93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2003 and 2004
HB4306

 

Introduced 02/02/04, by James H. Meyer

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
20 ILCS 505/5.25 new

    Amends the Children and Family Services Act. Provides that every child placed under the Act shall be evaluated for the purpose of mental illness diagnosis. Provides that every child with a diagnosis of mental illness shall receive the necessary mental health services. Provides that no later than January 1, 2005, the Department of Children and Family Services shall file a proposal addressing the implementation of mental health services. Provides that the Department shall provide or arrange for the training of staff responsible for the oversight of childcare agencies or facilities. Requires that the child be placed in or near the community in which the child resided prior to the placement or in the community in which the child's family or nearest next of kin presently reside. Provides that prior to any placement, a determination shall be made as to the capability and suitability of the program, facility, or home to adequately meet the needs of the child being placed and to ensure that an appropriate training plan for staff is provided. Provides that all children must be visited by trained personnel at least once during the first month following placement and once every month thereafter. Provides that upon a complaint or a discovery of abuse, neglect, improper care, or inadequate care, the Department shall immediately investigate and remove the child. Provides for the independent expert evaluation of every child with a primary or secondary diagnosis of mental illness residing in every program, facility, or home licensed under the Child Care Act or receiving State funds for certain services. Provides that the Department shall prepare an assessment of each mental health community service network and complete all required individual and network assessments by January 1, 2006. Effective immediately.


LRB093 20427 RAS 46209 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB4306 LRB093 20427 RAS 46209 b

1     AN ACT concerning children.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is amended
5 by adding Section 5.25 as follows:
 
6     (20 ILCS 505/5.25 new)
7     Section 5.25. Mental health services.
8     (a) Every child placed under this Act shall be evaluated
9 for the purpose of mental illness diagnosis. Every child placed
10 under this Act with a diagnosis of mental illness shall receive
11 necessary mental health services, including but not limited to
12 medical management, individual and group therapy, psychosocial
13 rehabilitation, vocational services, and hospitalization.
14 Services shall be appropriate to meet the needs of the
15 individual child; may be provided by a program, a facility, a
16 home, or an outside mental health services provider; and may be
17 provided to the child at the site of the program, facility, or
18 home or at an otherwise appropriate location. A program,
19 facility, or home shall assist in arranging for a child to
20 receive mental health services from an outside provider when
21 those services are necessary in meeting the child's needs and
22 the child wishes to receive them.
23     (b) As used in this Section, "mental illness" means a
24 mental or emotional disorder verified by a diagnosis contained
25 in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,
26 Third Edition-Revised (or any subsequent edition), or
27 International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision,
28 Clinical Modification (or any subsequent revision) that
29 substantially impairs the individual's cognitive, emotional,
30 or behavioral functioning; excluding (i) V codes, (ii) organic
31 disorders such as dementia and those associated with known or
32 unknown physical conditions such as hallucinosis, amnestic

 

 

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1 disorder, and delirium, (iii) psychoactive substance induced
2 organic disorders, (iv) mental retardation, and (v)
3 psychoactive substance use disorder. Not excluded, however, is
4 a dual diagnosis of mental illness and mental retardation or of
5 mental illness and psychoactive substance use disorder.
6     (c) No later than January 1, 2005, in cooperation with the
7 Illinois Department of Human Services, the Department of
8 Children and Family Services shall file a proposed rule or a
9 proposed amendment to an existing rule regarding the provision
10 of mental health services to children who have a serious mental
11 illness. The proposal shall address, but is not limited to, the
12 implementation of the following: assessment, care planning,
13 treatment, and discharge planning for those who are under the
14 supervision or admitted to a child welfare agency, secure child
15 care facility, foster family home, group home, or child care
16 institution licensed or funded by the Department.
17     (d) The Department shall provide or arrange for the
18 training of staff responsible for the oversight of childcare
19 agencies or facilities in the following areas: (i) assessment,
20 (ii) care planning, and (iii) care of children with mental
21 illness. The training shall enable these staff surveyors to
22 determine whether an agency, program, facility, or home is
23 complying with State and federal requirements concerning the
24 assessment, care planning, and care of those children.
25     (e) The program, facility, or home in which a child is
26 placed under this Act shall, to the extent that resources
27 permit, be located in or near the community in which the child
28 resided prior to the placement, or in the community in which
29 the child's family or nearest next of kin presently reside.
30 Placement of the child in programs, facilities, or homes
31 located outside of this State shall not be made by the
32 Department unless there are no appropriate programs,
33 facilities, or homes available within this State. Out-of-state
34 placements shall be subject to the return of the children so
35 placed upon the availability of programs, facilities, or homes
36 within this State, except when placement in a contiguous state

 

 

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1 results in locating a child in a program, facility, or home
2 closer to the child's home or family. If an appropriate
3 program, facility, or home equidistant or closer to the child's
4 home or family becomes available, the child shall be returned
5 to and placed at the appropriate program, facility, or home
6 within this State.
7     (f) Prior to any placement by the Department under this
8 Act, a determination shall be made by personnel of the
9 Department as to the capability and suitability of the program,
10 facility, or home to adequately meet the needs of the child
11 being placed. When specialized programs are necessary, the
12 Department shall place the children so that specialized care
13 can be provided in accordance with Department standards, which
14 may include a restricted admission policy, special staffing,
15 and programming for social and vocational rehabilitation, in
16 addition to licensing requirements. The Department shall not
17 place any children in a program, facility, or home the license
18 of which has been revoked or not renewed on the grounds of
19 inadequate programming, staffing, or medical or adjunctive
20 services, regardless of the pendency of an action for
21 administrative review regarding the revocation or failure to
22 renew.
23     (g) Prior to placement of any child under this Act, the
24 Department shall ensure that an appropriate training plan for
25 staff is provided by the program, facility, or home in which
26 the child is to be placed. The training may include instruction
27 and demonstrations by Department personnel qualified in the
28 area of mental illness, as applicable to the child being
29 placed. The training shall be on a continual basis as the needs
30 of the program, facility, home, and children change.
31     The Department shall not place any child into a program,
32 facility, or home that does not have appropriately trained
33 staff in numbers sufficient to accommodate the children in the
34 program, facility, or home. As a condition of further or future
35 placements of children, the Department may require the
36 employment of additional trained staff members at the program,

 

 

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1 facility, or home where the children are to be placed. The
2 Director, or his or her designate, shall establish written
3 guidelines for placement of persons in programs, facilities,
4 and homes under this Section. The Department shall keep written
5 records detailing which programs, facilities, or homes have
6 been determined to have appropriately trained staff or have
7 been determined not to have appropriately trained staff, and
8 all training that the Department has provided or required under
9 this Section.
10     (h) The Department shall cause all children who are placed
11 under this Act to be visited at least once during the first
12 month following placement and once every month thereafter.
13 Visits shall be made by personnel qualified and trained in the
14 area of mental health or developmental disabilities applicable
15 to the child visited, and shall be made on a more frequent
16 basis when indicated. The Department may not use any personnel
17 connected with or responsible to the representatives of any
18 program, facility, or home in which children have been placed
19 under this Act. In the course of the visits consideration shall
20 be given to areas including, but not limited to (i) the
21 physical and mental health of the person, (ii) the sufficiency
22 of care required by the person, (iii) the sufficiency of staff
23 personnel, (iv) the ability of staff personnel to provide care
24 for the child, (v) the availability of educational, social,
25 recreational, and programmatic activities, and (vi) other
26 appropriate aspects of the child's environment. A report
27 containing these observations shall be made to the Department
28 and to any other appropriate agency after each visitation. The
29 report shall contain a detailed assessment of whether the child
30 is receiving adequate and humane care and services in the least
31 restrictive environment. If the child is not receiving those
32 services, the Department shall require that the program,
33 facility, or home either modify the treatment plan to ensure
34 that those services are provided or make arrangements necessary
35 to provide those services elsewhere.
36     (i) Upon the complaint of any child placed in accordance

 

 

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1 with this Act or any responsible citizen, or upon discovery
2 that the child has been abused, neglected, or improperly cared
3 for or that the placement does not provide the type of care
4 required by the child's current condition, the Department shall
5 immediately investigate and determine if the well-being,
6 health, care, or safety of the child is affected. If abuse,
7 neglect, improper care, or inadequate care is verified, the
8 Department shall immediately remove the child to another
9 program, facility, or home if the child's needs can be met at
10 the new program, facility, or home.
11     (j) The Department shall arrange for the independent expert
12 evaluation of every child with a primary or secondary diagnosis
13 of mental illness residing in every program, facility, or home
14 licensed under the Child Care Act or receiving State funds for
15 services provided to children under this Act. The evaluation
16 shall describe, at a minimum, each individual's current mental
17 health status, rehabilitation potential, treatment needs, and
18 the extent that the current placement is meeting those needs.
19 The evaluation shall include a recommendation about the most
20 appropriate treatment setting for the individual. The
21 assessment of treatment needs and rehabilitation potential
22 shall be made without regard for the current availability of
23 the services an individual may need. Evaluations shall be
24 performed by qualified mental health professionals. The
25 Department may use existing pre-admission screening agencies
26 and pre-admission agents to perform the evaluations.
27     (k) The Department shall also prepare an assessment of each
28 mental health community service network in the State. This
29 assessment shall evaluate the resources needed in each network
30 to provide appropriate mental health services for all children
31 within the network's service area who have mental illness. The
32 assessments shall include, at a minimum, an analysis of the
33 current availability and needs in each of the following areas:
34 (i) mental health treatment, (ii) qualified mental health
35 professionals, (iii) case managers, (iv) programs for
36 psychosocial rehabilitation, (v) housing and supportive

 

 

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1 services, (vi) vocational assistance, and (vii) programs for
2 substance abuse.
3     By January 1, 2006, the Department shall complete all
4 required individual and network assessments and shall submit a
5 written report to the Governor and the General Assembly that
6 describes the results of the assessment and contains a specific
7 plan to address the identified needs for mental health
8 services.
9     (l) The Department shall adopt rules governing the purchase
10 of care for children who are wards of or who are receiving
11 services from the Department. The rules shall apply to all
12 moneys expended by any agency of the State for services
13 rendered by any person, corporate entity, agency, governmental
14 agency, or political subdivision, whether public or private,
15 outside of the Department, whether payment is made through a
16 contractual, per-diem, or other arrangement. No funds shall be
17 paid to any person, corporation, agency, governmental entity,
18 or political subdivision without compliance with these rules.
19 The rules governing the purchase of care shall describe the
20 categories and types of services deemed appropriate for
21 purchase by the Department and the accounting standards that
22 provide assurances that those services have been provided.
 
23     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
24 becoming law.