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1    AN ACT concerning government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Opportunities for Youth Diversion Task Force Act.
 
6    Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds that:
7    (1) an estimated 70% of youth who are arrested in the
8United States have a mental health disorder;
9    (2) in many cases, this may contribute to the cause of
10their arrest or may remain undiagnosed as they progress through
11the juvenile justice system;
12    (3) in Cook County, at least one study found that 60% of
13boys and 66% of girls detained in the Juvenile Temporary
14Detention Center met the diagnostic criteria for one or more
15psychiatric disorders;
16    (4) an appropriate system of care would be one in which
17youth with identified mental health needs receive care through
18the health care system in the community rather than in the
19juvenile justice system;
20    (5) while some youth are diverted to hospitals while they
21are in mental health crisis, often these youth do not require
22hospitalization but are funneled through these hospitals
23unnecessarily because of the lack of less intensive options

 

 

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1available to receive intermediate care;
2    (6) youth in these situations often need a quick assessment
3and intermediate care, such as crisis intervention,
4counseling, or case management;
5    (7) in contrast, a hospital assessment and a referral for
6later community treatment are unnecessarily costly and
7specialized;
8    (8) youth with undiagnosed mental health issues may be
9arrested and processed through the juvenile justice system and
10only receive treatment once they are deep in the juvenile
11justice system;
12    (9) opportunities exist in several areas to eliminate
13barriers to community based treatment for youth and increase
14diversion programming that allows youth to receive treatment
15and avoid further involvement with law enforcement or the
16juvenile justice system; and
17    (10) establishing an Opportunities for Youth Diversion
18Task Force to review best practices and guarantee
19cross-collaboration among government entities and community
20partners is essential to eliminating these barriers and
21ensuring that youth in this State with mental health needs do
22not end up unnecessarily tangled in the juvenile justice
23system.
 
24    Section 10. Opportunities for Youth Diversion Task Force.
25    (a) There is created the Opportunities for Youth Diversion

 

 

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1Task Force within the Department of Human Services. The Task
2Force shall be composed of no more than 23 voting members
3including:
4        (1) Two members of the House of Representatives, one
5    appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives
6    and one appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of
7    Representatives.
8        (2) Two members of the Senate, one appointed by the
9    President of the Senate and one appointed by the Minority
10    Leader of the Senate.
11        (3) One representative of the Office of the Governor
12    appointed by the Governor.
13        (4) Fourteen members of the public:
14            (A) two representatives from health and hospital
15        systems, one appointed by the Speaker of the House of
16        Representatives and one appointed by the Minority
17        Leader of the House of Representatives;
18            (B) two representatives from community based
19        mental health providers that serve youth, one
20        appointed by the President of the Senate and one
21        appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate;
22            (C) one representative from a statewide youth
23        juvenile justice advocacy organization, appointed by
24        the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
25            (D) one representative of an organization that
26        advocates for families and youth with mental illness,

 

 

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1        appointed by the President of the Senate;
2            (E) two representatives from organizations with
3        expertise in Medicaid, health care, and juvenile
4        justice, one appointed by the Speaker of the House of
5        Representatives and one appointed by the President of
6        the Senate;
7            (F) one faculty member from a law school institute
8        with experience in juvenile justice, appointed by the
9        President of the Senate;
10            (G) one representative from law enforcement,
11        appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate;
12            (H) one representative from law enforcement from
13        the Crises Intervention Training Unit, appointed by
14        the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives;
15            (I) one representative from the juvenile division
16        of a State's Attorney's office, appointed by the
17        Minority Leader of the Senate;
18            (J) one representative from the juvenile division
19        of a Public Defender's office, appointed by the
20        Minority Leader of the House of Representatives; and
21            (K) one representative from a clinical unit of
22        juvenile community corrections, appointed by the
23        Speaker of the House of Representatives.
24        (5) The following 4 officials shall serve as ex-officio
25    members:
26            (A) one representative from the Department of

 

 

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1        Human Services Mental Health and Juvenile Justice
2        Program, appointed by the Secretary of Human Services;
3            (B) one representative from the Department of
4        Human Services Comprehensive Community Based Youth
5        Services Program, appointed by the Secretary of Human
6        Services;
7            (C) the Director of Healthcare and Family
8        Services, or his or her designee; and
9            (D) one representative from the Administrative
10        Office of the Illinois Courts, appointed by the
11        Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois
12        Courts.
13    (b) Members shall serve without compensation and are
14responsible for the cost of all reasonable and necessary travel
15expenses connected to Task Force business. The Task Force
16members shall not be reimbursed by the State for these costs.
17Task Force members shall be appointed within 60 days after the
18effective date of this Act. The Task Force shall hold its
19initial meetings within 60 days after at least 50% of the
20members have been appointed. The representatives of the
21organization that advocates for families and youth with mental
22illness and one of the representatives from an organization
23with an expertise in Medicaid, health care, and juvenile
24justice shall serve as co-chairs of the Task Force. At the
25first meeting of the Task Force, the members shall select a 5
26person Steering Committee that includes the co-chairs. The Task

 

 

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1Force may establish committees that address specific issues or
2populations and may appoint individuals with relevant
3expertise who are not appointed members of the Task Force to
4serve on committees as needed.
5    (c) The Task Force shall:
6        (1) develop an action plan for State and local law
7    enforcement and other agencies to divert youth in contact
8    with law enforcement agencies that require mental health
9    treatment into the appropriate health care setting rather
10    than initial or further involvement in the juvenile justice
11    system;
12        (2) review existing evidence based models and best
13    practices around diversion opportunities for youth with
14    mental health needs from the point of police contact and
15    initial contact with the juvenile justice system;
16        (3) identify existing diversion programs across this
17    State and highlight implemented programs demonstrating
18    positive evidence based outcomes;
19        (4) identify all funding sources which can be used
20    towards improving diversion outcomes for youth with mental
21    health needs, including funds controlled by the State,
22    funds controlled by counties, and funding within the health
23    care system;
24        (5) identify barriers to the implementation of
25    evidence based diversion models and develop sustainable
26    policies and programs to address these barriers;

 

 

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1        (6) recommend an action plan required by paragraph (1)
2    of this subsection (c) that includes pilot programs and
3    policy changes based on the research required by paragraphs
4    (3), (4), and (5) of this subsection (c) for increasing the
5    number of youth diverted into community based mental health
6    treatment rather than further engagement with the juvenile
7    justice system; and
8        (7) complete and deliver the action plan required by
9    paragraph (1) of this subsection (c) with recommendations
10    to the Governor and General Assembly within one year of the
11    first meeting of the Task Force.
12    (d) Upon the completion and delivery of the action plan to
13the Governor and General Assembly, the Task Force shall be
14dissolved.
 
15    Section 15. Repeal. This Act is repealed on December 31,
162018.