State of Illinois

Ninety-Fifth General Assembly

House of Representatives

House Resolution No. 1307

Offered by Representatives John E. Bradley-Robert F. Filder

    WHEREAS, Employees of Heartland Human Services in

Effingham have been on strike since July, 2007; and

    WHEREAS, These employees normally deliver crucial mental

health and substance abuse services that are necessary for the

health, welfare, safety, and quality of life of Heartland

clients and all residents of Effingham County; and

    WHEREAS, The State of Illinois, through the Department of

Human Services and other State agencies, contracts with

Heartland to provide those services; and

    WHEREAS, Because of the strike, only a small fraction of

normal services have been delivered over the past 10 months;

and

    WHEREAS, Data for the first 7 months of the fiscal year

show that Heartland's billings were reduced by 96%, and the

number of clients served was reduced by 71%; and

    WHEREAS, Many former Heartland clients have reported that

they have gone without services or have received insufficient

services; and

	WHEREAS, This lack of services has placed an unsustainable
	burden on Heartland clients and their families, to the point
	that one client committed suicide; and
	WHEREAS, Over 25 behavioral health professionals formerly
	employed at Heartland signed a statement attesting that
	Heartland "demonstrated a disturbing lack of concern for the
	well-being of clients" and that the employees had themselves
	"felt the lack of respect that management had for employees who
	sought to serve those clients"; and
	WHEREAS, Because of the lack of service delivery due to the
	strike, the Department of Human Services Division of Alcohol
	and Substance Abuse has discontinued grant payments to
	Heartland; and
	WHEREAS, The money the Division of Alcohol and Substance
	Abuse has not paid to Heartland may be available to fund
	increased service delivery by other providers in the area who
	are attempting to serve the former Heartland clients; and
	WHEREAS, The Department of Human Services Division of
	Mental Health elected to continue to pay Heartland for the
	first five months of the fiscal year, despite the lack of
	service delivery; and
	WHEREAS, The Division of Mental Health paid Heartland
	approximately $200,000 monthly even though virtually no
	services were being delivered; and
	WHEREAS, The Division of Mental Health has not been able to
	guarantee other mental health providers who are treating
	Heartland clients that they will be reimbursed for their
	expanded service delivery this year; therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
	NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
	State agencies should steward State funding to ensure the
	maximum amount of services are delivered to the most clients
	possible; and be it further
	RESOLVED, That the Auditor General is directed to conduct a
	performance audit of the State moneys provided by or through
	State agencies to Heartland Human Services under contracts or
	grant agreements in Fiscal Year 2007 and year-to-date 2008; and
	be it further
	RESOLVED, That this audit include, but not be limited to,
	the following determinations:
	(1) the purposes for which State moneys were provided
	to Heartland Human Services, for each State agency and for
	each amount transferred;
(2) the nature and extent of monitoring by State
agencies of how Heartland Human Services used the
State-provided moneys;
(3) the actual use of State moneys by Heartland Human
Services;
(4) whether, through a review of available
documentation, Heartland Human Services has met or is
meeting the purposes for which the State moneys were
provided, with specific information concerning Heartland
Human Services' staffing levels and its compensation of
management employees; and
(5) whether Heartland Human Services is in compliance
with the applicable laws, regulations, contracts, and
grant agreements pertaining to Heartland Human Services'
receipt of State moneys; and be it further
RESOLVED, That Heartland Human Services and any State or
local agency that may have information relevant to this audit
cooperate fully and promptly with the Auditor General's office
in its audit; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Auditor General commence this audit as
soon as possible and report his findings and recommendations
upon completion in accordance with the provisions of Section
3-14 of the Illinois State Auditing Act; and be it further
	RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
	presented to the Auditor General. Adopted by the House of Representatives on May 31, 2008.