105 ILCS 5/14-15.01

(105 ILCS 5/14-15.01) (from Ch. 122, par. 14-15.01)

Sec. 14-15.01. Community and Residential Services Authority.

(a) (1) The Community and Residential Services Authority is hereby created and shall consist of the following members:

A representative of the State Board of Education;

Four representatives of the Department of Human Services appointed by the Secretary of Human Services, with one member from the Division of Community Health and Prevention, one member from the Division of Developmental Disabilities, one member from the Division of Mental Health, and one member from the Division of Rehabilitation Services;

A representative of the Department of Children and Family Services;

A representative of the Department of Juvenile Justice;

A representative of the Department of Healthcare and Family Services;

A representative of the Attorney General's Disability Rights Advocacy Division;

The Chairperson and Minority Spokesperson of the House and Senate Committees on Elementary and Secondary Education or their designees; and

Six persons appointed by the Governor. Five of such appointees shall be experienced or knowledgeable relative to provision of services for individuals with a behavior disorder or a severe emotional disturbance and shall include representatives of both the private and public sectors, except that no more than 2 of those 5 appointees may be from the public sector and at least 2 must be or have been directly involved in provision of services to such individuals. The remaining member appointed by the Governor shall be or shall have been a parent of an individual with a behavior disorder or a severe emotional disturbance, and that appointee may be from either the private or the public sector.

(2) Members appointed by the Governor shall be appointed for terms of 4 years and shall continue to serve until their respective successors are appointed; provided that the terms of the original appointees shall expire on August 1, 1990. Any vacancy in the office of a member appointed by the Governor shall be filled by appointment of the Governor for the remainder of the term.

A vacancy in the office of a member appointed by the Governor exists when one or more of the following events occur:

(i) An appointee dies;

(ii) An appointee files a written resignation with the Governor;

(iii) An appointee ceases to be a legal resident of the State of Illinois; or

(iv) An appointee fails to attend a majority of regularly scheduled Authority meetings in a fiscal year.

Members who are representatives of an agency shall serve at the will of the agency head. Membership on the Authority shall cease immediately upon cessation of their affiliation with the agency. If such a vacancy occurs, the appropriate agency head shall appoint another person to represent the agency.

If a legislative member of the Authority ceases to be Chairperson or Minority Spokesperson of the designated Committees, they shall automatically be replaced on the Authority by the person who assumes the position of Chairperson or Minority Spokesperson.

(b) The Community and Residential Services Authority shall have the following powers and duties:

(1) To conduct surveys to determine the extent of need, the degree to which documented need is currently being met and feasible alternatives for matching need with resources.

(2) To develop policy statements for interagency cooperation to cover all aspects of service delivery, including laws, regulations and procedures, and clear guidelines for determining responsibility at all times.

(3) To recommend policy statements and provide information regarding effective programs for delivery of services to all individuals under 22 years of age with a behavior disorder or a severe emotional disturbance in public or private situations.

(4) To review the criteria for service eligibility, provision and availability established by the governmental agencies represented on this Authority, and to recommend changes, additions or deletions to such criteria.

(5) To develop and submit to the Governor, the General Assembly, the Directors of the agencies represented on the Authority, and the State Board of Education a master plan for individuals under 22 years of age with a behavior disorder or a severe emotional disturbance, including detailed plans of service ranging from the least to the most restrictive options; and to assist local communities, upon request, in developing or strengthening collaborative interagency networks.

(6) To develop a process for making determinations in situations where there is a dispute relative to a plan of service for individuals or funding for a plan of service.

(7) To provide technical assistance to parents, service consumers, providers, and member agency personnel regarding statutory responsibilities of human service and educational agencies, and to provide such assistance as deemed necessary to appropriately access needed services.

(8) To establish a pilot program to act as a residential research hub to research and identify appropriate residential settings for youth who are being housed in an emergency room for more than 72 hours or who are deemed beyond medical necessity in a psychiatric hospital. If a child is deemed beyond medical necessity in a psychiatric hospital and is in need of residential placement, the goal of the program is to prevent a lock-out pursuant to the goals of the Custody Relinquishment Prevention Act.

(c) (1) The members of the Authority shall receive no compensation for their services but shall be entitled to reimbursement of reasonable expenses incurred while performing their duties.

(2) The Authority may appoint special study groups to operate under the direction of the Authority and persons appointed to such groups shall receive only reimbursement of reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.

(3) The Authority shall elect from its membership a chairperson, vice-chairperson and secretary.

(4) The Authority may employ and fix the compensation of such employees and technical assistants as it deems necessary to carry out its powers and duties under this Act. Staff assistance for the Authority shall be provided by the State Board of Education.

(5) Funds for the ordinary and contingent expenses of the Authority shall be appropriated to the State Board of Education in a separate line item.

(d) (1) The Authority shall have power to promulgate rules and regulations to carry out its powers and duties under this Act.

(2) The Authority may accept monetary gifts or grants from the federal government or any agency thereof, from any charitable foundation or professional association or from any other reputable source for implementation of any program necessary or desirable to the carrying out of the general purposes of the Authority. Such gifts and grants may be held in trust by the Authority and expended in the exercise of its powers and performance of its duties as prescribed by law.

(3) The Authority shall submit an annual report of its activities and expenditures to the Governor, the General Assembly, the directors of agencies represented on the Authority, and the State Superintendent of Education.

(e) The Executive Director of the Authority or his or her designee shall be added as a participant on the Interagency Clinical Team established in the intergovernmental agreement among the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, the Department of Children and Family Services, the Department of Human Services, the State Board of Education, the Department of Juvenile Justice, and the Department of Public Health, with consent of the youth or the youth's guardian or family pursuant to the Custody Relinquishment Prevention Act.

(Source: P.A. 102-43, eff. 7-6-21.)