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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Behavioral healthcare disparities exist across
3Illinois, and these disparities include underserved
4populations with behavioral health care needs as one of their
5immediate, acute, chronic or co-morbid condition; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Behavioral health care disparities include
7racial, ethnic, and rural behavioral health disparities,
8underserved, or professional shortage areas; and
 
9    WHEREAS, The mental well-being of young people and their
10ability to not use alcohol or other drugs is strongly linked to
11their academic success; helping students stay healthy is a
12fundamental mission of schools; and
 
13    WHEREAS, According to the US Surgeon General,
14approximately 50% of children with emotional disturbances and
15behavioral disturbances drop out of school; and
 
16    WHEREAS, According to the Centers for Disease Control,
17suicides are among the leading cause of death for the ages of
1815 through 54; and
 
19    WHEREAS, County coroners in Illinois report that in some
20counties the suicide rate has doubled since 2002 while in other

 

 

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1counties the suicide rate has increased in recent years; and
 
2    WHEREAS, According to the Department of Defense Annual
3Suicide Report, suicides in the military started climbing
4considerably in 2005, and the trend has not abated; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Cook County Jail is the largest "mental
6institution" in the State due to its active inpatient
7psychiatric population, and there are over 1700 people on
8psychotropic medication for treatment of bipolar disorder,
9clinical depression, and schizoaffective disorder in the jail;
10and
 
11    WHEREAS, In Cook County Jail, 80% of the women who are
12there have a chronic mental illness, and 80% of the women in
13that jail are the sole caretakers of their children; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Illinois courts, municipal and county jails, and
15the juvenile justice system have direct contact with many
16individuals who could be diverted away from these systems if
17behavioral health care services were available to them;
18therefore, be it
 
19    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
20NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
21the Governor, through the use of education, outreach,

 

 

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1technology, and innovation, should seek to empower and engage
2individuals and communities where behavioral healthcare
3disparities exist; and be it further
 
4    RESOLVED, That we urge the administration to work with the
598th General Assembly to develop strategies to remediate
6behavioral health disparities in areas and regions of the State
7with poor access to behavioral health care treatment or
8services, with high rates of trauma, or with high rates of
9acute or chronic behavioral health illnesses; strategies to
10remediate behavioral health care disparities may include work
11force development so that primary care physicians and
12behavioral health care clinicians would be encouraged to
13practice in areas with behavioral health disparities; and be it
14further
 
15    RESOLVED, That we encourage the administration to call on
16the Department of Human Services in collaboration with the
17Department of Healthcare and Family Services to identify a
18method to establish pilots for Health Homes, Systems of Care,
19and Essential Community Behavioral Health Care Providers to
20address the racial, ethnic, and rural behavioral health
21disparities, underserved populations, and underserved areas or
22professional shortage designated areas; and be it further
 
23    RESOLVED, That we encourage the administration to include

 

 

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1in Department of Human Services data collation a standardize
2collection and analysis of data on the impact on racial,
3ethnic, and rural health care disparities, underserved
4populations, and underserved or professional shortage
5designated areas; and be it further
 
6    RESOLVED, That we encourage the administration to create an
7Illinois Behavioral Health Innovation Prize; the Illinois
8Behavioral Innovation Prize would provide public recognition
9for a new intervention or program that successfully reduces or
10eliminates behavioral healthcare disparities; the goal of the
11prize is to broaden the scope of community participation and
12discover new solutions that can be copied and employed
13throughout the State; and be it further
 
14    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
15delivered to Governor Pat Quinn and the Secretary of Human
16Services.