Information maintained by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Updating the database of the Illinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS) is an ongoing process. Recent laws may not yet be included in the ILCS database, but they are found on this site as Public Acts soon after they become law. For information concerning the relationship between statutes and Public Acts, refer to the Guide.

Because the statute database is maintained primarily for legislative drafting purposes, statutory changes are sometimes included in the statute database before they take effect. If the source note at the end of a Section of the statutes includes a Public Act that has not yet taken effect, the version of the law that is currently in effect may have already been removed from the database and you should refer to that Public Act to see the changes made to the current law.

MENTAL HEALTH, BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
(405 ILCS 140/) Mental Health Inpatient Facility Access Act.

405 ILCS 140/1

    (405 ILCS 140/1)
    Sec. 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Mental Health Inpatient Facility Access Act.
(Source: P.A. 102-913, eff. 5-27-22.)

405 ILCS 140/5

    (405 ILCS 140/5)
    Sec. 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds that:
        (1) In 1955, Illinois had more than 30,000 adult
    
State-operated inpatient mental health beds.
        (2) In 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Illinois
    
had fewer than 1,200 adult State-operated inpatient mental health beds.
        (3) Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are now only
    
approximately 1,100 State-operated inpatient mental health beds.
        (4) More than 500,000 people in Illinois have serious
    
mental health conditions.
        (5) While most people with even the most serious
    
mental health conditions can be successfully treated in the community or in private hospitals, many will need inpatient care from a State-operated inpatient mental health facility.
        (6) Given the small number of remaining beds in
    
State-operated inpatient mental health facilities, it is vital that adults who need a hospital-level of care are able to obtain services in such facilities.
        (7) Due to the lack of available inpatient mental
    
health beds:
            (A) Many people in need of inpatient psychiatric
        
care wait for days or weeks in emergency departments or non-psychiatric units of general hospitals where it is difficult to provide them with safe and effective mental health treatment.
            (B) Persons found unfit to stand trial or not
        
guilty by reason of insanity and committed to the custody of the Department of Human Services often wait for weeks or months in county jails where it is difficult to provide them with safe and effective mental health treatment.
            (C) Adults with a continuing need for mental
        
health services are discharged into the community before their mental health condition makes such a discharge safe and appropriate or before arrangements have been made for needed long-term community mental health services.
            (D) Adults who need inpatient care are often
        
denied access to such care.
(Source: P.A. 102-913, eff. 5-27-22.)

405 ILCS 140/10

    (405 ILCS 140/10)
    Sec. 10. Strategic plan on improving access to inpatient psychiatric beds. The Department of Human Services' Division of Mental Health shall develop a written, strategic plan that comprehensively addresses improving access to inpatient psychiatric beds in State-operated mental health facilities for individuals needing a hospital level of care. This plan shall address achieving the best use of State-operated psychiatric beds across Illinois, with strategies specifically to mitigate inefficient use of forensic beds and reduce lengths of stays for the forensic population. A comprehensive approach to this plan shall include training and education, ongoing assessment of individuals receiving inpatient services, reviewing and updating policies and procedures, and increasing community-based capacity for individuals in all State-operated forensic beds. The plan shall include:
        (1) Annual training. Required annual training for all
    
State-operated inpatient mental health facility clinicians shall include:
            (A) Best practices for evaluating whether
        
individuals found not guilty by reason of insanity or unfit to stand trial meet the legal criteria for inpatient treatment.
            (B) Best practices for determining appropriate
        
treatment for individuals found not guilty by reason of insanity or unfit to stand trial.
            (C) The requirements of treatment plan reports.
            (D) The types of mental health services available
        
following discharge, including, but not limited to: assertive community treatment, community support teams, supportive housing, medication management, psychotherapy, peer support services, specialized mental health rehabilitation facilities, and nursing homes.
        (2) Regular and periodic assessment of mental health
    
condition and progress. At least once every year following the admission of any individual under Section 5-2-4 of the Unified Code of Corrections or Section 104-17 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963, the Director of the Division of Mental Health, or his or her designee, shall meet with the treatment team assigned to that individual to review whether:
            (A) The individual continues to meet the standard
        
for inpatient care.
            (B) The individual may be appropriate for
        
unsupervised on-grounds privileges, off-grounds privileges (with or without escort by personnel of the Department of Human Services), home visits, and participation in work programs.
            (C) The current treatment plan is reasonably
        
expected to result in the improvement of the individual's clinical condition so that the individual no longer needs inpatient treatment, and, if not, what other treatments or placements are available to meet the individual's needs and safety.
        (3) Updated policies and procedures.
            (A) Revise facility policies and procedures to
        
increase opportunities for home visits and work programs that assist with community reintegration. This shall include a review of unsupervised on-grounds privileges, off-grounds privileges (with or without escort by personnel of the Department of Human Services), home visits, and participation in work or educational programs to ensure that policies do not limit the ability to approve these activities. The plan shall also address the frequency for which individuals are assessed to be eligible for these activities.
            (B) Ensure all individuals found unfit to stand
        
trial or not guilty by reason of insanity who can be treated on an outpatient basis are recommended for outpatient services.
            (C) Develop benchmarks to ensure that:
                (i) every individual found unfit to stand
            
trial or not guilty by reason of insanity who has been committed by a court to the Department for treatment shall be admitted to a Department facility within the time periods set forth in subsection (b) of Section 104-17 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 and subsection (a) of Section 5-2-4 of Unified Code of Corrections; and
                (ii) no individual who needs inpatient
            
psychiatric care remains in an emergency department of any hospital or in any other non-psychiatric unit longer than 48 hours.
        (4) Building community treatment capacity.
            (A) Specific steps to increase access to
        
community-based mental health services that provide (i) outpatient alternatives to those being assessed for inpatient stays at State-operated inpatient mental health facilities and (ii) step-down services for those no longer meeting inpatient stay criteria, specifically the population of individuals found not guilty by reason of insanity. Such steps must specifically identify community-based treatment alternatives and how these services will be funded.
            (B) Specific steps to ensure each State-operated
        
inpatient mental health facility has sufficient qualified psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, peer support professionals, and other staff so that the Department may provide adequate and humane care and services for all patients. That plan shall include:
                (i) an assessment of whether the salary and
            
other benefits provided to professional staff are sufficient to attract and retain staff;
                (ii) an assessment of the annual budget
            
needed to attract and retain staff;
                (iii) an assessment of any other impediments
            
to attracting and retaining staff, and a mitigation plan for those impediments; and
                (iv) a detailed plan for recruiting
            
psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, peer support professionals, and other mental health staff.
        (5) Certification of mental health clinicians. The
    
Division of Mental Health shall outline in the strategic plan a plan for training, implementing standard qualifications, and credentialing all psychiatrists, clinical social workers, clinical psychologists, and qualified examiners who conduct any evaluations, as employees, agents, or vendors of the Division concerning:
            (A) findings of unfitness to stand trial and all
        
other evaluations of individuals receiving treatment in accordance with Section 104-10 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963:
            (B) individuals receiving treatment in accordance
        
with Section 5-2-4 of the Unified Code of Corrections;
            (C) whether individuals are subject to
        
involuntary admission on an inpatient or outpatient basis in accordance with the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code; and
            (D) whether individuals are subject to
        
court-ordered treatment in accordance with Section 2-107.1 of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code.
        Such evaluations shall include any treatment reports
    
required under the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 or the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code.
        (6) There shall be stakeholder input during the
    
planning process from the Division of Mental Health's forensic workgroup.
(Source: P.A. 102-913, eff. 5-27-22; 103-154, eff. 6-30-23.)

405 ILCS 140/15

    (405 ILCS 140/15)
    Sec. 15. Implementation. The strategic plan developed by the Division of Mental Health shall be finalized and made publicly available one year after the effective date of this Act. The plan shall include:
        (1) Benchmarks and timelines for implementing each
    
provision of the plan.
        (2) Strategy for obtaining resources needed to
    
implement each provision of the plan.
        (3) Ongoing stakeholder engagement during the
    
implementation of the plan through the Division of Mental Health's forensic workgroup.
(Source: P.A. 102-913, eff. 5-27-22.)

405 ILCS 140/20

    (405 ILCS 140/20)
    Sec. 20. Prohibition on reduction of State-operated psychiatric inpatient beds. The Department shall make no further reductions in State-operated inpatient mental health bed capacity. Nothing in this Section shall affect the authority of the Governor to issue emergency executive orders to protect the health or safety of recipients or employees of State-operated inpatient psychiatric facilities.
(Source: P.A. 102-913, eff. 5-27-22.)

405 ILCS 140/99

    (405 ILCS 140/99)
    Sec. 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.
(Source: P.A. 102-913, eff. 5-27-22.)