CESSA Statewide Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes 06/03/2022

Approved by Committee Members 07/11/2022

Community Emergency Services and Support Act (CESSA) Statewide Advisory Committee

Meeting Minutes - Friday, June 3rd, 2022 - 10:30am-12:30 pm via WebEx

• Call to Order/Introductions
  • Meeting called to order at 10:31am by Secretary Grace Hou
  • Member Attendees Present:
    • David Albert, Ashley Thoele, Cindy Barbera-Brelle, Shelley Dallas, Brent Reynolds, Andrew (Drew) Hansen, Richard Manthy, Jr., Alice Cary, Jim Kaitschuk, Blanca Campos, Emily Miller, Pooja Nagpal, Curtis Harris, Chris Huff, Erika L. Freeman
    • Four main questions this committee must focus on:
      • When is it appropriate to dispatch crisis teams?
      • When is it necessary to dispatch law enforcement? Collaboration w/ the crisis groups?
      • What kind of training should be provided?
      • What kind of data should be collected to know how the system is performing once in effect?
  • Additional recommendations for this panel should be sent to Lee.Reinert@illinois.gov

• CESSA Statute/Operationalization - (Jones)
  • DHS Secretary is required to establish and make appointments to Advisory State Committee
    • 1 Statewide Advisory Committee and 11 Regional Advisory Committees
    • The creation of the 11 committees depend on each individual jurisdiction which are then tasked with the coordination between these groups and law enforcement
    • The state's approach is to create 4 subcommittees which will provide information to the regional committees and these will then share with one another so as to set up a learning collaborative with each other.
  • Law enforcement and community responses will be on a continuum
  • Questions:
    • Chris Huff - Is there a timeline for when the regional and statewide committees will be active?
      • The work is meant to be concluded by Jan. 01, 2023. Assuming that this is the timeline, the regional committees will be developed and started in July/August, and then they will work until the conditions that the statute calls for are met.

• Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) - (Thoele)
  • EMS Systems Act - the authority for approving protocol changes and education training requirements rests with the EMS Medical Director with final approval by the Department of Public Health
  • Questions:
    • Chris Huff - How are final decisions made between the regional committees, EMS Director, and DMH?
      • DMH is not involved. Regional committees come together, and the EMS Medical Director who oversees the personnel signs off.

• Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS)/Division of Mental Health (DMH) - (Reinert)
  • Vision: crisis services are available for anyone, anytime, anywhere and provide people with someone to call, someone to respond, and somewhere to go
    • 590 Mobile Crisis Response Teams
      • Currently in the development phase with providers at different phases of development, the 988 program will be working with the CESSA committee
      • Reference to 988 Program and the deadline of July 16 which will only change where these calls are sent.
  • Questions:
    • Alice Cary - Where does the funding come from?
      • Program 590 is a grant through the DMH, and there will be services provided, some of which are billable to Medicaid and eventually to private insurance
    • Blanca Campos - Will Program 590, CESSA, and pathways to success be discussed in statewide or regional meetings?
      • Majority will occur in the regional meetings, but a part of it will be discussed here. Collaboration with academics to help distinguish where there is overlap, alongside consultants who will provide their knowledge so as to avoid inefficiency.
    • Chris Huff - Who is the final decision maker regarding the implementation efforts? Will the 590 grant fund the 5-year plan, or will additional funding be required?
      • DPH maintains authority with the regional committees regarding 911 protocols. The 590 program itself provides capacity support for the development of these teams. There are other parts of the continuum that need other funding strategies. Everyone is working towards additional funding.

• Illinois State Police/Office of the 911 Administrator - (Barbera-Brelle)
  • Emergency Telephone System Act
    • PSAPs
      • Part of their role is to meet the standards set by the State Police
      • Majority of PSAPs throughout the state are using APCO/Priority Dispatch and because of these changes, there are suggested changes in protocol.
      • The effect technology is having on how the delivery of calls for emergency services are made
  • Questions
    • Blanca Campos - Will there be protocols for when calls to 911 should be directed between 988?
      • There may be a transfer made. Decisions may be in the protocol or operationally.
    • Richard Manthy - The July 16th deadline is to have a provider direct calls to the national center. Are there plans for when they should be going to local dispatch centers?
      • There is additional work to do on both sides so that the transfer occurs effectively in the right situation.

• Next meeting will be in July. As of now, we're thinking of meeting monthly.
• Additionally, each member is responsible for taking the OMA training, member have 60 days since their appointment to complete it.
• Still looking to create an email address for CESSA so that all materials regarding the program go through it.
• Secretary Hou suggests creating a graphical depiction of how the different mechanics described in this meeting work together to provide a clearer understanding of them

• Public Comments
  • Kathleen McNamara - As a long term police social worker, this team requests to be included in this group of professionals because of our experience and knowledge. Is there an application process to be included as subject matter experts?
    • No application process exists We are aware that some groups would not be a part of ours, for now send me (Lee.Reinert@illinois.gov) an email so we are able to take and use your expertise.
  • Lark Syrris - My biggest concern is having the decision maker in this process be dispatch. You're saying that you expect dispatch to resolve the issue during the call and to do that I think you're going to need to have mental health professionals involved in dispatch. Without them it would make it very hard to discern and make the judgment call to know who to send/move the call to: police or the mobile crisis groups?
    • 988 call takers are not dispatchers, they are trained crisis service providers who currently respond to national lifeline calls. So, when calls go to 988, the trained call taker is expected to resolve 70-90% of those calls over the call. The 988 calls will not be going to "regular" dispatch.
  • Alyssa Marrero - There is confusion on the execution of services in coordination with police departments right now. Communication is rocky. I have a concern: what happens between now and January 2023? There are concerns for gaps in services and liability.
  • Patricia Rudloff - I want to let the committee to know that as someone who works with NAMI and as a family member of someone with mental illness, we are closely watching this.
  • Curtis Harris - There is a lot of confusion. 988 would handle social workers and other peer support specialists for people who are in crisis, correct?
    • Yes. We will prioritize clarity in the next meeting.
• Meeting adjourned at 12:30pm by Secretary Grace Hou