Full Text of HR0711 100th General Assembly
HR0711 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, In Illinois, there are 683,000 people who need | 3 | | treatment for a mental illness disorder
and only 42.6% received | 4 | | care; in Illinois within the last year, approximately 267,000 | 5 | | individuals aged 12 or older are
dependent on or abused drugs, | 6 | | including prescription opioids, heroin, fentanyl, and other
| 7 | | synthetic opioids, and only 11.7% received drug treatment; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Illinois ranks 41st in the nation for mental | 9 | | health service coverage provided to
children, with only 45% of | 10 | | children receiving necessary care; according to Southern | 11 | | Illinois Healthcare, there is an average of only one
| 12 | | psychiatrist available to serve 1.5 million patients; wait | 13 | | times to see a psychiatrist in the Illinois community mental | 14 | | health system can range
from four to six months; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, The Illinois Sheriff Association reports that the | 16 | | county jails are overflowing due to not
having any where to | 17 | | send people with mental illness and nonviolent drug offenses; | 18 | | on any given day, Cook County Jail is home to 2,500 to 2,800 | 19 | | mentally ill inmates,
making it the largest mental health | 20 | | institution in the country; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, According to the Illinois Department of | 22 | | Healthcare and Family Services, the lack of an
adequate |
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| 1 | | behavioral health workforce attributes to "insufficient | 2 | | community behavioral health
services capacity"; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, According to the federal Health Resources and | 4 | | Services Administration (HRSA), Illinois
has the 6th largest | 5 | | number of mental health professional shortage areas among | 6 | | states with 85
of 102 counties in Illinois having areas | 7 | | designated as Health Professional Shortage Areas for
Mental | 8 | | Health Services; Illinois ranks 30th in mental health workforce | 9 | | availability with 844 people per mental
health worker compared | 10 | | to the national median of 752; the average length of time to | 11 | | fill an open behavioral health position in many rural
counties | 12 | | can be as long as 18 months; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, In 2011, more than 50 counties that had hospitals | 14 | | did not have inpatient psychiatric
care and 24 counties did not | 15 | | have hospitals; in Illinois, there is a staggering and shameful | 16 | | lack of access to behavioral health care
represented by a | 17 | | shortage of specialists, such as child and adolescent | 18 | | psychiatrists, advanced
practice nurses, physician assistants, | 19 | | and other behavioral health care workers; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, The administrative staff cost of providing | 21 | | community behavioral health services by
community agencies has | 22 | | increased dramatically, by as much as two to five times, since | 23 | | the
advent of Medicaid Managed Care; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Individuals, including mothers and children, | 2 | | suffering from mental illness or
substance use disorders or | 3 | | both rely on care and treatment provided by a stable, | 4 | | well-trained
direct support workforce; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Behavioral healthcare has moved to a new chronic | 6 | | care, public health model that
recognizes the importance of | 7 | | prevention and the primacy of long-term recovery, which | 8 | | requires
a diverse, skilled, and trained workforce that employs | 9 | | a range of workers, including recovery
specialists, case | 10 | | workers, and highly trained caregivers; therefore, be it
| 11 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 12 | | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 13 | | declare a Mental Healthcare Emergency in Illinois; and be it | 14 | | further | 15 | | RESOLVED, That we urge the consideration of a comprehensive | 16 | | legislative package to address the community mental health and | 17 | | substance disorder workforce and behavioral healthcare access | 18 | | crisis in Illinois by the end of the 100th General Assembly; | 19 | | and be it further
| 20 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 21 | | presented to Governor Bruce Rauner,
Secretary of Human Services |
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| 1 | | James Dimas, Director of Healthcare and Family Services Felicia
| 2 | | Norwood, House Speaker Michael Madigan, Senate President John | 3 | | Cullerton, House Minority
Leader Jim Durkin, and Senate | 4 | | Minority Leader Bill Brady.
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