SJ0009 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SJ0009 LRB094 09429 DRJ 39676 r

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Tinley Park Mental Health Center (MHC) is an essential element in the network of mental health care providers serving Chicago's south side, south suburban Cook County, and Will, Grundy, and Kankakee counties; and

WHEREAS, Community-based agencies in this region provide outpatient therapy, housing assistance, and case management for many thousands of individuals with mental illness; and

WHEREAS, Tinley Park MHC effectively functions as a safety net for community-based agencies that can refer mentally ill individuals to Tinley Park MHC when they are in crisis and represent a danger to themselves or others or are in need of more intensive psychiatric services; and

WHEREAS, Tinley Park MHC is a nationally accredited, highly regarded treatment center which offers an exceptional and comprehensive range of medical, social, and psychiatric supports to clients in acute phases of their illness; and

WHEREAS, Tinley Park MHC also functions as an essential alternative to incarceration for individuals with mental illness who engage in anti-social behavior that brings them into contact with law enforcement officials; and

WHEREAS, The communities served by Tinley Park MHC already suffer from a shortage of affordable, accessible mental health services; and

WHEREAS, With over 140 beds, Tinley Park MHC is the largest inpatient psychiatric treatment center in the region, with more than 2,000 admissions annually; and

WHEREAS, Tinley Park MHC has excelled at stabilizing individuals in crisis and aiding them to return to independent lives in their communities, with an average length of inpatient treatment of just ten days; and

WHEREAS, Tinley Park MHC maintains close working relationships with community-based mental health agencies and services, jointly developing discharge plans, linking patients with community resources, and providing transition services; and

WHEREAS, Those private hospitals in the region that do have inpatient psychiatric units frequently refer their poorest and most difficult patients to Tinley Park MHC and few have the comprehensive level of services that Tinley Park MHC offers; and

WHEREAS, As a State-operated facility, Tinley Park MHC treats patients who have no insurance or who have exhausted their mental health coverage and is the only mental health resource in the region that reliably provides inpatient treatment to those who cannot pay; and

WHEREAS, The costs at Tinley Park MHC are more than 50% below those of comparable private hospitals in the area; and

WHEREAS, Although the Department of Human Services' (DHS) FY05 budget includes full-year funding for Tinley Park MHC, the budget narrative states that the budget is premised on the "closure and sale of the Tinley Park mental health facility"; and

WHEREAS, DHS has established a Metro South Planning Task Force to develop the best possible network of services for the Chicago "Southland" region; and

WHEREAS, The Cook County Board and more than two dozen Southland elected officials, as well as professional and advocacy organizations, have spoken out against closing Tinley Park MHC; and

WHEREAS, This broad consensus makes clear that closing down the Southland region's only public inpatient mental health center would violate the will of the affected communities; and

WHEREAS, Tinley Park MHC has a dedicated and skilled workforce with a unique body of experience in treating the most severely mentally ill; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that Chicago's South Side, South Suburban Cook County, Will County, Kankakee County, and Grundy County, all of which are now served by Tinley Park MHC, must continue to have a public inpatient mental health facility that can appropriately serve the most severely mentally ill; and be it further

RESOLVED, That if the Metro Task Force determines that the current Tinley Park MHC facility cannot continue to meet the needs of these communities, a new facility should be purchased or built; and be it further

RESOLVED, That Tinley Park MHC should remain open at its current location unless and until a new DHS-operated inpatient mental health center is opened in the Southland region; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Department of Human Services maintain its full admission and service capacity at the Tinley Park MHC; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Department of Human Services should continue to work to foster a comprehensive array of services throughout the region; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be delivered to the Secretary of Human Services.