DECATUR — Bringing together two longtime Decatur social service agencies under one roof took a big step forward Thursday, as organizers had a ceremonial groundbreaking of an 80,000-square-foot headquarters of Baby TALK and and Decatur Macon County Opportunities Corp. on a parcel northeast of downtown Decatur.
“A lot of clients we serve are of the same population, and we're excited to be a part of that,” said Tara Murray, executive director of DMCOC, which dates to 1965.
The group serves over 7,000 people annually out of its 1122 E. Marietta St. office and other sites, providing senior services, job training and other assistance program. It also runs the Anna Waters Head Start program for children ages 3-5.

A rendering of the Baby TALK-Decatur Macon County Opportunities Corp. office under development in Decatur is shown. The Howard G. Buffett Foundation donated $25 million, which will be used for construction.
Baby TALK, based at 500 E. Lake Shore Drive, specializes in early childhood development services for children from birth to age 3.
The new building will have separate wings for the organizations, housing about 200 workers. An estimated 9,000 people are expected to be helped annually, including 500 children.
It is part of the sprawling 27-acre Community Care Campus taking shape near the Wabash Crossing neighborhood. The project was announced in August 2018 with a donation by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, led by philanthropist and former Macon County Sheriff Howard Buffett.
The site will include the Crossing Healthcare wellness facility, as well as on-site drug treatment and rehabilitation services. The nonprofit group Northeast Community Fund also is constructing a facility nearby.

Breaking ground on the Baby TALK and and Decatur Macon County Opportunities Corp. facility in Decatur on Thursday are, from left, Dan McGuire, Antonio D. Brown, Andrew Weatherford, Tara Murray, Cindy Bardeleben, Kim Mangan, Ashley Grayned, Carol Jontry, Tanya Andricks and Mirinda Rothrock. The development is near the Wabash Crossing neighborhood.
Buffett pledged $30 million to the campus project originally and an additional $25 million in April.
“There’s no question that by combining these services in one location that we will make it easier for families to access them,” Buffett said in a statement at the time. “But more importantly, by having these service providers work collaboratively with families, we believe we can improve outcomes and make more efficient use of support resources."
The Baby TALK-DMCOC building will be between Condit and King streets. Construction is expected to finish by November 2021, said Kyle Christian, the site superintendent for builder Romano Co. About 40 workers will be on site.

Posing for a photo Thursday are Decatur Macon County Opportunities Corp. members in white hard hats and Baby TALK members in blue hard hats.
Decatur City Manager Scot Wrighton said development of the Community Care Campus will help maximize connections among social services in Decatur.
“This is a very unique collection of agencies,” he said. “We are really excited about the synergies we know about here, and frankly, some synergies that maybe we don't know about yet. I don't believe there's anything in downstate Illinois that has this kind of collection and resources all in one place.”
Over 80% of children enrolled in DMCOC’s Anna Waters Head Start program, for example, use Crossing Healthcare services, organizers have said.
DMCOC also has a Head Start office and classrooms at the Effie Oliver Child and Family Center at 1075 N. Morgan St. and New Horizon Family & Child Development Center at 275 E. Condit St.
Additions for DMCOC will include classrooms integrated into the new facility, something Murray hopes will help expand the Head Start program. A senior center will also be added with the intent of keeping senior citizens out of isolation, she said.
“That's the purpose of BABY Talk and us being located in the same building — so that we can be able to coordinate services," she said. "We’ve developed a great partnership with them, and the goal is to create a continuity of care.”
Over 90 percent of DMCOC funding comes from federal and state government grants, Murray said. The remainder is provided by local foundations and private donors. Baby TALK also operates through federal government funding.
“Having us located on the Community Care Campus allows clients better access for what they need. Rather than driving around town, they will have services there in one place,” she said. “We have a lot of clients that utilize a lot of services, even within our agencies, so having those things in one place will make it more accessible for them.”
Cindy Bardeleben, Baby TALK executive director, said the partnership will help efficiently streamline resources. Their current waiting list is at least twice as big as can be served.
The new facility will increase service capacity to 128 children.
An additional 40 staff members also will be added to its 60-person staff, made possible by funding by the Early Head Start Grant received in June.
“We're really looking forward to collaborating and partnering with DMCOC and Crossing Health Care,” she said. “It's hard to navigate systems for what your family needs so we'll work together to find all aspects and ages of families since they're just across the hall”
Additions by Baby TALK will include observation rooms between each of their 16 classrooms for parents to observe children. Bardeleben also said this could open up opportunities for Millikin University and Richland Community College students studying early childhood education. Four playgrounds and two gross motor rooms will be included.
Meanwhile, the recovery center, transitional housing and outpatient facility portions of Crossing Healthcare are on track to open in October, said CEO Tanya Andricks. Two apartment complexes are still in the early building stages.
“Our role is to play in the cross-coverage,” Andricks said. “This allows for maximum collaboration, it keeps us from duplicating services and keeps our eyes and ears on families in need.”
Some of what the Buffett Foundation has funded locally
Community Care Campus

How much: $30 million
When: August 2018
What it funds: Community Care Campus, a 17-acre project with social service providers and other groups north of downtown Decatur.
Decatur school district

How much: $1.65 million
When: December 2017
What it funds: The Dwayne O. Andreas Ag Academy at Decatur public schools
Macon County recycling facility

How much:
When:
Macon County

How much: $180,000
When: November 2017
What it funds: A prosecutor dedicated to opioid cases in the Macon County State’s Attorney’s Office
City of Decatur

How much: $1 million
When: November 2017
What it funds: Finances for the city’s neighborhood revitalization project
Macon County

How much: $236,000
When: November 2017
What it funds: Consultants to evaluate the operations of the Macon County Jail
Central Illinois Regional Dispatch Center

How much: $4.2 million
When: October 2017
What it funds: Call center south of Decatur to dispatch Decatur police and fire departments, Macon County Sheriff's Office and other agencies
Boys & Girls Club of Decatur

How much: $710,000
When: September 2017
What it funds: Expansion and teen area addition to Jasper Street building
Dove Inc.

How much: $1 million
When: August 2017
What it funds: Offset financial losses because of the state budget crisis
Children's Museum of Illinois

How much: $3 million
When: July 2017
What it funds: Expansion and exhibit focused on law enforcement
Macon County

How much: $350,000
When: May 2017
What it funds: New vehicles, training firearms and other equipment for the Sheriff’s Office
United Way

How much: $200,000
When: December 2016
What it funded: Renovations of 201 W. Eldorado St. into new building for nonprofit organization
City of Decatur

How much: $330,000
When: November 2016
What it funds: New fiber-optic network
Law Enforcement Training Center

How much: $15 million
When: October 2016
What it funds: New police training facility for recruits from across the state being built at U.S. Business 51 and West Grove Road
Decatur Park District

Decatur Park District
How much: $3.9 million
When: October 2016
What it funds: Nelson Park Amphitheater
Decatur Park District

How much: $2 million
When: October 2016
What it funds: Extension of train line at Scovill Zoo
Decatur Park District

How much: $250,000
When: June 2016
What it funds: Sculpture Park in Scovill Park
Other donations

$4.5 million to Sequoia Farm Foundation for equipment
$1.5 million for drug invention program in Macon County Sheriff’s Office
$608,852 for Decatur Police Department K-9 facility
$289,856 for United Way of Decatur 211 program
$222,985 for Macon County Sheriff’s Office K-9 program
$124,985 for Veterans Assistance Commission
$67,132 to Mount Zion Police Department for K-9 program
$65,440 to Decatur Public Schools Foundation for Harris School Thanksgiving Dinner, 10 years
$50,000 to Decatur Police Department for equipment
$5,000 to South Shores School in Decatur for Thanksgiving Dinner
Source: Howard G. Buffett 990 tax filing
Other donations

$25,000 to bring Decatur Public School sixth-graders to Farm Progress
$1.2 million for Decatur Salvation Army
$500,000 for Macon County Court Appointed Special Advocates