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92_HJ0026eng HJ0026 Engrossed LRB9208610DJgc 1 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 26 2 WHEREAS, A significant number of Illinois children and 3 youth suffer from depression and other mental health problems 4 that affect their ability to learn and their propensity for 5 violence, alcohol and substance abuse, and other delinquent 6 behaviors; and 7 WHEREAS, One in 10 children and adolescents in Illinois 8 suffer from a mental illness severe enough to cause some 9 level of impairment; yet, in any given year only about one in 10 5 of these children receive mental health services; and 11 WHEREAS, Researchers and practitioners agree that the 12 majority of children and youth with mental health needs, 13 other than those with serious, chronic mental disorders, do 14 not receive preventive interventions; yet, these 15 interventions have been shown to be effective in reducing the 16 impact of risk factors for mental disorders and improving 17 social and emotional development; and 18 WHEREAS, Childhood is an important time to prevent mental 19 disorders to promote healthy development, because many adult 20 disorders have related antecedent problems in childhood; and 21 WHEREAS, Mental health services for children and youth 22 need to be delivered in natural settings, like schools or 23 school-linked programs, if they are to successfully reach 24 children and youth, who face many barriers to receiving those 25 services in the community; and 26 WHEREAS, Screening, identification, and services systems 27 in schools are inadequate to address the number of children 28 and youth who need mental health support; and 29 WHEREAS, A collaborative, multidisciplinary school-based 30 and school-linked approach is needed to ensure that Illinois 31 children and youth receive a continuum of mental health HJ0026 Engrossed -2- LRB9208610DJgc 1 prevention, intervention, and treatment services; therefore, 2 be it 3 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 4 NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE 5 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Illinois Violence 6 Prevention Authority shall convene and administer a 7 multidisciplinary Illinois School/Community Mental Health 8 Task Force; and be it further 9 RESOLVED, That under the auspices of the Authority, the 10 Task Force shall be responsible for doing the following: 11 (1) Assessing the status of school-based and 12 school-linked mental health prevention and intervention 13 services and programs for children and youth in Illinois. 14 (2) Developing and recommending a short-term and 15 long-term plan that takes a coordinated, collaborative, 16 multi-system approach for ensuring that adequate, 17 quality, mental-health-related services and programs are 18 available and accessible to Illinois children and youth. 19 The plan shall include recommendations for public and 20 private funding sources to implement the plan. 21 (3) Submitting the plan and related recommendations 22 to the Governor's Office and the General Assembly by 23 September 30, 2002. 24 (4) Monitoring the ongoing implementation of the 25 plan; and be it further 26 RESOLVED, That the Task Force Membership shall be 27 broad-based, multidisciplinary, and cross-cultural, and shall 28 include a broad representation of mental health stakeholders: 29 State agencies, representatives of the General Assembly, 30 youth and family members, professional organizations and 31 associations, advocacy groups, faith-based practitioners, 32 clinicians, educators, health care providers, and members of 33 the research/scientific community; and be it further HJ0026 Engrossed -3- LRB9208610DJgc 1 RESOLVED, That at a minimum, the following public and 2 private entities shall be represented on the Task Force: 3 Governor's Office, House and Senate caucuses of Illinois 4 General Assembly, Illinois Attorney General's Office, 5 Illinois Department of Public Health, Illinois State Board of 6 Education, Illinois Department of Human Services, Illinois 7 Department of Children and Family Services, Illinois School 8 Nurses Association, Illinois School Psychologists 9 Association, Illinois School Counselors Association, Illinois 10 Principals Association, Illinois School Social Workers 11 Association, Illinois Association of School Administrators, 12 Large Unit District Association, Illinois Association of 13 Regional Superintendents of Schools, Chicago Public Schools, 14 Illinois Education Association, Illinois Federation of 15 Teachers, Community Behavioral Health Care Association, 16 Mental Health Association in Illinois, Voices for Illinois 17 Children, Illinois Federation for Families, Cook County 18 Bureau of Health Services, Illinois Center for Violence 19 Prevention, Illinois Parent Teachers Association (PTA), Equip 20 for Equality, Illinois Coalition for School Health Centers, 21 Obsessive Compulsive Foundation of Metro Chicago, National 22 Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI Illinois), Illinois 23 Psychiatric Society, and Juvenile Justice Commission; and be 24 it further 25 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this Resolution shall 26 be delivered to the Attorney General and the Director of 27 Public Health, who jointly chair the Illinois Violence 28 Prevention Authority.