SB2943 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB102 21015 CMG 29938 b

102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
SB2943

Introduced 10/19/2021, by Sen. Karina Villa

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

105 ILCS 5/14-15.01

from Ch. 122, par. 14-15.01

Amends the Children with Disabilities Article of the School Code. Grants the Community and Residential Services Authority the authority to provide to youth in this State who are eligible for placement in a residential facility, but who have not been placed in a facility with the opportunity to be placed in a residential facility through the use of an individual agreement. Sets forth the duties of the Community and Residential Services Authority in regard to the placement of youth under an individual agreement in residential placement facilities, including prioritizing residential programs that have been approved by State agencies and preparing the individual agreement contract to be used by State agencies. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning education.

WHEREAS, There remain Illinois youth under the age of 22 who have complex mental health and disability-related needs who require therapeutic residential treatment services; and

WHEREAS, There are several State agencies responsible for providing mental health, developmental, and educational services for these youth and have the ability to fund these youth's therapeutic residential treatment services; and

WHEREAS, Due to the current global pandemic, the complex nature of the youth's mental health, behavioral and educational needs, and the shortage of available residential treatment centers on the current list of approved programs of various State agencies, Illinois youth who need residential services and have received public funding are not receiving timely access to prescribed residential treatment; and

WHEREAS, There is a significant mental health impact on Illinois youth, their families, their communities, and the juvenile justice system when appropriate therapeutic residential treatment services are not provided to mentally and behaviorally fragile Illinois youth in need of treatment; and

WHEREAS, The ability to enter into individual agreements with alternative accredited providers, a practice not currently utilized by Illinois agencies who fund residential treatment for youth, could alleviate the reality that Illinois lacks the resources to provide youth with intensive mental and behavioral health care needs and will significantly improve their access to appropriate therapeutic residential treatment; and

WHEREAS, It is desired that the Community Residential Services Authority be authorized to address and make recommendations pursuant to its enacting statute to assist the most complex Illinois youth acquire necessary services; therefore

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section 14-15.01 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/14-15.01) (from Ch. 122, par. 14-15.01)

Sec. 14-15.01. Community and Residential Services Authority.

(a) (1) The Community and Residential Services Authority is hereby created and shall consist of the following members:

A representative of the State Board of Education;

Four representatives of the Department of Human Services appointed by the Secretary of Human Services, with one member from the Division of Community Health and Prevention, one member from the Division of Developmental Disabilities, one member from the Division of Mental Health, and one member from the Division of Rehabilitation Services;

A representative of the Department of Children and Family Services;

A representative of the Department of Juvenile Justice;

A representative of the Department of Healthcare and Family Services;

A representative of the Attorney General's Disability Rights Advocacy Division;

The Chairperson and Minority Spokesperson of the House and Senate Committees on Elementary and Secondary Education or their designees; and

Six persons appointed by the Governor. Five of such appointees shall be experienced or knowledgeable relative to provision of services for individuals with a behavior disorder or a severe emotional disturbance and shall include representatives of both the private and public sectors, except that no more than 2 of those 5 appointees may be from the public sector and at least 2 must be or have been directly involved in provision of services to such individuals. The remaining member appointed by the Governor shall be or shall have been a parent of an individual with a behavior disorder or a severe emotional disturbance, and that appointee may be from either the private or the public sector.

(2) Members appointed by the Governor shall be appointed for terms of 4 years and shall continue to serve until their respective successors are appointed; provided that the terms of the original appointees shall expire on August 1, 1990. Any vacancy in the office of a member appointed by the Governor shall be filled by appointment of the Governor for the remainder of the term.

A vacancy in the office of a member appointed by the Governor exists when one or more of the following events occur:

(i) An appointee dies;

(ii) An appointee files a written resignation with the Governor;

(iii) An appointee ceases to be a legal resident of the State of Illinois; or

(iv) An appointee fails to attend a majority of regularly scheduled Authority meetings in a fiscal year.

Members who are representatives of an agency shall serve at the will of the agency head. Membership on the Authority shall cease immediately upon cessation of their affiliation with the agency. If such a vacancy occurs, the appropriate agency head shall appoint another person to represent the agency.

If a legislative member of the Authority ceases to be Chairperson or Minority Spokesperson of the designated Committees, they shall automatically be replaced on the Authority by the person who assumes the position of Chairperson or Minority Spokesperson.

(b) The Community and Residential Services Authority shall have the following powers and duties:

(1) To conduct surveys to determine the extent of need, the degree to which documented need is currently being met and feasible alternatives for matching need with resources.

(2) To develop policy statements for interagency cooperation to cover all aspects of service delivery, including laws, regulations and procedures, and clear guidelines for determining responsibility at all times.

(3) To recommend policy statements and provide information regarding effective programs for delivery of services to all individuals under 22 years of age with a behavior disorder or a severe emotional disturbance in public or private situations.

(4) To review the criteria for service eligibility, provision and availability established by the governmental agencies represented on this Authority, and to recommend changes, additions or deletions to such criteria.

(5) To develop and submit to the Governor, the General Assembly, the Directors of the agencies represented on the Authority, and the State Board of Education a master plan for individuals under 22 years of age with a behavior disorder or a severe emotional disturbance, including detailed plans of service ranging from the least to the most restrictive options; and to assist local communities, upon request, in developing or strengthening collaborative interagency networks.

(6) To develop a process for making determinations in situations where there is a dispute relative to a plan of service for individuals or funding for a plan of service.

(7) To provide technical assistance to parents, service consumers, providers, and member agency personnel regarding statutory responsibilities of human service and educational agencies, and to provide such assistance as deemed necessary to appropriately access needed services.

(8) To establish a pilot program to act as a residential research hub to research and identify appropriate residential settings for youth who are being housed in an emergency room for more than 72 hours or who are deemed beyond medical necessity in a psychiatric hospital. If a child is deemed beyond medical necessity in a psychiatric hospital and is in need of residential placement, the goal of the program is to prevent a lock-out pursuant to the goals of the Custody Relinquishment Prevention Act.

(9) To provide to youth in this State who are eligible for residential services but who have not been receiving the appropriate residential services because of their complex needs or the inability of current approved residential providers in this State to accept these youth with the opportunity to be placed in a residential facility through the use of an individual agreement with a residential provider who is not on a State approved list of residential providers. The Authority shall do all of the following:

(A) Find that the youth is eligible for an individual agreement for the provision of residential placement if the youth has received approval for residential services, but has not been placed in a residential program within 60 days of the date of approval.

(B) Evaluate any residential program being considered for an individual agreement to ensure that the program provides the services to meet the needs of the youth.

(C) Verify that any facility considered for a placement under an individual agreement is appropriately licensed to accept youth with similar needs.

(D) Once a facility is determined to be eligible for the placement of a youth under an individual agreement, notify the appropriate State agency that provides the funding for the residential services that the residential program is eligible for an individual agreement and the appropriate State agency shall enter into an individual agreement with the identified facility.

(E) Prioritize residential programs that have been approved by other State agencies, when possible.

(F) Approve no more than 5 individual agreements per fiscal year.

(G) Create an individual agreement contract to be used by State agencies pursuant to this paragraph.

(c) (1) The members of the Authority shall receive no compensation for their services but shall be entitled to reimbursement of reasonable expenses incurred while performing their duties.

(2) The Authority may appoint special study groups to operate under the direction of the Authority and persons appointed to such groups shall receive only reimbursement of reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.

(3) The Authority shall elect from its membership a chairperson, vice-chairperson and secretary.

(4) The Authority may employ and fix the compensation of such employees and technical assistants as it deems necessary to carry out its powers and duties under this Act. Staff assistance for the Authority shall be provided by the State Board of Education.

(5) Funds for the ordinary and contingent expenses of the Authority shall be appropriated to the State Board of Education in a separate line item.

(d) (1) The Authority shall have power to promulgate rules and regulations to carry out its powers and duties under this Act.

(2) The Authority may accept monetary gifts or grants from the federal government or any agency thereof, from any charitable foundation or professional association or from any other reputable source for implementation of any program necessary or desirable to the carrying out of the general purposes of the Authority. Such gifts and grants may be held in trust by the Authority and expended in the exercise of its powers and performance of its duties as prescribed by law.

(3) The Authority shall submit an annual report of its activities and expenditures to the Governor, the General Assembly, the directors of agencies represented on the Authority, and the State Superintendent of Education.

(e) The Executive Director of the Authority or his or her designee shall be added as a participant on the Interagency Clinical Team established in the intergovernmental agreement among the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, the Department of Children and Family Services, the Department of Human Services, the State Board of Education, the Department of Juvenile Justice, and the Department of Public Health, with consent of the youth or the youth's guardian or family pursuant to the Custody Relinquishment Prevention Act.

(Source: P.A. 102-43, eff. 7-6-21.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.