093_SB1951ham001

 










                                     LRB093 08901 DRJ 17196 a

 1                    AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1951

 2        AMENDMENT NO.     .  Amend Senate Bill 1951 by  replacing
 3    the title with the following:
 4        "AN ACT in relation to children.

 5        WHEREAS,  Untreated  mental  health  problems in children
 6    have serious fiscal consequences for the State  because  they
 7    affect   children's  ability  to  learn  and  increase  their
 8    propensity for violence, alcohol  and  substance  abuse,  and
 9    other  delinquent  behaviors  that  are  extremely  costly to
10    treat; and

11        WHEREAS, One in 10 children in Illinois  suffers  from  a
12    mental   illness   severe  enough  to  cause  some  level  of
13    impairment; yet, in any given year only about  20%  of  these
14    children receive mental health services; and

15        WHEREAS,   Many   mental   health  problems  are  largely
16    preventable or can be  minimized  with  promotion  and  early
17    intervention  services  that  have been shown to be effective
18    and that reduce the need for more costly interventions; and

19        WHEREAS,  Children's  social  development  and  emotional
20    development are essential underpinnings to  school  readiness
21    and academic success; and
 
                            -2-      LRB093 08901 DRJ 17196 a
 1        WHEREAS,  A  comprehensive, coordinated children's mental
 2    health  system  can  help  maximize  resources  and  minimize
 3    duplication of services; and

 4        WHEREAS, The Illinois Children's Mental Health Task Force
 5    engaged  a  broad,  multi-disciplinary  group  that   reached
 6    consensus  on recommendations that serve as the basis for the
 7    provisions of this Act; therefore"; and

 8    by replacing everything after the enacting  clause  with  the
 9    following:

10        "Section  1.  Short  title.  This Act may be cited as the
11    Children's Mental Health Act of 2003.

12        Section 5.  Children's Mental Health Plan.
13        (a)  The State of Illinois  shall  develop  a  Children's
14    Mental   Health  Plan  containing  short-term  and  long-term
15    recommendations to provide comprehensive, coordinated  mental
16    health prevention, early intervention, and treatment services
17    for  children  from  birth  through  age  18. This Plan shall
18    include but not be limited to:
19             (1)  Coordinated provider services  and  interagency
20        referral  networks for children from birth through age 18
21        to  maximize  resources  and  minimize   duplication   of
22        services.
23             (2)  Guidelines   for   incorporating   social   and
24        emotional  development into school learning standards and
25        educational programs, pursuant to Section 15 of this Act.
26             (3)  Protocols  for   implementing   screening   and
27        assessment  of  children  prior  to  any  admission to an
28        inpatient hospital for psychiatric services, pursuant  to
29        subsection  (a)  of Section 5-5.23 of the Illinois Public
30        Aid Code.
31             (4)  Recommendations regarding a  State  budget  for
 
                            -3-      LRB093 08901 DRJ 17196 a
 1        children's  mental health prevention, early intervention,
 2        and treatment across all State agencies.
 3             (5)  Recommendations for State and local  mechanisms
 4        for integrating federal, State, and local funding sources
 5        for children's mental health.
 6             (6)  Recommendations  for  building  a qualified and
 7        adequately trained workforce prepared to  provide  mental
 8        health  services  for  children from birth through age 18
 9        and their families.
10             (7)  Recommendations for  facilitating  research  on
11        best  practices  and model programs, and dissemination of
12        this information to Illinois policymakers, practitioners,
13        and  the  general  public  through  training,   technical
14        assistance, and educational materials.
15             (8)  Recommendations     for     a    comprehensive,
16        multi-faceted public awareness  campaign  to  reduce  the
17        stigma  of  mental  illness  and  educate  families,  the
18        general   public,  and  other  key  audiences  about  the
19        benefits of children's social and emotional  development,
20        and how to access services.
21             (9)  Recommendations  for  creating a quality-driven
22        children's   mental    health    system    with    shared
23        accountability among key State agencies and programs that
24        conducts   ongoing   needs   assessments,   uses  outcome
25        indicators  and  benchmarks  to  measure  progress,   and
26        implements quality data tracking and reporting systems.
27        (b)  The  Children's Mental Health Partnership (hereafter
28    referred to as "the Partnership") is created. The Partnership
29    shall have the responsibility of  developing  and  monitoring
30    the  implementation  of  the Children's Mental Health Plan as
31    approved  by  the  Governor.  The  Children's  Mental  Health
32    Partnership shall be comprised of:  the  Secretary  of  Human
33    Services  or his or her designee; the State Superintendent of
34    Education or his  or  her  designee;  the  directors  of  the
 
                            -4-      LRB093 08901 DRJ 17196 a
 1    departments  of  Children  and  Family  Services, Public Aid,
 2    Public Health, and Corrections, or their designees;  the head
 3    of the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority, or his or  her
 4    designee;  the Attorney General or his or her designee; up to
 5    25 representatives of community mental health authorities and
 6    statewide mental health, children and family advocacy,  early
 7    childhood,   education,  health,  substance  abuse,  violence
 8    prevention,   and   juvenile   justice    organizations    or
 9    associations,  to be appointed by the Governor; and 2 members
10    of each caucus of the House  of  Representatives  and  Senate
11    appointed  by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and
12    the President of the Senate, respectively. The Governor shall
13    appoint  the  Partnership  Chair  and   shall   designate   a
14    Governor's staff liaison to work with the Partnership.
15        (c)  The  Partnership  shall submit a Preliminary Plan to
16    the Governor on September 30, 2004 and shall submit the Final
17    Plan on June 30, 2005. Thereafter, on September  30  of  each
18    year,  the  Partnership  shall submit an annual report to the
19    Governor  on  the  progress  of   Plan   implementation   and
20    recommendations for revisions in the Plan. The Final Plan and
21    annual  reports  submitted  in subsequent years shall include
22    estimates of savings achieved in  prior  fiscal  years  under
23    subsection  (a)  of Section 5-5.23 of the Illinois Public Aid
24    Code  and  federal  financial  participation  received  under
25    subsection  (b)  of  Section  5-5.23  of  that   Code.    The
26    Department  of  Public Aid shall provide technical assistance
27    in developing these estimates and reports.

28        Section 10.  Office of Mental Health services. The Office
29    of Mental Health within  the  Department  of  Human  Services
30    shall  allow  grant and purchase-of-service moneys to be used
31    for services for children from birth through age 18.

32        Section 15.  Mental health and schools.
 
                            -5-      LRB093 08901 DRJ 17196 a
 1        (a)  The Illinois State Board of Education shall  develop
 2    and  implement  a  plan  to  incorporate social and emotional
 3    development  standards  as  part  of  the  Illinois  Learning
 4    Standards  for  the  purpose  of  enhancing   and   measuring
 5    children's  school  readiness and ability to achieve academic
 6    success. The plan shall be submitted  to  the  Governor,  the
 7    General Assembly, and the Partnership by December 31, 2004.
 8        (b)  Every  Illinois  school  district  shall  develop  a
 9    policy  for  incorporating  social  and emotional development
10    into the district's educational  program.  The  policy  shall
11    address  teaching  and  assessing social and emotional skills
12    and  protocols  for  responding  to  children  with   social,
13    emotional,  or  mental  health  problems, or a combination of
14    such problems, that impact learning  ability.  Each  district
15    must  submit  this  policy  to  the  Illinois  State Board of
16    Education by August 31, 2004.

17        Section 95.  The Illinois Public Aid Code is  amended  by
18    adding Section 5-5.23 as follows:

19        (305 ILCS 5/5-5.23 new)
20        Sec. 5-5.23.  Children's mental health services.
21        (a)  The Department of Public Aid, by rule, shall require
22    the  screening  and  assessment  of  a  child  prior  to  any
23    Medicaid-funded   admission  to  an  inpatient  hospital  for
24    psychiatric services to be funded by Medicaid. The  screening
25    and   assessment   shall   include  a  determination  of  the
26    appropriateness  and  availability  of  out-patient   support
27    services  for  necessary  treatment. The Department, by rule,
28    shall establish methods and  standards  of  payment  for  the
29    screening,  assessment,  and  necessary  alternative  support
30    services.
31        (b)  The   Department   of  Public  Aid,  to  the  extent
32    allowable under federal law, shall secure  federal  financial
 
                            -6-      LRB093 08901 DRJ 17196 a
 1    participation  for Individual Care Grant expenditures made by
 2    the Department of Human Services for  the  Medicaid  optional
 3    service  authorized  under  Section  1905(h)  of  the federal
 4    Social Security Act, pursuant to the  provisions  of  Section
 5    7.1  of  the  Mental  Health  and  Developmental Disabilities
 6    Administrative Act.
 7        (c)  The Department of Public Aid shall work jointly with
 8    the Department of Human Services to implement subsections (a)
 9    and (b).

10        Section 99.  Effective date. This Act takes  effect  upon
11    becoming law.".