(430 ILCS 69/35-35)

Sec. 35-35. Intensive youth intervention services.

(a) Subject to appropriation, for municipalities with 1,000,000 or more residents, the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall issue grants to high-risk youth intervention organizations for evidence-based intervention services that reduce involvement in the criminal and juvenile justice system, increase school attendance, and refer high-risk teens into therapeutic programs that address trauma recovery and other mental health improvements. Each program participant enrolled in a high-risk youth intervention program under this Act shall receive a nationally recognized comprehensive mental health assessment delivered by a qualified mental health professional certified to provide services to Medicaid recipients.

(b) High-risk youth intervention program participants shall receive needed services as determined by the individualized assessment which may include, but is not limited to:

(1) receive group-based emotional regulation therapy that helps them control their emotions and understand how trauma and stress impacts their thinking and behavior; and

(2) have youth advocates that accompany them to their group therapy sessions, assist them with issues that prevent them from attending school, and address life skills development activities through weekly coaching.

(b-5) High-risk youth intervention service organizations shall have trained clinical staff managing the youth advocate interface with program participants.

(c) Youth development service organizations and providers of evidence-based violence prevention services shall be assigned to the youth intervention service providers for referrals by the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention.

(d) The youth receiving intervention services who are evaluated to need trauma recovery and other behavioral health interventions and who have the greatest risk of firearm violence victimization shall be referred to the family systems intervention services established in Section 35-55.

(e) The Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall issue high-risk youth intervention grants, when possible and appropriate, to no less than 2 youth intervention organizations and no more than 4 organizations in municipalities with 1,000,000 or more residents.

(f) No high-risk youth intervention organization can serve more than 13 eligible service areas.

(g) The approved technical assistance and training providers for youth development programs provided in subsection (d) of Section 35-30 shall also provide technical assistance and training to the affiliated high-risk youth intervention service providers.

(h) (Blank).

(Source: P.A. 102-16, eff. 6-17-21; 102-679, eff. 12-10-21; 103-8, eff. 6-7-23.)