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McHenry County Mental Health Board Executive Director Scott Block will take a new role with the Illinois Supreme Court as the state’s first statewide behavioral health administrator.
Block, who led the McHenry County Mental Health Board for seven years, will step down Oct. 8 to take on the new role with the Illinois Supreme Court and Administrative Office of Illinois Courts, according to a news release issued Wednesday by McHenry County.
In this newly developed role, Scott will serve as the Illinois Judicial Branch’s “dedicated mental health voice and resource,” committed to furthering behavioral health initiatives as they affect the courts, according to the release.
In this capacity, he will act as the project director for the Illinois Mental Health Task Force and provide professional guidance on the Illinois Courts’ response to behavioral health issues, according to the release.
“The opportunity to serve the Judicial Branch in this new role is an exciting progression of my career,” Block said in a statement. “It is a bittersweet goodbye to the Mental Health Board, as I have enjoyed and appreciated working with such a community-minded and committed Board of Directors, County Board, staff, and network of service providers. At the same time, the new position allows me to continue working on behalf of residents of McHenry County at the state level.”
Block served as the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court’s director of special projects prior to joining the Mental Health Board, according to the release.
Mental Health Board President Connee Meschini said Block “will be sorely missed as he had his fingers on the pulse of everything and anything related to local and state behavioral health services while serving McHenry County tirelessly for many years.”
Longtime Fiscal Operations Manager Jane Wacker also announced her retirement as of Oct. 1, according to the release. Wacker has served McHenry County since 1998, getting her start at the County Auditor’s Office before moving to the MHB in 2005.