Children's Issues
Illinois took important steps in creating a comprehensive mental health system for adolescents and children when the General Assembly created the Illinois Children's Mental Health Partnership in 2003. Despite this Partnership, the state's mental health system remains highly fragmented, under- resourced, and inadequately coordinated to meet the needs of Illinois children and their families. Supporting the following proposals will help fulfill the state's promise to create a comprehensive children's mental health system.
Pending Legislation:
House Bill 759
HB 759 received unanimous support in the House of Representatives, passing 113-0, and is now being considered for assignment to the Health and Human Services Committee.
This bill amends the Children and Family Services Act to provide that every child in the care of the Department of Children and Family Services receive necessary behavioral health services, including mental health services, trauma services, substance abuse services, and developmental disabilities services. Specifically, there shall be services, such as integrated assessments, treatment plans, individual and group therapy, and specialized foster care.
The bill is sponsored by Representatives Lou Lang, Sandra M. Pihos, Jack D. Franks, Patricia R. Bellock, Patrick J. Verschoore, Jack McGuire, and Senator Susan Garrett.
Download position statement(PDF, 36k)
Contact your legislator to voice your support.
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House Bill 1448
HB 1448 received unanimous support in the House of Representatives, passing 109-0, after passing unanimously from the Developmental Disabilities and Mental Illness Committee.
The bill amends the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Act to create and operate the Bureau for Mentally Ill and Substance Abusing Children and Adolescents. The bureau will ensure that children and adolescents with mental illness and substance abuse receive comprehensive family and community based care.
The bill is sponsored by Representatives Lee A. Daniels, Robert W. Churchill, Raymond Poe, Patricia R. Bellock, Eileen Lyons, Paul D. Froehlich, and Linda Chapa LaVia.
Download position statement(PDF, 36k)
Download a sample letter you can send to your representative(MS Word, 26k)
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Administration of SASS Program
In July 2004, a new Screening, Assessment and Support Services (SASS) program was implemented to provide mental health screening, assessment, planning, crisis intervention, and treatment services for youth without resources who are at risk of psychiatric hospitalization. While the program's objectives are laudable, implementation problems are interfering with realizing the program's goals.
The Mental Health Summit supports the following revisions to the SASS program to guarantee that Illinois' children are being cared for adequately.
Continuity of Care
The program does not ensure that children and adolescents who require care longer than the current 90-day cap on services have access to ongoing care. An infrastructure should be developed to link youth who require prolonged care with adequate services in their communities.
Referral System
There is not an adequate system to ensure that youth who are determined through the screening system not to meet the acuity level required to participate in SASS are linked to local mental health centers. Such a referral system needs to be created.
Redundancy
The current screening process requires family members to give the same information to a variety of agencies when seeking help. The system should be modified so as to not burden parents in this way.
Prompt Reimbursement
The billing system should be modified so agencies that provide services under the SASS program can be reimbursed in a timely manner.
Download position statement(PDF, 36k)
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Illinois Children's Mental Health Partnership
The Partnership aims to create a comprehensive, coordinated children's mental health system that provides prevention, early intervention, and treatment for children ages 0-18 years, and for youth ages 19-21 who are transitioning out of key public programs.