HB5553ham001 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Sharon Chung

Filed: 3/13/2024

10300HB5553ham001 LRB103 37756 KTG 69758 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 5553

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 5553 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The Department of Human Services Act is amended by adding Section 10-80 as follows:

(20 ILCS 1305/10-80 new)

Sec. 10-80. Crisis walk-in centers; grants. The Department of Human Services shall establish and administer a program to provide grants to crisis walk-in centers that provide services to persons experiencing a mental health crisis who would otherwise be placed in improper care settings. To be eligible for a grant under the program, a crisis walk-in center must provide crisis intervention and support services to adults 18 years of age or older at a facility that operates a minimum of 8 to 16 hours per day, 5 to 7 days a week. Staff at the crisis walk-in center must include at least one peer recovery support specialist and at least one mental health professional who is available during the center's hours of operation to assess the severity of a client's mental health crisis, assist in developing a safety plan, and connect a client to appropriate community resources and other behavioral health providers appropriate to meet the individual needs of the client. Grants awarded under the program may be used to fund increased staffing at existing crisis walk-in centers. Grants may also be awarded to behavioral health providers for the establishment or operation of crisis walk-in centers in underserved communities. The Department may adopt rules on application requirements and any other rules necessary to implement the program. As used in this Section, "mental health professional" means an individual who provides services under the supervision of a qualified mental health professional and who possesses:

(1) a bachelor's degree;

(2) a practical nurse license under the Nurse Practice Act;

(3) a certificate of psychiatric rehabilitation from a DHS-approved program plus a high school diploma plus 2 years' experience in providing mental health services;

(4) a recovery support specialist certified and in good standing with the Illinois Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Professional Certification Association, Inc., plus one year's experience in providing mental health services;

(5) an occupational therapy assistant licensed under the Illinois Occupational Therapy Practice Act with at least one year of experience in a mental health setting; or

(6) a minimum of 5 years' supervised experience in mental health or human services.

A supervised internship in a mental health setting counts toward the experience in providing mental health services.".