Public Act 103-0545
 
SB0646 EnrolledLRB103 03099 RJT 48105 b

    AN ACT concerning health.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Task
Force for a Healing-Centered Illinois Act.
 
    Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly makes the
following findings:
        (1) The short-term, long-term, and multi-generational
    impacts of trauma are well-documented and include
    increased risk for reduced life expectancy, cancer,
    cardiovascular disease, diabetes, smoking, substance
    abuse, depression, unplanned pregnancies, low birth
    weight, and suicide attempts as well as workplace
    absenteeism, unemployment, lower educational achievement,
    and lower wages.
        (2) Trauma-informed and healing-centered principles,
    policies, and practices can prevent and mitigate the
    adverse health and social outcomes associated with trauma.
        (3) Equitable strategies and a multisector approach
    are needed to ensure that all residents at every stage of
    life have the supports at home and in their communities
    that build well-being, buffer against negative
    experiences, foster healing, and make it possible to
    thrive.
        (4) The State of Illinois is a national leader in
    supporting trauma-informed strategies and is committed to
    becoming a trauma-informed and healing-centered State.
        (5) The State of Illinois has previously recognized
    the impact of trauma on its residents' health and
    well-being, including through Trauma-Informed Awareness
    resolutions in 2019, 2021, and 2022, the creation of the
    Whole Child Task Force in 2021, and the Children's Mental
    Health Transformation Initiative established in 2022.
        (6) The State of Illinois has public entities, such as
    the State Board of Education, the Department of Human
    Services, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the
    Department of Public Health, and the Illinois Criminal
    Justice Information Authority, non-governmental entities,
    such as the Illinois Childhood Trauma Coalition and the
    Illinois ACEs Response Collaborative, and public-private
    entities, such as the Illinois Children's Mental Health
    Partnership, leading efforts related to being
    trauma-informed and healing-centered.
        (7) Better coordination and alignment of existing
    trauma-informed and healing-centered activities among
    public and non-governmental agencies will lead to more
    effective, equitable, and consistently high-quality
    implementation of services and supports to Illinois
    residents.
        (8) Designing a sustainable structure to support and
    measure trauma-informed, healing-centered activities is
    essential to long-term transformation and should take into
    consideration the importance of providing ongoing training
    and support to the multisector, multidisciplinary
    workforce, as well as ongoing research to inform the
    development and implementation of trauma-informed,
    healing-centered policies, practices, and programs.
 
    Section 10. Purpose. The Healing-Centered Illinois Task
Force is created to advance the State's efforts to become
trauma-informed and healing-centered through improved
alignment of existing efforts, common definitions and metrics,
and strategic planning for long-term transformation. The Task
Force shall have the following objectives:
        (1) Recommend shared language and common definitions
    for the State to become trauma-informed and
    healing-centered across sectors by aligning language and
    definitions included in the work of the Whole Child Task
    Force, the Children's Mental Health Transformation
    Initiative, and the Illinois Children's Mental Health
    Plan.
        (2) Ensure the meaningful inclusion in Task Force
    matters of young people, parents, survivors of trauma, and
    residents who have engaged with Illinois systems or
    policies, such as child welfare and the legal criminal
    system.
        (3) Identify the current training capacity and the
    training needs to support healing-centered and
    trauma-informed environments among organizations,
    professional cohorts, educational institutions, and future
    practitioners and project how best to meet those needs.
        (4) Design a process identifying what data are needed
    to understand the dimensions of trauma in the State and
    the status of the trauma-related work in Illinois and
    identify current relevant data sources in Illinois.
        (5) Recommend a process for collecting and aggregating
    such data identified, as well as a process for improving
    transparency and accountability by developing and
    maintaining a platform of aggregated data that is
    accessible to a range of stakeholders, including the
    public.
        (6) Identify existing State resources that are being
    invested to support trauma-informed and healing-centered
    work, develop recommendations to align these resources,
    and propose an approach and recommendations to support
    ongoing or expanded stable resources for this work.
        (7) Identify what, if any, administrative or
    legislative policy changes are needed to advance goals to
    make Illinois a healing-centered or trauma-informed State.
        (8) Recommend an overarching organizational structure
    to ensure coordination, alignment, and progress to make
    Illinois a trauma-informed, healing-centered State.
        (9) Devise a set of benchmarks to measure success in
    advancing the State toward becoming trauma-informed and
    healing-centered and a process for measuring them.
 
    Section 15. Membership. Members of the Healing-Centered
Illinois Task Force must represent the diversity of this State
and possess the expertise needed to perform the work required
to meet the objectives of the Task Force set forth under
Section 10. Members of the Task Force shall include the
following:
        (1) One representative of a statewide coalition
    addressing childhood trauma, appointed by the Lieutenant
    Governor.
        (2) One representative of a statewide collaborative
    addressing trauma across the lifespan (birth through older
    adulthood), appointed by the Lieutenant Governor.
        (3) One representative from the Resilience Education
    to Advance Community Healing (REACH) Statewide Initiative,
    appointed by the Superintendent of the Illinois State
    Board of Education.
        (4) One member of the General Assembly, appointed by
    the President of the Senate.
        (5) One member of the General Assembly, appointed by
    the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
        (6) One member of the General Assembly, appointed by
    the Minority Leader of the Senate.
        (7) One member of the General Assembly, appointed by
    the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.
        (8) The Director of the Governor's Children's Mental
    Health Transformation Initiative or the Director's
    designee.
        (9) The Director of the Illinois Criminal Justice
    Information Authority or the Director's designee.
        (10) The Director of Public Health or the Director's
    designee.
        (11) The Secretary of Human Services or the
    Secretary's designee.
        (12) The State Superintendent of Education or the
    State Superintendent's designee.
        (13) The Director of Juvenile Justice or the
    Director's designee.
        (14) The Director of Corrections or the Director's
    designee.
        (15) The Director of Children and Family Services or
    the Director's designee.
        (16) The Director of Aging or the Director's designee.
        (17) The Director of Healthcare and Family Services or
    the Director's designee.
        (18) The Chair of the Illinois Law Enforcement
    Training Standards Board or the Chair's designee.
        (19) The Director of the Administrative Office of the
    Illinois Courts or the Director's designee.
        (20) Up to 5 additional representatives appointed by
    the Lieutenant Governor who have expertise in
    trauma-informed policies and practices within health care,
    public health, public education, the criminal legal
    system, violence prevention, child welfare, human
    services, adult behavioral health services, children's
    behavioral health services, or law enforcement.
        (21) Up to 3 representatives who have been impacted by
    State systems, including the criminal legal system and
    child welfare, appointed by the Lieutenant Governor.
        (22) At least one representative from student and
    youth counsels or advisory groups focused on advancing
    awareness and resources for mental health and
    trauma-informed services in diverse communities across the
    State, appointed by the Lieutenant Governor.
        (23) At least one representative from an organization
    that brings parents together to improve mental health and
    supports for children and families, appointed by the
    Lieutenant Governor.
        (24) One representative from a public-private
    partnership to support children's behavioral health,
    appointed by the Lieutenant Governor.
 
    Section 20. Meetings. The Healing-Centered Illinois Task
Force shall meet at the call of the Lieutenant Governor or his
or her designee, who shall serve as the chairperson. The
Office of the Lieutenant Governor shall provide administrative
support to the Task Force. Members of the Task Force shall
serve without compensation.
 
    Section 25. Reports. The Healing-Centered Illinois Task
Force shall submit a report of its findings and
recommendations to the General Assembly and the Governor
within one year after the effective date of this Act. The Task
Force is dissolved, and this Act is repealed, one year after
the date of the report.

Effective Date: 1/1/2024