Public Act 93-0495

SB1951 Enrolled                      LRB093 08901 RCE 09133 b

    AN ACT in relation to children.

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

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

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

    WHEREAS,  Children's  social  development  and  emotional
development  are  essential underpinnings to school readiness
and academic success; and

    WHEREAS, A comprehensive, coordinated  children's  mental
health  system  can  help  maximize  resources  and  minimize
duplication of services; and

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

    Be it  enacted  by  the  People  of  the  State  of  Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:

    Section  1.  Short  title.  This  Act may be cited as the
Children's Mental Health Act of 2003.
    Section 5.  Children's Mental Health Plan.
    (a)  The State of Illinois  shall  develop  a  Children's
Mental   Health  Plan  containing  short-term  and  long-term
recommendations to provide comprehensive, coordinated  mental
health prevention, early intervention, and treatment services
for  children  from  birth  through  age  18. This Plan shall
include but not be limited to:
         (1)  Coordinated provider services  and  interagency
    referral  networks for children from birth through age 18
    to  maximize  resources  and  minimize   duplication   of
    services.
         (2)  Guidelines   for   incorporating   social   and
    emotional  development into school learning standards and
    educational programs, pursuant to Section 15 of this Act.
         (3)  Protocols  for   implementing   screening   and
    assessment  of  children  prior  to  any  admission to an
    inpatient hospital for psychiatric services, pursuant  to
    subsection  (a)  of Section 5-5.23 of the Illinois Public
    Aid Code.
         (4)  Recommendations regarding a  State  budget  for
    children's  mental health prevention, early intervention,
    and treatment across all State agencies.
         (5)  Recommendations for State and local  mechanisms
    for integrating federal, State, and local funding sources
    for children's mental health.
         (6)  Recommendations  for  building  a qualified and
    adequately trained workforce prepared to  provide  mental
    health  services  for  children from birth through age 18
    and their families.
         (7)  Recommendations for  facilitating  research  on
    best  practices  and model programs, and dissemination of
    this information to Illinois policymakers, practitioners,
    and  the  general  public  through  training,   technical
    assistance, and educational materials.
         (8)  Recommendations     for     a    comprehensive,
    multi-faceted public awareness  campaign  to  reduce  the
    stigma  of  mental  illness  and  educate  families,  the
    general   public,  and  other  key  audiences  about  the
    benefits of children's social and emotional  development,
    and how to access services.
         (9)  Recommendations  for  creating a quality-driven
    children's   mental    health    system    with    shared
    accountability among key State agencies and programs that
    conducts   ongoing   needs   assessments,   uses  outcome
    indicators  and  benchmarks  to  measure  progress,   and
    implements quality data tracking and reporting systems.
    (b)  The  Children's Mental Health Partnership (hereafter
referred to as "the Partnership") is created. The Partnership
shall have the responsibility of  developing  and  monitoring
the  implementation  of  the Children's Mental Health Plan as
approved  by  the  Governor.  The  Children's  Mental  Health
Partnership shall be comprised of:  the  Secretary  of  Human
Services  or his or her designee; the State Superintendent of
Education or his  or  her  designee;  the  directors  of  the
departments  of  Children  and  Family  Services, Public Aid,
Public Health, and Corrections, or their designees;  the head
of the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority, or his or  her
designee;  the Attorney General or his or her designee; up to
25 representatives of community mental health authorities and
statewide mental health, children and family advocacy,  early
childhood,   education,  health,  substance  abuse,  violence
prevention,   and   juvenile   justice    organizations    or
associations,  to be appointed by the Governor; and 2 members
of each caucus of the House  of  Representatives  and  Senate
appointed  by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and
the President of the Senate, respectively. The Governor shall
appoint  the  Partnership  Chair  and   shall   designate   a
Governor's staff liaison to work with the Partnership.
    (c)  The  Partnership  shall submit a Preliminary Plan to
the Governor on September 30, 2004 and shall submit the Final
Plan on June 30, 2005. Thereafter, on September  30  of  each
year,  the  Partnership  shall submit an annual report to the
Governor  on  the  progress  of   Plan   implementation   and
recommendations for revisions in the Plan. The Final Plan and
annual  reports  submitted  in subsequent years shall include
estimates of savings achieved in  prior  fiscal  years  under
subsection  (a)  of Section 5-5.23 of the Illinois Public Aid
Code  and  federal  financial  participation  received  under
subsection  (b)  of  Section  5-5.23  of  that   Code.    The
Department  of  Public Aid shall provide technical assistance
in developing these estimates and reports.

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

    Section 15.  Mental health and schools.
    (a)  The Illinois State Board of Education shall  develop
and  implement  a  plan  to  incorporate social and emotional
development  standards  as  part  of  the  Illinois  Learning
Standards  for  the  purpose  of  enhancing   and   measuring
children's  school  readiness and ability to achieve academic
success. The plan shall be submitted  to  the  Governor,  the
General Assembly, and the Partnership by December 31, 2004.
    (b)  Every  Illinois  school  district  shall  develop  a
policy  for  incorporating  social  and emotional development
into the district's educational  program.  The  policy  shall
address  teaching  and  assessing social and emotional skills
and  protocols  for  responding  to  children  with   social,
emotional,  or  mental  health  problems, or a combination of
such problems, that impact learning  ability.  Each  district
must  submit  this  policy  to  the  Illinois  State Board of
Education by August 31, 2004.

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

    (305 ILCS 5/5-5.23 new)
    Sec. 5-5.23.  Children's mental health services.
    (a)  The Department of Public Aid, by rule, shall require
the  screening  and  assessment  of  a  child  prior  to  any
Medicaid-funded   admission  to  an  inpatient  hospital  for
psychiatric services to be funded by Medicaid. The  screening
and   assessment   shall   include  a  determination  of  the
appropriateness  and  availability  of  out-patient   support
services  for  necessary  treatment. The Department, by rule,
shall establish methods and  standards  of  payment  for  the
screening,  assessment,  and  necessary  alternative  support
services.
    (b)  The   Department   of  Public  Aid,  to  the  extent
allowable under federal law, shall secure  federal  financial
participation  for Individual Care Grant expenditures made by
the Department of Human Services for  the  Medicaid  optional
service  authorized  under  Section  1905(h)  of  the federal
Social Security Act, pursuant to the  provisions  of  Section
7.1  of  the  Mental  Health  and  Developmental Disabilities
Administrative Act.
    (c)  The Department of Public Aid shall work jointly with
the Department of Human Services to implement subsections (a)
and (b).

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