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| 1 | AN ACT concerning State government.
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| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| 3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is amended | ||||||
| 5 | by adding Section 5.26 as follows: | ||||||
| 6 | (20 ILCS 505/5.26 new) | ||||||
| 7 | Sec. 5.26. Holistic Mental Health Care for Youth in Care | ||||||
| 8 | Task Force. | ||||||
| 9 | (a) The Holistic Mental Health Care for Youth in Care Task | ||||||
| 10 | Force is created. The Task Force shall review and make | ||||||
| 11 | recommendations regarding mental health and wellness services | ||||||
| 12 | provided to youth in care, including a program of holistic | ||||||
| 13 | mental health services provided 30 days after the date upon | ||||||
| 14 | which a youth is placed in foster care, in order to determine | ||||||
| 15 | how to best meet the mental health needs of youth in care. | ||||||
| 16 | Additionally, the Task Force shall: | ||||||
| 17 | (1) assess the capacity of State licensed mental | ||||||
| 18 | health professionals to provide preventive mental health | ||||||
| 19 | care to youth in care; | ||||||
| 20 | (2) review the current payment rates for mental health | ||||||
| 21 | providers serving the youth in care population; | ||||||
| 22 | (3) evaluate the process for smaller private practices | ||||||
| 23 | and agencies to bill through managed care, evaluate | ||||||
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| 1 | delayed payments to mental health providers, and recommend | ||||||
| 2 | improvements to make billing practices more efficient; | ||||||
| 3 | (4) evaluate the recruitment and retention of mental | ||||||
| 4 | health providers who are persons of color to serve the | ||||||
| 5 | youth in care population; and | ||||||
| 6 | (5) any other relevant subject and processes as deemed | ||||||
| 7 | necessary by the Task Force. | ||||||
| 8 | (b) The Task Force shall have 9 members, comprised as | ||||||
| 9 | follows: | ||||||
| 10 | (1) The Director of Healthcare and Family Services or | ||||||
| 11 | the Director's designee. | ||||||
| 12 | (2) The Director of Children and Family Services or | ||||||
| 13 | the Director's designee. | ||||||
| 14 | (3) A member appointed by the Governor from the Office | ||||||
| 15 | of the Governor who has a focus on mental health issues. | ||||||
| 16 | (4) Two members from the House of Representatives, | ||||||
| 17 | appointed one each by the Speaker of the House of | ||||||
| 18 | Representatives and the Minority Leader of the House of | ||||||
| 19 | Representatives. | ||||||
| 20 | (5) Two members of the Senate, appointed one each by | ||||||
| 21 | the President of the Senate and the Minority Leader of the | ||||||
| 22 | Senate. | ||||||
| 23 | (6) One member who is a former youth in care, | ||||||
| 24 | appointed by the Governor. | ||||||
| 25 | (7) One representative from the managed care entity | ||||||
| 26 | managing the YouthCare program, appointed by the Director | ||||||
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| 1 | of Healthcare and Family Services. | ||||||
| 2 | Task Force members shall serve without compensation but | ||||||
| 3 | may be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the | ||||||
| 4 | performance of their duties. | ||||||
| 5 | (c) The Task Force shall meet at least once each month | ||||||
| 6 | beginning no later than July 1, 2022 and at other times as | ||||||
| 7 | determined by the Task Force. The Task Force may hold | ||||||
| 8 | electronic meetings and a member of the Task Force shall be | ||||||
| 9 | deemed present for the purposes of establishing a quorum and | ||||||
| 10 | voting. | ||||||
| 11 | (d) The Department of Healthcare and Family Services, in | ||||||
| 12 | conjunction with the Department of Children and Family | ||||||
| 13 | Services, shall provide administrative and other support to | ||||||
| 14 | the Task Force. | ||||||
| 15 | (e) The Task Force shall prepare and submit to the | ||||||
| 16 | Governor and the General Assembly at the end of each quarter a | ||||||
| 17 | report that summarizes its work and makes recommendations | ||||||
| 18 | resulting from its study. The Task Force shall submit its | ||||||
| 19 | final report to the Governor and the General Assembly no later | ||||||
| 20 | than December 31, 2024. Upon submission of its final report, | ||||||
| 21 | the Task Force is dissolved. | ||||||
| 22 | (f) This Section is repealed on January 1, 2026.
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| 23 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
| 24 | becoming law.
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