Supplements

current ISSUE

Catholic Social Services agency
to become Christian Social Services in February 2012

Story by LIZ QUIRIN
Messenger editor

Change is coming to a diocesan agency that opened its doors in 1947 to help children — Catholic Social Services of Southern Illinois.

The agency has changed over the years, expanding into other areas like employment and senior services, but it has always been a part of the diocese. That is expected to change by Feb. 1, 2012 when the name will change to Christian Social Services, and its connection to the diocese will be severed. The entire agency will become a free-standing private agency.

The move was made necessary in the wake of the Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act, called the “Civil Union Law” by many people, signed by Gov. Pat Quinn on Jan. 31 of this year.

When Illinois Catholic Charities agencies said they would refuse to place children with unmarried or same sex couples through their foster care and adoption programs, the battle lines were drawn. The Thomas More Society represented the dioceses involved in caring for children through referrals from Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
DCFS refused to refer more cases to CSS and severed its relationship with the diocese. The agencies began communicating through lawyers.

After losing in a Sangamon County court and at the appellate level, CSS executive director, Gary Huelsmann, said the agency, along with its board of directors and in discussions with Bishop Edward K. Braxton, decided to sever the relationship between the agency and the diocese.

“This is so sad,” Huelsmann said. “After we lost the request for a stay (in the courts) we had to make a decision either to go out of existence or disassociate ourselves with the diocese.”

The entire agency, including St. John’s Daycare and Don Bosco Children’s Center, its satellite offices in Carbondale, Mt. Vernon, Mt. Carmel and Olney, with all of its services in foster care, adoption, counseling and senior programs will remain intact and become the new agency, Huelsmann said.

CSS’ current board chairman, Circuit Judge Stephen McGlynn, said he agreed to stay through the transition to the newly named agency in February even though his term on the board had expired.

“It became clear that the state was not going to do business with the Catholic diocese even though it was the highest rated and most qualified provider,” McGlynn said.

While McGlynn was unhappy about the need for the agency to sever its relationship with the diocese, he said he understood why this was necessary.

The present agency “made a difficult decision to de-couple those services from the Catholic diocese because (the people) are concerned about the children and families we serve,” McGlynn said. “It would have been cataclysmic for some of these vulnerable families if we couldn’t help them anymore.”

Articles of incorporation for the Catholic agency will be modified, Huelsmann said. The bishop will no longer be on the board.

While the new entity will be moving all of its operations, it will cease to receive diocesan funding, about $44,000 of which came from the Catholic Service and Ministry Appeal, Huelsmann said.

“We’ll have less resources in general,” Huelsmann said, although he added that the money coming from the diocese represented only a fraction of the agency’s budget. DCFS provided 72 percent of the agency’s budget, coming from foster care contracts with DCFS.

Speaking about the agency’s relationship with DCFS, Huelsmann said: “Before the law was passed, our relationship with DCFS was outstanding. Then we began communicating through lawyers.”

DCFS spokesman Kendall Marlowe, said the state agency is in discussions with the three dioceses that were involved in the lawsuit that was dropped in mid-November: Belleville, Joliet and Springfield.

“We appreciate the professionalism and collaboration of the Catholic Charities staff, and we are confident we will work together to complete transitions that are in the best interests of these children and families,” Marlowe said.

Speaking from the Carbondale office, regional director, Mary Lou Loos, said it was difficult to separate from the diocese. “Although it is sad to have had to make this choice, hopefully it can be acknowledged as a choice for the children and the community in southern Illinois.” Carbondale deals with about 150-160 children, Loos said, and about 600 agency-wide.

In Mt. Vernon, regional director, Pam Flota said their office “would have been closed if we had not separated from the church” because “my office is mainly foster care.”

Huelsmann said the agency should begin to get new case referrals during the interim period as the transition takes place.

“We’ll get temporary contracts,” Huelsmann said that will not allow any new, non-relative homes to be licensed for foster care. He expects to receive new contracts in February.

“I’m certain this is going to work,” Huelsmann said. “People are bending over backwards to make this work.”