(405 ILCS 150/5)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2025)

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

(1) In the summer of 2022, 31% of Illinois adults experienced symptoms of anxiety or depression more than half of the days of each week, which is an increase of 20% since 2019.

(2) Suicide is the third leading cause of death in Illinois for young adults who are 15 to 34 years of age, and it is the 11th leading cause of death for all Illinoisans. In 2021, 1,488 Illinois lives were lost to suicide, and an estimated 376,000 adults had thoughts of suicide.

(3) Historically, people in Illinois and nationwide have had few and fragmented options to call upon during a mental health crisis and have relied upon 9-1-1 and various privately funded crisis lines for help.

(4) In July 2022, Illinois joined the nation in launching the 9-8-8 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, a universal 3-digit dialing code for a national suicide prevention and mental health hotline, meant to offer 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week access to trained counselors who can help people experiencing mental health-related distress.

(5) Congress delegated to the states significant decision-making responsibility for structuring and funding the states' 9-8-8 call center networks.

(6) States had limited data on which to base their initial decisions because the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's projections of future increases in call volumes varied widely, and there was no national best-practice model for the number and organization of 9-8-8 call centers.

(7) The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration described the 2022 launch of 9-8-8 as being just the first step toward reimagining our country's mental health crisis system and stipulated that long-term transformation will rely on the willingness of states and territories to build and invest strategically in every level of the continuum of mental health crisis care over the next several years.

(8) In 2023, the General Assembly and other State leaders can assess the first year of operations of the 9-8-8 call center system, identify legislative solutions to any funding and programmatic gaps that are emerging, and set the course for Illinois to eventually lead the country in providing quality and accessible 9-8-8 care and in connecting individuals with the mental health resources necessary to sustain long-term recovery.

(9) The launch of the 9-8-8 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline has created a once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve mental health crisis care in Illinois.

(10) Illinois' success or failure in building a high-quality call center network in the initial years will be an important factor in determining whether 9-8-8 is perceived as a trusted resource in the State.

(11) Illinois' success or failure in building a high-quality 9-8-8 call center network will disproportionately affect Black, Brown, and other marginalized residents who are most likely to rely on crisis services to access mental health care and are most likely to be criminalized or harmed by the existing crisis response system.

(Source: P.A. 103-105, eff. 6-27-23.)