Illinois CESSA Statewide Advisory Committee
Quarterly Updates on the Crisis Continuum
Fiscal Year 2025 Quarter 1 July 1, 2024- September 30, 2024
Strengthening and Transforming Behavioral Health Crisis Care in Illinois Act - updated Nov. 14, 2024
The purpose of this Act is to: improve the quality and access to behavioral health crisis services; reduce stigma surrounding suicide, mental health, and substance use conditions; and provide a behavioral health crisis response that is equivalent to the response already provided to individuals who require emergency physical health care in the State.
The stakeholder group required of this act met monthly from December 2023 through July 2024. The group was led by the Chief Behavioral Health Officer and facilitated by the Office of Medicaid Innovation. Input was provided by a comprehensive group of stakeholders, including individuals served and their families, crisis continuum providers, state partners, municipalities, and trade associations. The required report was submitted to the ILGA in July, 2024.
This stakeholder group has now evolved into the Unified Crisis Continuum Workgroup which will be convened by the Office of Medicaid Innovation and chaired by the Director of IDHS/DMH. The group will continue to inform the interagency group working on transformation of the Crisis Care Continuum.
Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics - updated Nov 14, 2024
Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC) are federally designated providers that offer a full range of mental health, substance use recovery and limited physical health services, offering truly integrated care for customers. CCBHCs are responsible for provider Mobile Crisis Response and other crisis services to all customers in their service area. The Department of Healthcare and Family Services, in collaboration with the Department of Human Services' Divisions of Mental Health (DMH) and Substance Use Prevention and Recovery (SUPR), submitted an application to participate in the federal Illinois' CCBHC Demonstration Program to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Illinois' application was approved and Illinois certified 19 CCBHC locations across the state, providing enhanced access to integrated services for Illinois customers. Illinois began CCBHC services on October 1, 2024.
988 - updated Oct. 29, 2024
On September 17, 2024, Vibrant (988 Network Administrator) introduced geo-routing for two of the three major cell phone providers. This marked a pivotal shift in how calls are directed to local call centers, moving away from the traditional method of using the caller's phone number area code and prefix. Instead, geo-routing utilizes the geographic location of the caller, ensuring that calls are routed more efficiently and accurately to the call center assigned to the county in which the caller is located.
The implementation of geo-routing allows DMH to strategically optimize resources for 988, particularly in Cook County. NAMI Chicago and Community Counseling Centers of Chicago have become the primary call centers for the county during their operating hours. This localization ensures that calls are handled by centers that are better acquainted with regional needs and available local resources.
The performance of the 988 system, in particular the call answer rate, appears to be well positioned to sustain improved performance over the previous months. Centerstone Illinois, the State's largest call center, is in its third month of operations and are nearly fully staffed for their call taker positions.
Mobile Crisis Response Teams (MCRT) - updated Oct. 29, 2024
Considerable work has transpired during the quarter to solidify Mobile Crisis Response Teams (MCRTs) capability and readiness to provide 24/7 coverage. MCRT agencies which did not meet required expectations of funding were placed on a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) with a November 1st timeline for resolution.
MCRT agencies completed a survey to ascertain the availability of its crisis line. The expectation is that MCRT have a crisis line that is accessible to the public 24/7, and that the line is not incumbered by an answering machine or answering service that is not a direct connection to the MCRT team. 93% of MCRTs are in full compliance with having a crisis line that is not incumbered, with direct access to MCRT staff. 7% of the MCRT agencies are not in compliance, for various reasons. More work will be done with these agencies to explore options to ensure direct call access from the general public to MCRT.
MCRT agencies located in the city of Chicago began a partnership with the Chicago Department of Public Health's Crisis Assistance Response and Engagement (CARE) mobile crisis program. MCRT will cover areas in Chicago when CARE cannot respond to crisis calls made to 311. Guidance has been written establishing this collaboration with subsequent meetings held with CARE and MCRT to move this collaboration forward.
In August, a Mental Health Response to Mass Firearm Violence Summit was held with MCRT providers, from selected areas around the state, and the Office of Firearm Violence and Prevention to:
- Inform and provide feedback on the State Mental Health Response Plan to Mass Firearm Violence.
- Learn from one another and get inspired by fresh perspectives to address challenges faced in crisis intervention.
- Connect and build a strong and lasting network of partners equipped to better serve communities throughout Illinois, especially in times of crisis.
Finally, MCRT Project Directors have been instructed to change their language so that mobile crisis response resonates with those who are seeking assistance/intervention from the service offered to the community. MCRT staff must redefine themselves by the service which they provide to the community, as opposed to being connected to a Program Number/Funding Code.
Community Emergency Services and Support Act (CESSA) - updated Oct. 29, 2024
The new fiscal year marks a transition for CESSA from a focus on planning and relationship building to implementation and relationship strengthening. Public Act 103-0645, which extends the deadline for CESSA implementation to July 1, 2025, and allows for alternative Chairs for Regional Advisory Committees as well as the creation of Subregional Committees, was signed into law on July 1, 2024. Due to uncertainty about the exact date of resumption at the close of FY24, meetings of the Statewide Advisory Committee (SAC), the Regional Advisory Committees (RACs) and the three CESSA Technical Subcommittees in July and August were postponed. These bodies resumed meetings in September and each body has posted their meeting calendars for FY25.
Throughout this quarter, some of the RACs planned community engagement activities such as town halls or "summits" to spread the word about CESSA. This quarter also saw recruitment of new RAC members as well as alternate chairs provided for in Public Act 103-0645. Public Act 103-0645 also allowed for Subregional Committees, which will build on the "hyper-local" work from previous quarters to enhance local-level operationalization of protocols. More information about the formation of Subregional Committees will be shared in the second quarter of FY25.
The first pre-test of the proposed revised protocols began on September 3, 2024, with three Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) that use PowerPhone as their protocol vendor. The pre-tests are designed to be a first-phase evaluation to assess the impact of incorporating elements of the Interim Risk Level Matrix (IRLM) into protocol scripts utilized by 911 telecommunicators. For more information about the pre-test and eventual pilot process, please see the description in the July 2024 Frequently Asked Questions update.
Illinois State Overdose Action Plan - updated April 26, 2024
The Illinois State Overdose Action Plan (SOAP) is a collaborative effort across systems and stakeholders to form a strategic framework to address the overdose epidemic in Illinois. More information regarding the Illinois SOAP can be found here: https://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=93882.
Deflection - updated April 26, 2024
Deflection is a collaborative intervention connecting public safety and public health systems to create community-based pathways to treatment and other services to address social determinants of health without entry into the legal system. The Illinois Department of Human Services Division of Substance Use Prevention and Recovery (SUPR) have partnered with the Illinois State Police (ISP) to bring the deflection initiative to ISP drug enforcement districts across the state. Through the collaboration of IDHS/SUPR and ISP, the Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC) and their Center for Health and Justice, brought communities together as defined by the drug enforcement districts to build a network of services in communities that serve as an alternative to arrest for individuals who are encountered by law enforcement. Forty counties across Illinois either have an active deflection initiative or are building an initiative that supports the work of ISP and the local communities by connecting individuals to services.
