Sen. Donne E. Trotter

Filed: 4/8/2016

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 320

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 320 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
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

 

 

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1youth with identified mental health needs receive care through
2the health care system in the community rather than in the
3juvenile justice system;
4    (5) while some youth are diverted to hospitals while they
5are in mental health crisis, often these youth do not require
6hospitalization but are funneled through these hospitals
7unnecessarily because of the lack of less intensive options
8available to receive intermediate care;
9    (6) youth in these situations often need a quick assessment
10and intermediate care, such as crisis intervention,
11counseling, or case management;
12    (7) in contrast, a hospital assessment and a referral for
13later community treatment are unnecessarily costly and
14specialized;
15    (8) youth with undiagnosed mental health issues may be
16arrested and processed through the juvenile justice system and
17only receive treatment once they are deep in the juvenile
18justice system;
19    (9) opportunities exist in several areas to eliminate
20barriers to community based treatment for youth and increase
21diversion programming that allows youth to receive treatment
22and avoid further involvement with law enforcement or the
23juvenile justice system; and
24    (10) establishing an Opportunities for Youth Diversion
25Task Force to review best practices and guarantee
26cross-collaboration among government entities and community

 

 

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1partners is essential to eliminating these barriers and
2ensuring that youth in this State with mental health needs do
3not end up unnecessarily tangled in the juvenile justice
4system.
 
5    Section 10. Opportunities for Youth Diversion Task Force.
6    (a) There is created the Opportunities for Youth Diversion
7Task Force within the Department of Human Services. The Task
8Force shall be composed of no more than 23 voting members
9including:
10        (1) Two members of the House of Representatives, one
11    appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives
12    and one appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of
13    Representatives.
14        (2) Two members of the Senate, one appointed by the
15    President of the Senate and one appointed by the Minority
16    Leader of the Senate.
17        (3) One representative of the Office of the Governor
18    appointed by the Governor.
19        (4) Fourteen members of the public:
20            (A) two representatives from health and hospital
21        systems, one appointed by the Speaker of the House of
22        Representatives and one appointed by the Minority
23        Leader of the House of Representatives;
24            (B) two representatives from community based
25        mental health providers that serve youth, one

 

 

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1        appointed by the President of the Senate and one
2        appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate;
3            (C) one representative from a statewide youth
4        juvenile justice advocacy organization, appointed by
5        the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
6            (D) one representative of an organization that
7        advocates for families and youth with mental illness,
8        appointed by the President of the Senate;
9            (E) two representatives from organizations with
10        expertise in Medicaid, health care, and juvenile
11        justice, one appointed by the Speaker of the House of
12        Representatives and one appointed by the President of
13        the Senate;
14            (F) one faculty member from a law school institute
15        with experience in juvenile justice, appointed by the
16        President of the Senate;
17            (G) one representative from law enforcement,
18        appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate;
19            (H) one representative from law enforcement from
20        the Crises Intervention Training Unit, appointed by
21        the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives;
22            (I) one representative from the juvenile division
23        of a State's Attorney's office, appointed by the
24        Minority Leader of the Senate;
25            (J) one representative from the juvenile division
26        of a Public Defender's office, appointed by the

 

 

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1        Minority Leader of the House of Representatives; and
2            (K) one representative from a clinical unit of
3        juvenile community corrections, appointed by the
4        Speaker of the House of Representatives.
5        (5) The following 4 officials shall serve as ex-officio
6    members:
7            (A) one representative from the Department of
8        Human Services Mental Health and Juvenile Justice
9        Program, appointed by the Secretary of Human Services;
10            (B) one representative from the Department of
11        Human Services Comprehensive Community Based Youth
12        Services Program, appointed by the Secretary of Human
13        Services;
14            (C) the Director of Healthcare and Family
15        Services, or his or her designee; and
16            (D) one representative from the Administrative
17        Office of the Illinois Courts, appointed by the
18        Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois
19        Courts.
20    (b) Members shall serve without compensation and are
21responsible for the cost of all reasonable and necessary travel
22expenses connected to Task Force business. The Task Force
23members shall not be reimbursed by the State for these costs.
24Task Force members shall be appointed within 60 days after the
25effective date of this Act. The Task Force shall hold its
26initial meetings within 60 days after at least 50% of the

 

 

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1members have been appointed. The representatives of the
2organization that advocates for families and youth with mental
3illness and one of the representatives from an organization
4with an expertise in Medicaid, health care, and juvenile
5justice shall serve as co-chairs of the Task Force. At the
6first meeting of the Task Force, the members shall select a 5
7person Steering Committee that includes the co-chairs. The Task
8Force may establish committees that address specific issues or
9populations and may appoint individuals with relevant
10expertise who are not appointed members of the Task Force to
11serve on committees as needed.
12    (c) The Task Force shall:
13        (1) develop an action plan for State and local law
14    enforcement and other agencies to divert youth in contact
15    with law enforcement agencies that require mental health
16    treatment into the appropriate health care setting rather
17    than initial or further involvement in the juvenile justice
18    system;
19        (2) review existing evidence based models and best
20    practices around diversion opportunities for youth with
21    mental health needs from the point of police contact and
22    initial contact with the juvenile justice system;
23        (3) identify existing diversion programs across this
24    State and highlight implemented programs demonstrating
25    positive evidence based outcomes;
26        (4) identify all funding sources which can be used

 

 

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1    towards improving diversion outcomes for youth with mental
2    health needs, including funds controlled by the State,
3    funds controlled by counties, and funding within the health
4    care system;
5        (5) identify barriers to the implementation of
6    evidence based diversion models and develop sustainable
7    policies and programs to address these barriers;
8        (6) recommend an action plan required by paragraph (1)
9    of this subsection (c) that includes pilot programs and
10    policy changes based on the research required by paragraphs
11    (3), (4), and (5) of this subsection (c) for increasing the
12    number of youth diverted into community based mental health
13    treatment rather than further engagement with the juvenile
14    justice system; and
15        (7) complete and deliver the action plan required by
16    paragraph (1) of this subsection (c) with recommendations
17    to the Governor and General Assembly within one year of the
18    first meeting of the Task Force.
19    (d) Upon the completion and delivery of the action plan to
20the Governor and General Assembly, the Task Force shall be
21dissolved.
 
22    Section 15. Repeal. This Act is repealed on December 31,
232018.".