SOUTHBURY — After months of discussions over its relationship with the Region 15 school district, Southbury-Middlebury Youth and Family Services will be closing permanently at the end of the week.
The youth services bureau's board of directors met last week to attempt to find another solution, but Chairwoman Mary Jane McClay said Friday that the organization can't afford to keep its doors open.
"We felt it was either bite the bullet — which we did — or drag things along hoping for a miracle," McClay said. "That in the end wouldn't be fair to clients and staff."
The decision follows tense debates between the Region 15 Board of Education, one of the organization's primary funding sources, and the youth services bureau after the school district raised questions about the group's finances. The debate reached a tipping point in May, when McClay and the board of directors charged that Superintendent of Schools Frank H. Sippy sent an unsigned letter demanding changes in the organization's leadership.
Meanwhile, school officials said they had concerns about financial irregularities and security procedures, including a decision not to pursue a police investigation after a box of checks was found stuffed in the gutter of a home not far from the office's location at the corner of Judd and Strongtown roads.
McClay said the organization, which provides counseling and psychological services to Middlebury, Southbury and Region 15 families, began informing clients about the decision last week.
The school district's director of finance and operations, Keith McLiverty, said he was "dismayed" by the decision. He said officials received a letter earlier in the week stating that closing was under consideration.
"They're free to make whatever decision they want," McLiverty said Friday. "Dr. Sippy informed everyone that a determination would be made by mid-September. We're not going to deviate from that process."
The Region 15 school district sent out a request for qualifications in June to determine whether there were other providers interested in offering the services for less money.
Four groups — Southbury-Middlebury Youth and Family Services, Newtown Youth and Family Services, the Behavioral Health Center in Middlebury and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry of Stamford — submitted proposals expressing an interest in providing counseling services, according to McLiverty.
Newtown Youth and Family Services Executive Director Candice Foster said she felt her organization would be a good fit for the school district since Newtown already services some families from Middlebury and Southbury.
"We have a foot in the door with families in the area," Foster said. "Many of the services Region 15 is looking to enhance we already provide."
Before the announcement, Southbury-Middlebury's executive director, Deirdre Houlihan-DiCara, said that without school district funding, the organization would be forced to close. Later in the week, the board finalized its decision, she said.
DiCara said that the organization, which employed three full-time and five part-time staff members, will continue to work with clients this week to draft referrals for other organizations.
"The decision came with deep regret," DiCara said. "It has been an honor to serve. I hope we made an impact and a difference in peoples' lives over the years."
Southbury, Middlebury and Region 15 account for about 60 percent of the agency's $694,286 total budget, while the remaining 40 percent comes from fundraisers, insurance and private donations. The agency has provided services to the district since its inception in 1984.
District officials plan to meet Tuesday to begin reviewing the bids and schedule interviews with representatives from each of the companies in August. After those interviews are completed, the school board's finance committee will meet to begin selecting finalists before making a final recommendation to the full Board of Education for its meeting in September.
Board of Education Chairwoman Janet Butkus said Friday she was not aware that YFS had decided to close, but later found out from school officials about a letter the organization sent to the school district.
"This was not the plan with them, " Butkus said. "I'm surprised they're so suddenly withdrawing, but that's their prerogative."
In the interim, clients may need to find a short-term solution. One client, Doreen Luth, said she was informed by her counselor on Thursday about the closure.
Luth, who has been using services at the corner of Judd Road for more than a year and a half, said she worried that she wouldn't be able to find another service provider for such a low price in the coming weeks.
"You go to these places not because you want to, but because you need help," Luth said. "Where are we supposed to go from here? You can't just close a place like this."
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