SR1824LRB099 21539 GRL 47852 r

1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has been a strong proponent
3for necessary reforms to the criminal justice system and an
4advocate for successful re-entry of returning citizens to their
5communities; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The prison population is disproportionately
7comprised of African-American and Latino persons, with one in
8every 13 African-American males in the United States aged 30 to
934 incarcerated or imprisoned in 2011 and one in 36 Latino
10males incarcerated; by comparison, one in every 90 white males
11of the same age group were incarcerated; and
 
12    WHEREAS, African-American and Latino women were 2.5 times
13more likely and 1.4 times more likely respectively, to be
14incarcerated than their white counterparts; and
 
15    WHEREAS, The expenses of incarceration account for a
16substantial amount of almost every state's budget, an expense
17which is ultimately borne by a state's taxpayers; and
 
18    WHEREAS, According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics,
19more than half of those incarcerated in the United States have
20mental health issues; mentally-ill incarcerated or imprisoned
21adults are also disproportionately abused, beaten, and raped;

 

 

SR1824- 2 -LRB099 21539 GRL 47852 r

1and
 
2    WHEREAS, Enhanced mental health training for law
3enforcement personnel and the use of diversion programs will
4reduce arrest rates by de-escalating mental health crisis
5situations; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Effectively treating inmates' physical and mental
7health illnesses improves their well-being and can reduce the
8likelihood that their condition will deteriorate, that they
9will commit new crimes, violate their parole, or return to
10prison; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The ability of offenders with serious mental
12illness to obtain appropriate health care services upon release
13from prison is essential to reducing recidivism rates; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Prisoners with serious mental illness who have
15their Medicaid coverage canceled rather than suspended upon
16incarceration face delays in access to essential health care
17benefits upon their release of two to three months; and
 
18    WHEREAS, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
19encourages states to suspend rather than terminate Medicaid
20eligibility to limit long delays in accessing health care
21benefits and services upon release from prison; therefore, be

 

 

SR1824- 3 -LRB099 21539 GRL 47852 r

1it
 
2    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL
3ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge all federal,
4State, and county legislators and officials to consider and
5enact policies to enhance access to mental health services at
6multiple levels in the criminal justice system which will
7create better results for both the individual and the system;
8and be it further
 
9    RESOLVED, That we support a wide range of programs to
10improve mental health treatment for individuals involved in the
11criminal justice system aimed to aid communities to end
12recidivism; and be it further
 
13    RESOLVED, That we urge the law enforcement community to
14consider the integration of mental health treatment and
15services such as crisis intervention teams into the criminal
16justice system spectrum, in an effort to address mental health
17crisis situations and to reduce arrest rates; and be it further
 
18    RESOLVED, That we call upon all states and the federal
19government to examine the costs and benefits of suspending
20Medicaid coverage instead of termination of coverage for
21individuals in the criminal justice system and to allow
22Medicaid coverage to be suspended for incarcerated persons

 

 

SR1824- 4 -LRB099 21539 GRL 47852 r

1instead of being terminated; and be it further
 
2    RESOLVED, That we call upon the states and the federal
3government to consider promising criminal justice
4interventions and policies for mentally-ill offenders such as
5diversion programs and mental health courts to send seriously
6mentally ill offenders to community-based mental health
7treatment programs instead of prison or jail; and be it further
 
8    RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be delivered to
9the President and Vice President of the United States, the
10members of the Illinois congressional delegation, and other
11federal and state government officials and agencies as
12appropriate.