HB3440 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 11208 KTG 21290 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB3440

Introduced 2/18/2025, by Rep. Lindsey LaPointe

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

105 ILCS 5/2-3.203
305 ILCS 5/5-5.23
405 ILCS 165/35 new

Amends the Interagency Children's Behavioral Health Services Act. Requires the Department of Human Services, in coordination with a statewide association representing a majority of hospitals, to establish and offer a voluntary training that will be recorded and made available on the Department's website to all hospital social workers, clinicians, and administrative staff to inform them of BEACON, a centralized resource for Illinois youth and families seeking services for behavioral health needs, with the goal of encouraging families to seek assistance through BEACON and the Interagency Children's Behavioral Health Services Team. Provides that the training shall include how families and hospital staff can access BEACON, the process once a case is entered into BEACON, and State and community programs accessible through BEACON. Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Requires a psychiatric hospital to contact a youth or the youth's parents, guardian, or caregiver about the BEACON portal (rather than the Family Support Program and the Specialized Family Support Program) prior to referring the youth to the Department of Children and Family Services because the youth was left at the psychiatric hospital beyond medical necessity. Amends the School Code. Requires the State Board of Education, in consultation with the Children's Behavioral Health Transformation Team in the Office of the Governor and relevant stakeholders, to report its work and make available resource materials, including model policies and guidance informed by a phased approach to implementing universal mental health screening in schools. Requires the State Board of Education to report its work by September 1, 2026. Provides that mental health screenings shall be offered by school districts to students enrolled in kindergarten through grade 12, at least once a year, beginning with the 2027-2028 school year.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning mental health.

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 2-3.203 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/2-3.203)

Sec. 2-3.203. Mental health screenings.

(a) On or before December 15, 2023, the State Board of Education, in consultation with the Children's Behavioral Health Transformation Officer, Children's Behavioral Health Transformation Team in , and the Office of the Governor, shall file a report with the Governor and the General Assembly that includes recommendations for implementation of mental health screenings in schools for students enrolled in kindergarten through grade 12. This report must include a landscape scan of current district-wide screenings, recommendations for screening tools, training for staff, and linkage and referral for identified students.

(b) On or before October 1, 2024, the State Board of Education, in consultation with the Children's Behavioral Health Transformation Teamin , the Office of the Governor, and relevant stakeholders as needed shall release a strategy that includes a tool for measuring capacity and readiness to implement universal mental health screening of students. The strategy shall build upon existing efforts to understand district needs for resources, technology, training, and infrastructure supports. The strategy shall include a framework for supporting districts in a phased approach to implement universal mental health screenings. The State Board of Education shall issue a report to the Governor and the General Assembly on school district readiness and plan for phased approach to universal mental health screening of students on or before April 1, 2025.

(c) On or before September 1, 2026, the State Board of Education, in consultation with the Children's Behavioral Health Transformation Team in the Office of the Governor and relevant stakeholders, shall report its work and make available resource materials, including model policies and guidance informed by a phased approach to implementing universal mental health screening in schools. These model school district policies to facilitate the implementation of mental health screenings, shall include, but are not limited to, the option to opt-out, confidentiality and privacy considerations, communication with families and communities about the use of mental health screenings, data sharing, and storage of mental health screening results and plans for follow-up and linkage to resources after screenings. Guidance shall include (1) mental health screening tools available for school districts to use with students and (2) associated training for school personnel. The State Board of Education shall make these resource materials available on its website.

(d) Mental health screenings shall be offered by school districts to students enrolled in kindergarten through grade 12, at least once a year, beginning with the 2027-2028 school year. A district may, by action of the State Board of Education, apply for an extension of the 2027-2028 school year implementation deadline if the school district meets criteria set by rule by the State Board of Education, which shall be based on the recommendations of the report issued in accordance with subsection (c).

(Source: P.A. 103-546, eff. 8-11-23; 103-605, eff. 7-1-24; 103-885, eff. 8-9-24.)

Section 10. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by changing Section 5-5.23 as follows:

(305 ILCS 5/5-5.23)

Sec. 5-5.23. Children's mental health services.

(a) The Department of Healthcare and Family Services, by rule, shall require the screening and assessment of a child prior to any Medicaid-funded admission to an inpatient hospital for psychiatric services to be funded by Medicaid. The screening and assessment shall include a determination of the appropriateness and availability of out-patient support services for necessary treatment. The Department, by rule, shall establish methods and standards of payment for the screening, assessment, and necessary alternative support services.

(b) The Department of Healthcare and Family Services, to the extent allowable under federal law, shall secure federal financial participation for Individual Care Grant expenditures made by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services for the Medicaid optional service authorized under Section 1905(h) of the federal Social Security Act, pursuant to the provisions of Section 7.1 of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Administrative Act. The Department of Healthcare and Family Services may exercise the authority under this Section as is necessary to administer Individual Care Grants as authorized under Section 7.1 of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Administrative Act.

(c) The Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall work collaboratively with the Department of Children and Family Services and the Division of Mental Health of the Department of Human Services to implement subsections (a) and (b).

(d) On and after July 1, 2012, the Department shall reduce any rate of reimbursement for services or other payments or alter any methodologies authorized by this Code to reduce any rate of reimbursement for services or other payments in accordance with Section 5-5e.

(e) All rights, powers, duties, and responsibilities currently exercised by the Department of Human Services related to the Individual Care Grant program are transferred to the Department of Healthcare and Family Services with the transfer and transition of the Individual Care Grant program to the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to be completed and implemented within 6 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly. For the purposes of the Successor Agency Act, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services is declared to be the successor agency of the Department of Human Services, but only with respect to the functions of the Department of Human Services that are transferred to the Department of Healthcare and Family Services under this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly.

(1) Each act done by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services in exercise of the transferred powers, duties, rights, and responsibilities shall have the same legal effect as if done by the Department of Human Services or its offices.

(2) Any rules of the Department of Human Services that relate to the functions and programs transferred by this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly that are in full force on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly shall become the rules of the Department of Healthcare and Family Services. All rules transferred under this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly are hereby amended such that the term "Department" shall be defined as the Department of Healthcare and Family Services and all references to the "Secretary" shall be changed to the "Director of Healthcare and Family Services or his or her designee". As soon as practicable hereafter, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall revise and clarify the rules to reflect the transfer of rights, powers, duties, and responsibilities affected by this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, using the procedures for recodification of rules available under the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, except that existing title, part, and section numbering for the affected rules may be retained. The Department of Healthcare and Family Services, consistent with its authority to do so as granted by this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, shall propose and adopt any other rules under the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act as necessary to administer the Individual Care Grant program. These rules may include, but are not limited to, the application process and eligibility requirements for recipients.

(3) All unexpended appropriations and balances and other funds available for use in connection with any functions of the Individual Care Grant program shall be transferred for the use of the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to operate the Individual Care Grant program. Unexpended balances shall be expended only for the purpose for which the appropriation was originally made. The Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall exercise all rights, powers, duties, and responsibilities for operation of the Individual Care Grant program.

(4) Existing personnel and positions of the Department of Human Services pertaining to the administration of the Individual Care Grant program shall be transferred to the Department of Healthcare and Family Services with the transfer and transition of the Individual Care Grant program to the Department of Healthcare and Family Services. The status and rights of Department of Human Services employees engaged in the performance of the functions of the Individual Care Grant program shall not be affected by this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly. The rights of the employees, the State of Illinois, and its agencies under the Personnel Code and applicable collective bargaining agreements or under any pension, retirement, or annuity plan shall not be affected by this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly. All transferred employees who are members of collective bargaining units shall retain their seniority, continuous service, salary, and accrued benefits.

(5) All books, records, papers, documents, property (real and personal), contracts, and pending business pertaining to the powers, duties, rights, and responsibilities related to the functions of the Individual Care Grant program, including, but not limited to, material in electronic or magnetic format and necessary computer hardware and software, shall be delivered to the Department of Healthcare and Family Services; provided, however, that the delivery of this information shall not violate any applicable confidentiality constraints.

(6) Whenever reports or notices are now required to be made or given or papers or documents furnished or served by any person to or upon the Department of Human Services in connection with any of the functions transferred by this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, the same shall be made, given, furnished, or served in the same manner to or upon the Department of Healthcare and Family Services.

(7) This amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly shall not affect any act done, ratified, or canceled or any right occurring or established or any action or proceeding had or commenced in an administrative, civil, or criminal cause regarding the Department of Human Services before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly; and those actions or proceedings may be defended, prosecuted, and continued by the Department of Human Services.

(f) (Blank).

(g) Family Support Program. The Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall restructure the Family Support Program, formerly known as the Individual Care Grant program, to enable early treatment of youth, emerging adults, and transition-age adults with a serious mental illness or serious emotional disturbance.

(1) As used in this subsection and in subsections (h) through (s):

(A) "Youth" means a person under the age of 18.

(B) "Emerging adult" means a person who is 18 through 20 years of age.

(C) "Transition-age adult" means a person who is 21 through 25 years of age.

(2) The Department shall amend 89 Ill. Adm. Code 139 in accordance with this Section and consistent with the timelines outlined in this Section.

(3) Implementation of any amended requirements shall be completed within 8 months of the adoption of any amendment to 89 Ill. Adm. Code 139 that is consistent with the provisions of this Section.

(4) To align the Family Support Program with the Medicaid system of care, the services available to a youth, emerging adult, or transition-age adult through the Family Support Program shall include all Medicaid community-based mental health treatment services and all Family Support Program services included under 89 Ill. Adm. Code 139. No person receiving services through the Family Support Program or the Specialized Family Support Program shall become a Medicaid enrollee unless Medicaid eligibility criteria are met and the person is enrolled in Medicaid. No part of this Section creates an entitlement to services through the Family Support Program, the Specialized Family Support Program, or the Medicaid program.

(5) The Family Support Program shall align with the following system of care principles:

(A) Treatment and support services shall be based on the results of an integrated behavioral health assessment and treatment plan using an instrument approved by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services.

(B) Strong interagency collaboration between all State agencies the parent or legal guardian is involved with for services, including the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, the Department of Human Services, the Department of Children and Family Services, the Department of Juvenile Justice, and the Illinois State Board of Education.

(C) Individualized, strengths-based practices and trauma-informed treatment approaches.

(D) For a youth, full participation of the parent or legal guardian at all levels of treatment through a process that is family-centered and youth-focused. The process shall include consideration of the services and supports the parent, legal guardian, or caregiver requires for family stabilization, and shall connect such person or persons to services based on available insurance coverage.

(h) Eligibility for the Family Support Program. Eligibility criteria established under 89 Ill. Adm. Code 139 for the Family Support Program shall include the following:

(1) Individuals applying to the program must be under the age of 26.

(2) Requirements for parental or legal guardian involvement are applicable to youth and to emerging adults or transition-age adults who have a guardian appointed under Article XIa of the Probate Act.

(3) Youth, emerging adults, and transition-age adults are eligible for services under the Family Support Program upon their third inpatient admission to a hospital or similar treatment facility for the primary purpose of psychiatric treatment within the most recent 12 months and are hospitalized for the purpose of psychiatric treatment.

(4) School participation for emerging adults applying for services under the Family Support Program may be waived by request of the individual at the sole discretion of the Department of Healthcare and Family Services.

(5) School participation is not applicable to transition-age adults.

(i) Notification of Family Support Program and Specialized Family Support Program services.

(1) Within 12 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, with meaningful stakeholder input through a working group of psychiatric hospitals, Family Support Program providers, family support organizations, the Community and Residential Services Authority, a statewide association representing a majority of hospitals, a statewide association representing physicians, and foster care alumni advocates, shall establish a clear process by which a youth's or emerging adult's parents, guardian, or caregiver, or the emerging adult or transition-age adult, is identified, notified, and educated about the Family Support Program and the Specialized Family Support Program upon a first psychiatric inpatient hospital admission, and any following psychiatric inpatient admissions. Notification and education may take place through a Family Support Program coordinator, a mobile crisis response provider, a Comprehensive Community Based Youth Services provider, the Community and Residential Services Authority, or any other designated provider or coordinator identified by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services. In developing this process, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services and the working group shall take into account the unique needs of emerging adults and transition-age adults without parental involvement who are eligible for services under the Family Support Program. The Department of Healthcare and Family Services and the working group shall ensure the appropriate provider or coordinator is required to assist individuals and their parents, guardians, or caregivers, as applicable, in the completion of the application or referral process for the Family Support Program or the Specialized Family Support Program.

(2) (Blank) Upon a youth's, emerging adult's or transition-age adult's second psychiatric inpatient hospital admission, prior to hospital discharge, the hospital must, if it is aware of the patient's prior psychiatric inpatient hospital admission, ensure that the youth's parents, guardian, or caregiver, or the emerging adult or transition-age adult, has been notified of the Family Support Program and the Specialized Family Support Program.

(3) Psychiatric lockout as last resort.

(A) Prior to referring any youth to the Department of Children and Family Services for the filing of a petition in accordance with subparagraph (c) of paragraph (1) of Section 2-4 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 alleging that the youth is dependent because the youth was left in a psychiatric hospital beyond medical necessity, the hospital shall attempt to contact the youth and the youth's parents, guardian, or caregiver about the BEACON portal and Family Support Program and the Specialized Family Support Program and shall assist with connections to the designated Family Support Program coordinator in the service area by providing educational materials developed by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services. Once this process has begun, any such youth shall be considered a youth for whom an application for the Family Support Program is pending with the Department of Healthcare and Family Services or an active application for the Family Support Program was being reviewed by the Department for the purposes of subsection (a) of Section 2-4b of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, or for the purposes of subsection (a) of Section 5-711 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.

(B) No state agency or hospital shall coach a parent or guardian of a youth in a psychiatric hospital inpatient unit to lock out or otherwise relinquish custody of a youth to the Department of Children and Family Services for the sole purpose of obtaining necessary mental health treatment for the youth. In the absence of abuse or neglect, a psychiatric lockout or custody relinquishment to the Department of Children and Family Services shall only be considered as the option of last resort. Nothing in this Section shall prohibit discussion of medical treatment options or a referral to legal counsel.

(4) Development of new Family Support Program services.

(A) Development of specialized therapeutic residential treatment for youth and emerging adults with high-acuity mental health conditions. Through a working group led by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services that includes the Department of Children and Family Services and residential treatment providers for youth and emerging adults, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, within 12 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly, shall develop a plan for the development of specialized therapeutic residential treatment beds similar to a qualified residential treatment program, as defined in the federal Family First Prevention Services Act, for youth in the Family Support Program with high-acuity mental health needs. The Department of Healthcare and Family Services and the Department of Children and Family Services shall work together to maximize federal funding through Medicaid and Title IV-E of the Social Security Act in the development and implementation of this plan.

(B) Using the Department of Children and Family Services' beyond medical necessity data over the last 5 years and any other relevant, available data, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall assess the estimated number of these specialized high-acuity residential treatment beds that are needed in each region of the State based on the number of youth remaining in psychiatric hospitals beyond medical necessity and the number of youth placed out-of-state who need this level of care. The Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall report the results of this assessment to the General Assembly by no later than December 31, 2020.

(C) Development of an age-appropriate therapeutic residential treatment model for emerging adults and transition-age adults. Within 30 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, in partnership with the Department of Human Services' Division of Mental Health and with significant and meaningful stakeholder input through a working group of providers and other stakeholders, shall develop a supportive housing model for emerging adults and transition-age adults receiving services through the Family Support Program who need residential treatment and support to enable recovery. Such a model shall be age-appropriate and shall allow the residential component of the model to be in a community-based setting combined with intensive community-based mental health services.

(j) Workgroup to develop a plan for improving access to substance use treatment. The Department of Healthcare and Family Services and the Department of Human Services' Division of Substance Use Prevention and Recovery shall co-lead a working group that includes Family Support Program providers, family support organizations, and other stakeholders over a 12-month period beginning in the first quarter of calendar year 2020 to develop a plan for increasing access to substance use treatment services for youth, emerging adults, and transition-age adults who are eligible for Family Support Program services.

(k) Appropriation. Implementation of this Section shall be limited by the State's annual appropriation to the Family Support Program. Spending within the Family Support Program appropriation shall be further limited for the new Family Support Program services to be developed accordingly:

(1) Targeted use of specialized therapeutic residential treatment for youth and emerging adults with high-acuity mental health conditions through appropriation limitation. No more than 12% of all annual Family Support Program funds shall be spent on this level of care in any given state fiscal year.

(2) Targeted use of residential treatment model established for emerging adults and transition-age adults through appropriation limitation. No more than one-quarter of all annual Family Support Program funds shall be spent on this level of care in any given state fiscal year.

(l) Exhausting third party insurance coverage first.

(A) A parent, legal guardian, emerging adult, or transition-age adult with private insurance coverage shall work with the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, or its designee, to identify insurance coverage for any and all benefits covered by their plan. If insurance cost-sharing by any method for treatment is cost-prohibitive for the parent, legal guardian, emerging adult, or transition-age adult, Family Support Program funds may be applied as a payer of last resort toward insurance cost-sharing for purposes of using private insurance coverage to the fullest extent for the recommended treatment. If the Department, or its agent, has a concern relating to the parent's, legal guardian's, emerging adult's, or transition-age adult's insurer's compliance with Illinois or federal insurance requirements relating to the coverage of mental health or substance use disorders, it shall refer all relevant information to the applicable regulatory authority.

(B) The Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall use Medicaid funds first for an individual who has Medicaid coverage if the treatment or service recommended using an integrated behavioral health assessment and treatment plan (using the instrument approved by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services) is covered by Medicaid.

(C) If private or public insurance coverage does not cover the needed treatment or service, Family Support Program funds shall be used to cover the services offered through the Family Support Program.

(m) Service authorization. A youth, emerging adult, or transition-age adult enrolled in the Family Support Program or the Specialized Family Support Program shall be eligible to receive a mental health treatment service covered by the applicable program if the medical necessity criteria established by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services are met.

(n) Streamlined application. The Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall revise the Family Support Program applications and the application process to reflect the changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly within 8 months after the adoption of any amendments to 89 Ill. Adm. Code 139.

(o) Study of reimbursement policies during planned and unplanned absences of youth and emerging adults in Family Support Program residential treatment settings. The Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall undertake a study of those standards of the Department of Children and Family Services and other states for reimbursement of residential treatment during planned and unplanned absences to determine if reimbursing residential providers for such unplanned absences positively impacts the availability of residential treatment for youth and emerging adults. The Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall begin the study on July 1, 2019 and shall report its findings and the results of the study to the General Assembly, along with any recommendations for or against adopting a similar policy, by December 31, 2020.

(p) Public awareness and educational campaign for all relevant providers. The Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall engage in a public awareness campaign to educate hospitals with psychiatric units, crisis response providers such as Screening, Assessment and Support Services providers and Comprehensive Community Based Youth Services agencies, schools, and other community institutions and providers across Illinois on the changes made by this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly to the Family Support Program. The Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall produce written materials geared for the appropriate target audience, develop webinars, and conduct outreach visits over a 12-month period beginning after implementation of the changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly.

(q) Maximizing federal matching funds for the Family Support Program and the Specialized Family Support Program. The Department of Healthcare and Family Services, as the sole Medicaid State agency, shall seek approval from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services within 12 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly to draw additional federal Medicaid matching funds for individuals served under the Family Support Program or the Specialized Family Support Program who are not covered by the Department's medical assistance programs. The Department of Children and Family Services, as the State agency responsible for administering federal funds pursuant to Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, shall submit a State Plan to the federal government within 12 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly to maximize the use of federal Title IV-E prevention funds through the federal Family First Prevention Services Act, to provide mental health and substance use disorder treatment services and supports, including, but not limited to, the provision of short-term crisis and transition beds post-hospitalization for youth who are at imminent risk of entering Illinois' youth welfare system solely due to the inability to access mental health or substance use treatment services.

(r) Outcomes and data reported annually to the General Assembly. Beginning in 2021, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall submit an annual report to the General Assembly that includes the following information with respect to the time period covered by the report:

(1) The number and ages of youth, emerging adults, and transition-age adults who requested services under the Family Support Program and the Specialized Family Support Program and the services received.

(2) The number and ages of youth, emerging adults, and transition-age adults who requested services under the Specialized Family Support Program who were eligible for services based on the number of hospitalizations.

(3) The number and ages of youth, emerging adults, and transition-age adults who applied for Family Support Program or Specialized Family Support Program services but did not receive any services.

(s) Rulemaking authority. Unless a timeline is otherwise specified in a subsection, if amendments to 89 Ill. Adm. Code 139 are needed for implementation of this Section, such amendments shall be filed by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services within one year after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly.

(Source: P.A. 101-461, eff. 1-1-20; 101-616, eff. 12-20-19.)

Section 15. The Interagency Children's Behavioral Health Services Act is amended by adding Section 35 as follows:

(405 ILCS 165/35 new)

Sec. 35. BEACON Training. The Department of Human Services, in coordination with a statewide association representing a majority of hospitals, shall establish and offer a voluntary training that will be recorded and made available on the Department's website to all hospital social workers, clinicians, and administrative staff to inform them of BEACON, a centralized resource for Illinois youth and families seeking services for behavioral health needs, with the goal of encouraging families to seek assistance through BEACON and the Interagency Children's Behavioral Health Services Team. The training shall include how families and hospital staff can access BEACON, the process once a case is entered into BEACON, and State and community programs accessible through BEACON.