HR0477 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0477 LRB104 15483 LAW 28643 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate Deborah Humphrey on the occasion of her retirement as executive director of the Madison County Mental Health Board; and

WHEREAS, Deborah Humphrey began her distinguished career in behavioral health after earning her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Olivet Nazarene University in 1981, with an early goal of becoming a bilingual nurse, and she later obtained her Master of Business Administration from Lindenwood University in 2011; and

WHEREAS, Deborah Humphrey started her professional journey at Riverside Medical Center in Kankakee, where she worked from 1976 to 1980, during which she oversaw a locked children's unit, supervised a 24-bed adult inpatient unit and interdisciplinary clinical team, conducted medical rounds and consultations with psychiatrists, developed treatment plans, and provided individual, group, and family counseling, as well as emergency psychiatric evaluations; and

WHEREAS, Deborah Humphrey, after taking time to raise her son, Aaron, resumed her career to work at Call for Help from 1985 to 2000, where she directed operations for two behavioral health programs, managed fiscal responsibilities, including grant funding and budgeting, developed policies and procedures, and supervised professional staff, interns, and volunteers; she next served as associate director of the St. Clair County Mental Health Board from 2000 to 2019, playing a key role in advancing behavioral health services in the region; and

WHEREAS, Deborah Humphrey became executive director of the Madison County Mental Health Board in 2019, culminating in a remarkable 45-year career in behavioral health, including 25 years of dedicated service to mental health boards; during her tenure, she provided exemplary leadership, administering critical funding to substance use providers and, most recently, overseeing the allocation of opioid settlement funding appropriated to the board by the Madison County State's Attorney's Office in 2024; that same year, she also established the Madison County Mental Health Board's Champion for Mental Health Scholarship; and

WHEREAS, Deborah Humphrey has belonged to the Association of Community Mental Health Authorities of Illinois (ACMHAI) for several years, representing and advocating for mental health authorities throughout Illinois; she previously served as president from 2017 to 2018, and she currently serves as co-chair of the ACMHAI Children's Behavioral Health Committee; and

WHEREAS, Deborah Humphrey has been commissioned by the Governor to serve on the Illinois Children's Mental Health Partnership, receiving gubernatorial appointments in 2013 and 2023, and has also served on the Community Emergency Services and Support Act (CESSA) Region 4 Advisory Council and the Illinois Social Service Advisory Council, contributing her expertise to statewide policy and program development; and

WHEREAS, Deborah Humphrey has been an active member of the Partnership for Drug-Free Communities and the Metro East Recovery Council-ROSC (Recovery-Oriented System of Care), and she has chaired two countywide suicide prevention alliances, demonstrating her commitment to addressing behavioral health issues and suicide prevention at the community level; and

WHEREAS, Deborah Humphrey has also served on the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Social Work Board, the Lewis & Clark Community College Human Services Advisory Committee, and numerous other local boards, advisory councils, committees, and workgroups to advance and enhance behavioral health services in the Metro East region; and

WHEREAS, Deborah Humphrey's leadership has extended into the criminal justice system through program administration for the Twentieth Judicial Circuit Court's Juvenile Redeploy Illinois pilot in 2005, where she was a pioneer at one of the State's first pilot sites, and the Adult Redeploy pilot in 2009; she was also appointed by the St. Clair County State's Attorney to serve on the St. Clair County Juvenile Justice Council, and she currently serves as chair of the Madison County Juvenile Justice Council; and

WHEREAS, Deborah Humphrey has been a consultant, contractor, author, and co-author of criminal justice grants for several Illinois jurisdictions, assisting in the planning and implementation of problem-solving mental health, drug, and veteran courts; she previously served in disaster relief efforts following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, supporting Illinois' coordinated response to assist displaced victims, and she has contributed to public awareness and education as an editorial columnist for The Edwardsville Intelligencer, using her platform to raise awareness of behavioral health issues; and

WHEREAS, Deborah Humphrey has been recognized with numerous awards and honors, including being named in the YWCA's Salute to Women in 1997, as Public Citizen of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Illinois Chapter in 2006, and as an Advisory Council Leadership Honoree by the Karla Smith Foundation in 2011, and she has received the Award of Appreciation from the St. Clair County Youth Coalition in 2002, the Appreciation Award for Distinguished Support from the Mental Health Association of Greater Chicago in 2009, the Appreciation Award for Collaborative Support from the St. Clair County Board & Health Care Commission in 2011, and the Champion for Children's Award by Children's Home & Aid Society in 2018; and

WHEREAS, Beyond her professional achievements, Deborah Humphrey and her husband have been the primary guardians of their twin grandsons, both of whom excel academically and in extracurricular pursuits, including theater and wrestling, and embody the values of hard work and dedication that she has modeled throughout her career; and

WHEREAS, Deborah Humphrey's legacy is marked by her unwavering dedication, visionary leadership, and tireless advocacy for behavioral health, criminal justice reform, and community well-being; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Deborah Humphrey on her retirement as executive director of the Madison County Mental Health Board, thank her for her decades of extraordinary service and leadership to the people of Madison County and the State of Illinois, and wish her continued success and happiness in all of her future endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Deborah Humphrey as an expression of our esteem and respect.