would therefore be $1,252,111, consisting of $647,676 in recurring core operating costs and $604,435 in time-limited pilot costs. The combined net increase over the 2026 Thrive appropriation would be approximately $1,077,111.
Advantages:
• Supports the goals identified in the Village of Oak Park’s plans and goals to support community safety and improve access to mental health services.
• Expands response support for approximately 230 mental health calls for service annually.
• Expands response support for approximately 3,300 community response calls for service annually.
• Offers a path for the transition of mental health calls for service from a co-response to alternative response through future work with WestCom.
• Offers a path for the transition of community response calls for service from a co-response to alternative response through future work with WestCom.
• Retains existing ECHO staff and the support they provide for more than 1,000 social service calls annually.
Disadvantages:
• Operational complexity during initial implementation phase.
• The recommendation starts with a co-response rather than an alternative response.
• Larger fiscal impact than the staff recommendation.
• Does not include any potential alternative dispatch costs from WestCom.
Alternative 2:
The Board could direct that all program elements-including the expanded Thrive contract, retention of the existing ECHO team, and the five-position ECHO expansion-be incorporated into the Village’s core operating budget. The estimated 2027 cost would be $1,252,111, representing a net increase of $1,077,111 compared with the amount budgeted for the Thrive contract in 2026.
Advantages:
• Supports the goals identified in the Village of Oak Park’s plans and goals to support community safety and improve access to mental health services.
• Expands response support for approximately 230 mental health calls for service annually.
• Expands response support for approximately 3,300 community response calls for service annually.
• Offers a path for the transition of mental health calls for service from a co-response to alternative response through future work with WestCom.
• Offers a path for the transition of community response calls for service from a co-response to alternative response through future work with WestCom.
• Retains existing ECHO staff and the support they provide for more than 1,000 social calls annually.
Disadvantages:
• Operational complexity during initial implementation phase.
• The recommendation starts with a co-response rather than an alternative response.
• This option would create the largest immediate recurring commitment because all program elements would be incorporated into the core operating budget.
• Does not include any potential alternative dispatch costs from WestCom.
Alternative 3:
The Board could direct the Finance Committee to identify funding sources through the 2027 budget process to expand the Thrive contract and retain current ECHO staff, and direct staff to stop exploration of future ECHO expansion.
Advantages:
• Reduced long-term cost.
• Supports the goals identified in the Village of Oak Park’s plans and goals to support community safety and improve access to mental health services.
• Expands response support for approximately 230 mental health calls for service annually.
• Offers a path for the transition of mental health calls for service from a co-response to an alternative response through future work with WestCom.
• Retains existing ECHO staff and the support they provide for more than 1,000 social calls annually.
Disadvantages:
• Operational complexity during the initial implementation phase.
• The recommendation starts with a co-response rather than an alternative response.
• Does not include any potential alternative dispatch costs from WestCom.
• Significantly delays any further implementation to address Berry Dunn report recommendations about increasing alternative call approaches for social service calls.
Anticipated Future Actions
If approved, staff would begin discussions with the Finance Committee about the recommendation and funding options for FY2027 and beyond. Final decisions regarding funding through the 2027 budget would then return to the Board with a Finance Committee recommendation.
Staff and Thrive would also initiate implementation planning for Phase Two, including recruitment and hiring coordination by Thrive, finalization of the expanded service agreement with Thrive, and development of formalized response protocols in coordination with Police, Fire, and WestCom. All parties would also begin the setup of an alternative response system for Oak Park in the new CAD/RMS system to ensure the transition from a co-response to an alternative response in 2027. Additional implementation steps will include cross-department training, establishment of data tracking and performance metrics, and integration of dispatch protocols aligned with CESSA requirements.
Staff would also continue exploring the expansion of the ECHO program with community partners and, based on the information from the launch of alternative response with Thrive, bringing the conversation back to the Board in 2027.
Staff anticipates returning to the Village Board with updates on alternative response transition, program implementation, operational outcomes, performance data, and any recommended adjustments to staffing, service delivery, or funding structure.
Prepared By: Vanessa Matheny, Community Services Administrator, Neighborhood Services
Reviewed By: Jonathan Burch, Assistant Village Manager/Neighborhood Services Director
Approved By: Kevin J. Jackson, Village Manager
Attachment(s):
1. Presentation
2. Taskforce Letter