093_HB2900eng

 
HB2900 Engrossed                     LRB093 11057 DRJ 11760 b

 1        AN ACT in relation to children.

 2        WHEREAS, Untreated mental  health  problems  in  children
 3    have  serious  fiscal consequences for the State because they
 4    affect  children's  ability  to  learn  and  increase   their
 5    propensity  for  violence,  alcohol  and substance abuse, and
 6    other delinquent  behaviors  that  are  extremely  costly  to
 7    treat; and

 8        WHEREAS,  One  in  10 children in Illinois suffers from a
 9    mental  illness  severe  enough  to  cause  some   level   of
10    impairment;  yet,  in  any given year only about 20% of these
11    children receive mental health services; and

12        WHEREAS,  Many  mental  health   problems   are   largely
13    preventable  or  can  be  minimized  with promotion and early
14    intervention services that have been shown  to  be  effective
15    and that reduce the need for more costly interventions; and

16        WHEREAS,  Children's  social  development  and  emotional
17    development  are  essential underpinnings to school readiness
18    and academic success; and

19        WHEREAS, A comprehensive, coordinated  children's  mental
20    health  system  can  help  maximize  resources  and  minimize
21    duplication of services; and

22        WHEREAS, The Illinois Children's Mental Health Task Force
23    engaged   a  broad,  multi-disciplinary  group  that  reached
24    consensus on recommendations that serve as the basis for  the
25    provisions of this Act; therefore

26        Be  it  enacted  by  the People of the State of Illinois,
27    represented in the General Assembly:

28        Section 1.  Short title. This Act may  be  cited  as  the
29    Children's Mental Health Act of 2003.
 
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 1        Section 5.  Children's Mental Health Plan.
 2        (a)  The  State  of  Illinois  shall develop a Children's
 3    Mental  Health  Plan  containing  short-term  and   long-term
 4    recommendations  to provide comprehensive, coordinated mental
 5    health prevention, early intervention, and treatment services
 6    for children from birth  through  age  18.  This  Plan  shall
 7    include but not be limited to:
 8             (1)  Coordinated  provider  services and interagency
 9        referral networks for children from birth through age  18
10        to   maximize   resources  and  minimize  duplication  of
11        services.
12             (2)  Guidelines   for   incorporating   social   and
13        emotional development into school learning standards  and
14        educational programs, pursuant to Section 15 of this Act.
15             (3)  Protocols   for   implementing   screening  and
16        assessment of children  prior  to  any  admission  to  an
17        inpatient  hospital for psychiatric services, pursuant to
18        subsection (a) of Section 5-5.23 of the  Illinois  Public
19        Aid Code.
20             (4)  Recommendations  regarding  a  State budget for
21        children's mental health prevention, early  intervention,
22        and  treatment  across  all  State  agencies, including a
23        budget for use of funds appropriated from the  Children's
24        Mental Health Fund pursuant to Section 20 of this Act.
25             (5)  Recommendations  for State and local mechanisms
26        for  integrating  federal,  State,  and  local    funding
27        sources for children's mental health.
28             (6)  Recommendations for building  a  qualified  and
29        adequately  trained  workforce prepared to provide mental
30        health services for children from birth  through  age  18
31        and their families.
32             (7)  Recommendations  for  facilitating  research on
33        best practices and model programs, and  dissemination  of
34        this information to Illinois policymakers, practitioners,
 
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 1        and   the  general  public  through  training,  technical
 2        assistance, and educational materials.
 3             (8)  Recommendations    for     a     comprehensive,
 4        multi-faceted  public  awareness  campaign  to reduce the
 5        stigma  of  mental  illness  and  educate  families,  the
 6        general  public,  and  other  key  audiences  about   the
 7        benefits  of children's social and emotional development,
 8        and how to access services.
 9             (9)  Recommendations for creating  a  quality-driven
10        children's    mental    health    system    with   shared
11        accountability among key State agencies and programs that
12        conducts  ongoing   needs   assessments,   uses   outcome
13        indicators   and  benchmarks  to  measure  progress,  and
14        implements quality data tracking and reporting systems.
15        (b)  The  Children's  Mental  Health  Council  (hereafter
16    referred to as "the Council") is created. The  Council  shall
17    have  the  responsibility  of  developing  and monitoring the
18    implementation  of  the  Children's  Mental  Health  Plan  as
19    approved  by  the  Governor.  The  Children's  Mental  Health
20    Council  shall  be  comprised  of:  the  Secretary  of  Human
21    Services or his or her designee; the State Superintendent  of
22    Education  or  his  or  her  designee;  the  directors of the
23    departments of Children  and  Family  Services,  Public  Aid,
24    Public Health, and Corrections, or their designees;  the head
25    of  the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority, or his or her
26    designee; the Attorney General or his or her designee; up  to
27    25  representatives  of statewide mental health, children and
28    family  advocacy,   early   childhood,   education,   health,
29    substance  abuse,  violence  prevention, and juvenile justice
30    organizations  or  associations,  to  be  appointed  by   the
31    Governor;  and  2  members  of  each  caucus  of the House of
32    Representatives and Senate appointed by the  Speaker  of  the
33    House  of  Representatives  and  the President of the Senate,
34    respectively. The Governor shall appoint  the  Council  Chair
 
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 1    and  shall  designate a Governor's staff liaison to work with
 2    the Council.
 3        (c)  The Council shall submit a Preliminary Plan  to  the
 4    Governor  on  September  30,  2004 and shall submit the Final
 5    Plan on June 30, 2005. Thereafter, on September  30  of  each
 6    year,  the  Council  shall  submit  an  annual  report to the
 7    Governor  on  the  progress  of   Plan   implementation   and
 8    recommendations for revisions in the Plan.

 9        Section 10.  Office of Mental Health services. The Office
10    of  Mental  Health  within  the  Department of Human Services
11    shall allow grant and purchase-of-service moneys to  be  used
12    for services for children from birth through age 18.

13        Section 15.  Mental health and schools.
14        (a)  The  Illinois State Board of Education shall develop
15    and implement a plan  to  incorporate  social  and  emotional
16    development  standards  as  part  of  the  Illinois  Learning
17    Standards   for   the  purpose  of  enhancing  and  measuring
18    children's school readiness and ability to  achieve  academic
19    success.  The  plan  shall  be submitted to the Governor, the
20    General Assembly, and the Council by December 31, 2004.
21        (b)  Every  Illinois  school  district  shall  develop  a
22    policy for incorporating  social  and  emotional  development
23    into  the  district's  educational  program. The policy shall
24    address teaching and assessing social  and  emotional  skills
25    and   protocols  for  responding  to  children  with  social,
26    emotional, or mental health problems,  or  a  combination  of
27    such  problems,  that  impact learning ability. Each district
28    must submit this  policy  to  the  Illinois  State  Board  of
29    Education by August 31, 2004.

30        Section 20.  Children's Mental Health Fund.
31        (a)  The  Children's  Mental  Health Fund is created as a
 
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 1    special fund in the State treasury. Interest earned on moneys
 2    in the fund shall be credited to the Fund.
 3        (b)  The following moneys shall  be  deposited  into  the
 4    Fund:
 5             (1)  All  moneys  saved  by the Department of Public
 6        Aid as a result of any reduction from  fiscal  year  2002
 7        levels   in   inpatient  psychiatric  hospitalization  of
 8        children, net of any additional cost to  that  Department
 9        related  to the pre-admission screening and assessment of
10        children    presenting    for    inpatient    psychiatric
11        hospitalization and alternate support services. Such  net
12        savings  shall, on a quarterly basis, be estimated by the
13        Department of Public Aid and paid to the Fund.
14             (2)  All moneys received from the federal government
15        due  to  Individual  Care  Grant  expenditures   by   the
16        Department  of  Human  Services for the Medicaid optional
17        service authorized under Section 1905(h) of  the  federal
18        Social   Security  Act,  as  now  or  hereafter  amended,
19        pursuant to the provisions of Section 7.1 of  the  Mental
20        Health and Developmental Disabilities Administrative Act.
21             (3)  All  other moneys received by the Fund from any
22        source, including interest earned on moneys in the Fund.
23        (c)  The moneys in the Fund  shall  be  held  subject  to
24    appropriation  by  the  General Assembly to the Department of
25    Human Services to provide  mental  health  prevention,  early
26    intervention,  and treatment services for children from birth
27    through age 18, pursuant to the Children's Mental Health Plan
28    developed under Section 5 of this Act.

29        Section 90.  The State Finance Act is amended  by  adding
30    Section 5.595 as follows:

31        (30 ILCS 105/5.595 new)
32        Sec. 5.595.  The Children's Mental Health Fund.
 
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 1        Section  95.  The  Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by
 2    adding Section 5-5.23 as follows:

 3        (305 ILCS 5/5-5.23 new)
 4        Sec. 5-5.23.  Children's mental health services.
 5        (a)  The Department of Public Aid, by rule, shall require
 6    the  screening  and  assessment  of  a  child  prior  to  any
 7    Medicaid-funded  admission  to  an  inpatient  hospital   for
 8    psychiatric  services to be funded by Medicaid. The screening
 9    and  assessment  shall  include  a   determination   of   the
10    appropriateness   and  availability  of  out-patient  support
11    services for necessary treatment. The  Department,  by  rule,
12    shall  establish  methods  and  standards  of payment for the
13    screening,  assessment,  and  necessary  alternative  support
14    services.
15        (b)  The  Department  of  Public  Aid,  to   the   extent
16    allowable  under  federal law, shall secure federal financial
17    participation for Individual Care Grant expenditures made  by
18    the  Department  of  Human Services for the Medicaid optional
19    service authorized  under  Section  1905(h)  of  the  federal
20    Social  Security  Act,  pursuant to the provisions of Section
21    7.1 of  the  Mental  Health  and  Developmental  Disabilities
22    Administrative Act.

23        Section  99.  Effective  date. This Act takes effect upon
24    becoming law.