Mental health clinics will reopen Monday but remain on shaky ground

Four South Side mental health clinics will reopen their doors to patients on Monday after Mayor Daley granted a temporary amnesty from closing last week Tuesday.

Daley promised to keep the clinics open with federal stimulus money, but how much will be used is unclear, according to the Chi-Town Daily News' report. Stimulus money would only be a temporary fix as officials seek a permanent source of funding.

The four centers - Woodlawn, Back of the Yards, Greater Grand/Mid-South and Beverly-Morgan Park - serve about 2,000 patients dealing with mental illness. Woodlawn and Back of the Yards had continued to see patients last week despite its unclear future; Greater Grand/Mid-South and Beverly-Morgan Park will accept patients again on Monday.

Talk of closure began in January of this year as the Chi-Town Daily News exclusively reported a computer billing program's failure to properly bill the state for patient care caused the Chicago Department of Public Health Services to lose $1.2 million dollars in state funding.

[Chi-Town Daily]