102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB4317
 
Introduced , by Rep. Denyse Wang Stoneback
 
SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:



New Act

 Creates the Commission on Mental Health Reform Act. Creates the Commission on Mental Health Reform. Establishes membership on the Commission and its duties. Provides that the Commission shall be chaired by the Secretary of Human Services or the Secretary's designee. Provides that the Department of Human Services shall provide necessary administrative and other support for the Commission. Provides that the Commission, with administrative support provided by the Department of Human Services, shall produce and
submit policy recommendations, both administrative and legislative, to the General
Assembly and the Governor in the form of an annual report. Provides that the annual report shall include summary information about mental health services in
the State, including challenges, deficiency in services, and recommendations for increasing
and improving mental health services and bringing about reform. Provides that the report must
address all of the concerns and issues listed. Provides that the Commission shall submit the annual report
in the month of March, and during this month its representatives shall testify before the
Mental Health and Addiction Committee of the House of Representatives and the Health Committee of the Senate to present its findings,
make recommendations, and answer questions. Provides that the first annual report shall
be submitted within one year after the first meeting of the Commission. Provides that the Commission shall be dissolved 5 years after the effective date of the Act. Repeal the Act 6 years after its effective date.



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A BILL FOR
 


HB4317LRB102 22494 RLC 31635 b



1 AN ACT concerning health.


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 
5Commission on Mental Health Reform Act.

6 Section 5. Commission on Mental Health Reform. 
7 (a) It is the intent of the General Assembly to create a 
8Commission on Mental Health Reform to:
9  (1) assess the current needs
and advise on the 
10 necessary reform of mental health services in this State;
11  (2) build upon the existing reform efforts with which 
12 State agencies, coalitions,
and advocates are currently 
13 engaged in the field of mental health;
14  (3) have a
critical role in bringing agencies together 
15 to coordinate initiatives, share information, and create
a 
16 larger systemic impact. This coordination and the input of 
17 stakeholders who had mental health issues shall
provide a 
18 foundation to align systems and identify and bridge 
19 systemic gaps around mental health
to best serve the needs 
20 of the residents of this State;
21  (4) assess the landscape of mental health care in this 
22 State and determine the
levels of service and investment 
23 of resources in geographical areas across the State; and 
 
 
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1  (5) make recommendations on the next steps for future 
2 investments and
actions based upon apparent needs.
3 (b) There is created the Commission on Mental Health 
4Reform composed of at least 37 members. The Commission shall 
5be appointed by the Secretary of Human Services or the

6Secretary's designee and shall be composed of at least the 
7following:
8  (1) the Director of Public Health or the Director's 
9 designee;
10  (2) the Director of the Division of Mental Health of 
11 the Department of Human Services, or the Director's 
12 designee;
13  (3) the Secretary of Human Services or the Secretary's 
14 designee;
15  (4) the Director of the Division of Developmental 
16 Disabilities, or the
Director's designee;

17  (5) the Director of Children and Family Services or 
18 the Director's designee;
19  (6) the Director of Healthcare and Family Services or 
20 the Director's designee;
21  (7) the Director of Juvenile Justice or the Director's 
22 designee;
23  (8) the Director of Corrections or the Director's 
24 designee;
25  (9) the Director of Insurance or the Director's 
26 designee;
 
 
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1  (10) a representative of the Governor's Office of 
2 Management and Budget;
3  (11) the Director of the Illinois Housing Development 
4 Authority or the Director's designee;

5  (12) the Director of Aging or the Director's designee;
6  (13) a mental health clinician with experience 
7 managing or directing a program in another state
where 
8 mental health services are successful;
9  (14) an expert mental health clinician who has 
10 experience evaluating and providing services to
people in 
11 psychiatric distress in emergency room settings;
12  (15) representatives from at least 3 geographically 
13 diverse mental health provider agencies
in Illinois, with 
14 experience in community-based services;
15  (16) at least 2 members of the House of 
16 Representatives who serve on the Mental Health and

17 Addiction Committee or the Human Services Committee; 
18  (17) at least 2 members of the Senate who serve on the 
19 Health Committee;
20  (18) a representative from a public health 
21 organization that does research on the treatment of
mental 
22 health conditions and diseases;
23  (19) representatives from at least 2 non-profit 
24 organizations that educate and advocate for
people with 
25 mental health conditions;
26  (20) a Medicaid recipient who has received mental 
 
 
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1 health services in this State;
2  (21) a family member of a Medicaid recipient who has 
3 received mental health
services in this State;
4  (22) a member of law enforcement who has been trained 
5 in Crisis Intervention Training;
6  (23) a representative from a non-profit organization 
7 that educates and advocates for the
prevention of suicide;
8  (22) the Director of the Office of Firearm Violence 
9 Prevention or the Director's designee;

10  (23) a psychiatrist and a therapist or psychologist 
11 specializing in the treatment of adults;

12  (24) a psychiatrist and a therapist or psychologist 
13 specializing in the treatment of children and
youth;
14  (25) a mental health specialist who serves clients who 
15 have been recently incarcerated;
16  (26) a representative of the Community and Residential 
17 Services Authority;
18  (27) a representative of the State Board of Education; 
19 and
20  (28) a representative of the Office of State Guardian.
21 Additional members
may be included on the Commission at 
22the discretion of the Secretary of Human Services to achieve 
23geographic diversity, balance, or representation of necessary

24perspectives.
25 Other than ex officio members, members of the Commission 
26shall serve 3-year terms. With the exception of persons 
 
 
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1impacted by mental health issues serving on the Commission, 
2the members of the Commission shall serve without 
3compensation. The members of the Commission impacted by mental 
4health issues shall receive a stipend from appropriations made 
5to them by the General Assembly.
6 (c) The Commission shall be chaired by the Secretary of 
7Human Services or the Secretary's designee. The first meeting 
8of the Commission shall be convened no later than 3 months 
9after the effective date of this Act. Meeting of the 
10Commission are subject to the Open Meetings Act. The 
11Commission may meet in person or virtually to carry out its 
12duties. The Department of Human Services shall provide 
13necessary administrative and other support for the Commission. 
14All State agencies represented on the Commission, including 
15the Department of Public Health, Department of Corrections, 
16Department of Juvenile Justice, Department of Children and 
17Family Services, Healthcare and Family Services, Department on 
18Aging,
Department of Human Services, Illinois Housing 
19Development Authority, Governor's Office of Management and 
20Budget, Department of Insurance, State Board of Education, and 
21Office of State Guardian, shall facilitate the prompt and 
22timely collection
and provision of data as requested by or on 
23behalf of the Commission. The facilitation
shall include, 
24without limitation, authorizing the provision of reports and 
25underlying State
agency data that the State agency currently 
26or previously has provided or made available
to university 
 
 
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1partners and consultants. Any data provided by State agencies 
2shall redact any
personally identifiable information of any 
3clients or families before release to the
Commission.
4 (d) The Commission may organize into sub-committees or 
5subgroups if it deems necessary.
The sub-committees or 
6subgroups shall be working groups focused on the following

7areas:
8  (1) budgetary needs and insurance;
9  (2) clinician assessment and recommendations for 
10 mental health care for adults;
11  (3) clinician assessment and recommendations for 
12 mental health care for children
and youth; and

13  (4) mental health needs of persons who are or have 
14 been incarcerated.

15 (e)
The Commission shall:
16  (1) assess needs for mental health care in this State;
17  (2) identify gaps around mental health in geographical 
18 areas across this State;
19  (3) establish rules around data collection and 
20 publishing;
21  (4) meet benchmarks stipulated in this Act and 
22 establish a more specific timeframe for
recommended 
23 reform;
24  (5) in order to align systems, identify when 
25 coordination of initiatives, sharing of information,
and 
26 transparency is needed between agencies on
data of 
 
 
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1 availability of mental health and related services, and 
2 funding streams for mental health services;
3  (6) issue recommendations, goals, and benchmarks for:
4   (A) improvements to and expansion of 
5 community-based mental health and
substance abuse 
6 treatment services including through Assertive 
7 Community
Treatment (ACT) and Intensive Case 
8 Management (ICM) Teams;

9   (B) increasing early diagnosis and treatment 
10 rather than late-stage treatment of
mental health 
11 conditions;
12   (C) increasing availability of psychiatric 
13 residential placements based on data
analysis and in 
14 accordance with least-restrictive standard of care;
15   (D) in accordance with least-restrictive care 
16 principles building service capacity, improving access 
17 to services by reforming Medicaid rates to cover the 
18 cost,
enable capacity growth, and institute 
19 value-based payment;
20   (E) building a system of care for children and 
21 young adults;
22   (F) increasing mental health
care for children;
23   (G) improving insurance practices and coverage of 
24 proven treatments, including
implementing and 
25 enforcing parity laws, and ensuring coverage of proven

26 treatments not covered by insurance;
 
 
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1   (H) developing the mental health workforce through 
2 incentives to grow this workforce;
3   (I) enabling affordable housing through rental 
4 subsidies, through investment in
rental subsidies, 
5 combined with treatment, supportive housing, diversion 
6 strategies to stop the cycle of hospitalizations, and 
7 criminal legal system
involvement for those persons 
8 with disabilities and left homeless by their

9 disability;
10   (J) treating currently incarcerated people who 
11 suffer from mental health conditions;
12   (K) improving coordination of mental health 
13 related services between government
agencies, service 
14 providers, and patients; and
15   (L) easing the administrative burdens that are a 
16 barrier to access to mental health
services;
17  (7) take action and implement its findings and

18 recommendations. An explanation must be provided in the 
19 annual report for any
recommendation an agency does not 
20 choose to implement;
21  (8) review the relevant consent decrees and focus 
22 recommendations to comply with the following
consent 
23 decrees:
24   (A) Lippert v. Jeffreys (Department of 
25 Corrections-healthcare);
26   (B) Monroe v. Jeffreys (Department of 
 
 
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1 Corrections-gender dysphoria treatment); 
2   (C) Rasho v. Jeffreys (Department of 
3 Corrections-mental health care);
4   (D) RJ v. Mueller (Department of Juvenile 
5 Justice-conditions and services available to persons 
6 confined at State-operated juvenile justice facilities 
7 including issues re: mental health
and confinement 
8 conditions);
9   (E) Williams v. Pritzker (Department on Aging, 
10 Healthcare and Family Services, Department of Human 
11 Services-individuals in nursing homes for persons
with 
12 mental illnesses-Olmstead);
13   (F) Ligas v. Eagleson (Healthcare and Family 
14 Services-unnecessary segregation and 
15 institutionalization of
persons with developmental 
16 disabilities in large intermediate care facilities 
17 when
they could be better served in smaller, community 
18 settings-Olmstead);
19   (G) BH v. Smith (Department of Children and Family 
20 Services-care and conditions including severe 
21 shortages of mental
health services and substandard 
22 conditions at various residential treatment
centers 
23 treating youth in care);
24   (H) NB v. Eagleson (Healthcare and Family 
25 Services-Medicaid eligible children under 21 with a 
26 mental or
behavioral health diagnosis in need of 
 
 
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1 community-based services);
2   (I) Colbert v. Pritzker (Department of Human 
3 Services, Healthcare and Family 
4 Services-institutionalizing people with disabilities 
5 when
they could live in their own homes or other small, 
6 community-based settings-Olmstead); and
7   (J)
Memisovski v. Maram (Healthcare and Family 
8 Services, Department of Human Services-access and 
9 availability of Medicaid services to
children).
10 (e) The Commission, with administrative support provided 
11by the Department of Human Services, shall produce and
submit 
12policy recommendations, both administrative and legislative, 
13to the General
Assembly and the Governor in the form of an 
14annual report. The first annual report shall
be submitted 
15within one year after the first meeting of the Commission.
16 The annual report shall include summary information about 
17mental health services in
this State, including challenges, 
18deficiency in services, and recommendations for increasing
and 
19improving mental health services and bringing about reform. 
20The report must
address all of the concerns and issues listed. 
21The Commission shall submit the annual report
in the month of 
22March, and during this month its representatives shall testify 
23before the
Mental Health and Addiction Committee of the House 
24of Representatives and the Health Committee of the Senate to 
25present its findings,
make recommendations, and answer 
26questions. The Directors of Public Health, Children and Family 
 
 
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1Services,
Juvenile Justice, Department of Corrections, 
2Healthcare and Family Services, Aging, Insurance, Governor's 
3Office of Management and Budget, Illinois Housing Development 
4Authority, State Board of Education, the Secretary of Human 
5Services, and a representative of the Office of the
Governor 
6shall testify before these committees as to their respective 
7actions taken in
response to the findings and recommendations 
8of the Commission. Any State agency that
has not adopted or 
9implemented a Commission recommendation made for that agency,

10shall provide written and oral testimony explaining their 
11rationale for this decision. The
annual reports shall include 
12the following items:
13  (1) Year 1: Identification of gaps in mental health 
14 care. Assessment of budgetary
needs for State agencies to 
15 build necessary service capacity to meet the needs of

16 mental health in this State. Assessment of each State 
17 agency's compliance with
requirements of consent decrees 
18 and the State agency's responses to its level
of 
19 compliance.
20  (2) Year 2: Report on the progression of 
21 implementation of recommended actions
from Year 1, 
22 including barriers to progress and recommended actions to 
23 address
these barriers. Roles of State agencies, 
24 coalitions, advocates, and other
stakeholders currently 
25 engaged in the field of mental health in this State.

26 Recommendations of needed coordination between them to 
 
 
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1 bridge the systemic
gaps.
2  (3) Year 3: Report on the progression of 
3 implementation of recommended actions
from Years 1 and 2, 
4 including barriers to progress and recommended actions to

5 address these barriers. Recommendations for expansion of 
6 community-based
mental health and substance abuse 
7 treatment services.
8  (4) Year 4: Report on the progression of 
9 implementation of recommended actions
from Years 1, 2, and 
10 3, including barriers to progress and recommended actions

11 to address such barriers. Phasing in of recommendations 
12 for gaps in mental
health care.
13  (5) Year 5: Report on the progression of 
14 implementation of recommended actions
from previous Years. 
15 Phasing in of recommendations for gaps in mental health

16 care.
17 (f)
The Commission chair shall convene a final meeting 
18before the repeal date of this Act to
discuss an 
19implementation plan based on the produced policy 
20recommendations.
21 (g) The Commission shall be dissolved 5 years after the 
22effective date of this Act.

23 Section 10. Repeal. This Act is repealed 6 years after the 
24effective date of this Act.