(405 ILCS 115/5)

Sec. 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds that:

(1) the medical science is clear that mental health treatment works to improve mental health conditions and manage symptoms but it can take, on average, 10 years for a child or young adult with a significant condition to receive the right diagnosis and treatment from the time the first symptoms began, and nearly two-thirds of children and adults never get treatment;

(2) long treatment lags can lead to debilitating conditions and permanent disability;

(3) suicide, often due to untreated depression, is the second leading cause of death in this State for children and young adults ranging in age from 10 to 34;

(4) between 40% to 50% of heroin and other drug addiction begins to self-medicate an underlying, untreated mental health condition;

(5) important State reforms on improving access to mental health and substance use treatment are underway and others are pending, but more needs to be done to address this State's serious systemic challenges to early identification and treatment of mental health conditions;

(6) the medical and mental health treatment communities across this State are implementing many evidence-based best practices on early screening, identification and treatment of mental health conditions, including co-located and integrated care, despite limited resources and major access to care challenges across the State; and

(7) establishing an Advisory Council on Early Identification and Treatment of Mental Health Conditions to:

(A) report and share information on evidence-based best practices related to early identification and treatment being implemented across this State and other states;

(B) assist in advancing all providers to move toward implementation of evidence-based best practices, irrespective of payer such as Medicaid or private insurance;

(C) identify the barriers to statewide implementation of early identification and treatment across all providers; and

(D) reduce the stigma of mental health conditions by treating them like any other medical condition;

will outline the path to enabling thousands of children, youth, and young adults in this State living with mental health conditions, including those related to trauma, to get the early diagnosis and treatment they need to effectively manage their condition and avoid potentially life-long debilitating symptoms.

(Source: P.A. 100-184, eff. 1-1-18; 100-863, eff. 8-14-18.)