093_SB1951enr SB1951 Enrolled LRB093 08901 RCE 09133 b 1 AN ACT in relation to children. 2 WHEREAS, Untreated mental health problems in children 3 have serious fiscal consequences for the State because they 4 affect children's ability to learn and increase their 5 propensity for violence, alcohol and substance abuse, and 6 other delinquent behaviors that are extremely costly to 7 treat; and 8 WHEREAS, One in 10 children in Illinois suffers from a 9 mental illness severe enough to cause some level of 10 impairment; yet, in any given year only about 20% of these 11 children receive mental health services; and 12 WHEREAS, Many mental health problems are largely 13 preventable or can be minimized with promotion and early 14 intervention services that have been shown to be effective 15 and that reduce the need for more costly interventions; and 16 WHEREAS, Children's social development and emotional 17 development are essential underpinnings to school readiness 18 and academic success; and 19 WHEREAS, A comprehensive, coordinated children's mental 20 health system can help maximize resources and minimize 21 duplication of services; and 22 WHEREAS, The Illinois Children's Mental Health Task Force 23 engaged a broad, multi-disciplinary group that reached 24 consensus on recommendations that serve as the basis for the 25 provisions of this Act; therefore 26 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 27 represented in the General Assembly: 28 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 29 Children's Mental Health Act of 2003. SB1951 Enrolled -2- LRB093 08901 RCE 09133 b 1 Section 5. Children's Mental Health Plan. 2 (a) The State of Illinois shall develop a Children's 3 Mental Health Plan containing short-term and long-term 4 recommendations to provide comprehensive, coordinated mental 5 health prevention, early intervention, and treatment services 6 for children from birth through age 18. This Plan shall 7 include but not be limited to: 8 (1) Coordinated provider services and interagency 9 referral networks for children from birth through age 18 10 to maximize resources and minimize duplication of 11 services. 12 (2) Guidelines for incorporating social and 13 emotional development into school learning standards and 14 educational programs, pursuant to Section 15 of this Act. 15 (3) Protocols for implementing screening and 16 assessment of children prior to any admission to an 17 inpatient hospital for psychiatric services, pursuant to 18 subsection (a) of Section 5-5.23 of the Illinois Public 19 Aid Code. 20 (4) Recommendations regarding a State budget for 21 children's mental health prevention, early intervention, 22 and treatment across all State agencies. 23 (5) Recommendations for State and local mechanisms 24 for integrating federal, State, and local funding sources 25 for children's mental health. 26 (6) Recommendations for building a qualified and 27 adequately trained workforce prepared to provide mental 28 health services for children from birth through age 18 29 and their families. 30 (7) Recommendations for facilitating research on 31 best practices and model programs, and dissemination of 32 this information to Illinois policymakers, practitioners, 33 and the general public through training, technical 34 assistance, and educational materials. SB1951 Enrolled -3- LRB093 08901 RCE 09133 b 1 (8) Recommendations for a comprehensive, 2 multi-faceted public awareness campaign to reduce the 3 stigma of mental illness and educate families, the 4 general public, and other key audiences about the 5 benefits of children's social and emotional development, 6 and how to access services. 7 (9) Recommendations for creating a quality-driven 8 children's mental health system with shared 9 accountability among key State agencies and programs that 10 conducts ongoing needs assessments, uses outcome 11 indicators and benchmarks to measure progress, and 12 implements quality data tracking and reporting systems. 13 (b) The Children's Mental Health Partnership (hereafter 14 referred to as "the Partnership") is created. The Partnership 15 shall have the responsibility of developing and monitoring 16 the implementation of the Children's Mental Health Plan as 17 approved by the Governor. The Children's Mental Health 18 Partnership shall be comprised of: the Secretary of Human 19 Services or his or her designee; the State Superintendent of 20 Education or his or her designee; the directors of the 21 departments of Children and Family Services, Public Aid, 22 Public Health, and Corrections, or their designees; the head 23 of the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority, or his or her 24 designee; the Attorney General or his or her designee; up to 25 25 representatives of community mental health authorities and 26 statewide mental health, children and family advocacy, early 27 childhood, education, health, substance abuse, violence 28 prevention, and juvenile justice organizations or 29 associations, to be appointed by the Governor; and 2 members 30 of each caucus of the House of Representatives and Senate 31 appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and 32 the President of the Senate, respectively. The Governor shall 33 appoint the Partnership Chair and shall designate a 34 Governor's staff liaison to work with the Partnership. SB1951 Enrolled -4- LRB093 08901 RCE 09133 b 1 (c) The Partnership shall submit a Preliminary Plan to 2 the Governor on September 30, 2004 and shall submit the Final 3 Plan on June 30, 2005. Thereafter, on September 30 of each 4 year, the Partnership shall submit an annual report to the 5 Governor on the progress of Plan implementation and 6 recommendations for revisions in the Plan. The Final Plan and 7 annual reports submitted in subsequent years shall include 8 estimates of savings achieved in prior fiscal years under 9 subsection (a) of Section 5-5.23 of the Illinois Public Aid 10 Code and federal financial participation received under 11 subsection (b) of Section 5-5.23 of that Code. The 12 Department of Public Aid shall provide technical assistance 13 in developing these estimates and reports. 14 Section 10. Office of Mental Health services. The Office 15 of Mental Health within the Department of Human Services 16 shall allow grant and purchase-of-service moneys to be used 17 for services for children from birth through age 18. 18 Section 15. Mental health and schools. 19 (a) The Illinois State Board of Education shall develop 20 and implement a plan to incorporate social and emotional 21 development standards as part of the Illinois Learning 22 Standards for the purpose of enhancing and measuring 23 children's school readiness and ability to achieve academic 24 success. The plan shall be submitted to the Governor, the 25 General Assembly, and the Partnership by December 31, 2004. 26 (b) Every Illinois school district shall develop a 27 policy for incorporating social and emotional development 28 into the district's educational program. The policy shall 29 address teaching and assessing social and emotional skills 30 and protocols for responding to children with social, 31 emotional, or mental health problems, or a combination of 32 such problems, that impact learning ability. Each district SB1951 Enrolled -5- LRB093 08901 RCE 09133 b 1 must submit this policy to the Illinois State Board of 2 Education by August 31, 2004. 3 Section 95. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by 4 adding Section 5-5.23 as follows: 5 (305 ILCS 5/5-5.23 new) 6 Sec. 5-5.23. Children's mental health services. 7 (a) The Department of Public Aid, by rule, shall require 8 the screening and assessment of a child prior to any 9 Medicaid-funded admission to an inpatient hospital for 10 psychiatric services to be funded by Medicaid. The screening 11 and assessment shall include a determination of the 12 appropriateness and availability of out-patient support 13 services for necessary treatment. The Department, by rule, 14 shall establish methods and standards of payment for the 15 screening, assessment, and necessary alternative support 16 services. 17 (b) The Department of Public Aid, to the extent 18 allowable under federal law, shall secure federal financial 19 participation for Individual Care Grant expenditures made by 20 the Department of Human Services for the Medicaid optional 21 service authorized under Section 1905(h) of the federal 22 Social Security Act, pursuant to the provisions of Section 23 7.1 of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities 24 Administrative Act. 25 (c) The Department of Public Aid shall work jointly with 26 the Department of Human Services to implement subsections (a) 27 and (b). 28 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon SB1951 Enrolled -6- LRB093 08901 RCE 09133 b 1 becoming law.