FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (Updated August 2025)
Last updated 8/28/2025
For previous questions and other resources about CESSA, please see the links below:
"CESSA will help make sure people get services and supports instead of involving police when they're not needed," said Candace Coleman, racial justice community organizer at Access Living, a leading disability organization in Chicago. "This law will save lives."
Table of Contents
Introduction to CESSA
In this section, we will provide an overview of the Act, its purpose, and the changes it requires.
1. What is the Community Emergency Services and Supports Act (CESSA)?
The Community Emergency Services and Supports Act (CESSA), also known as the Stephon Watts Act, was signed into law by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker on August 25, 2021. The law was passed following the police shooting of a 15-year-old African American male with autism while in his home after his family called 911 for support de-escalating the situation. This legislation requires emergency response operators, such as those at 911 call centers, to refer callers seeking mental and behavioral health support to a team of mental health professionals instead of police. This adds a new service to our state's crisis response system and marks a significant change in policy.
CESSA must be fully implemented - meaning Illinoisans can call 911 and receive a response from a mental health professional - by July 1, 2027.
2. Who is responsible for implementing CESSA?
Implementation of this new system has been tasked to the Secretary of the Department of Human Services (DHS), who is working in concert with the 911 Administrator at the Illinois State Police (ISP), the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) administrators under the purview of the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), and Statewide and Regional Advisory Committees (SACs and RACs) established through appointment by the Secretary.
3. What is the intent of CESSA?
The stated intent of the legislation is "to provide emergency response, with or without medical transportation, to individuals requiring mental health or behavioral health services in a manner that is substantially equivalent to the response already provided to individuals who require emergency physical health care."
Furthermore, the legislation specifies: "In any area where mobile mental health relief providers are available for dispatch, law enforcement shall not be dispatched to respond to an individual requiring mental or behavioral health care unless that individual is (i) involved in a suspected violation of the criminal laws of this State, or (ii) presents a threat of physical injury to self or others."
At any point in time, for any reason, a mental health crisis could impact your life or the lives of a family member, friend, or acquaintance. Should that occur, you would want comfort and reassurance that the responder is adequately trained to assess, de-escalate and resolve the crisis while assuring dignity and respect to the person in crisis.
4. What changes does the CESSA legislation require in Illinois?
CESSA is designed to create a non-law enforcement mobile crisis response to people with behavioral health disorders experiencing a crisis when they call 911 In fact, when people call 911, the new system will be able to offer this alternative response in many situations that do not involve a public safety risk.
Specific changes shall include the following:
- 911 call centers must coordinate with Mobile Crisis Response Teams (MCRTs) that the Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery (DBHR) has developed through its Mobile Crisis Response Program to provide a "community-based" response to low-level and low-risk behavioral health crises.
- Coordination will be required across one hundred seventy-six 911 call centers, emergency service providers, and 68 MCRT program grantees so mobile crisis responses can be provided whether 988 or 911 is called.
- Specified training will be required for all 911 call center dispatchers, 988 crisis counselors, MCRT responders.
5. What was the rationale for CESSA, in the words of those who advocated for it?
The shooting death of 15-year-old Stephon Watts by a police officer called to his home to help transport him to his doctor, spurred community organizers with disabilities to look for better ways to handle mental and behavioral health emergencies they experienced and saw happening in their neighborhoods. The Community Emergency Services and Supports Act was the response and was passed as a law in 2021. Expanding the use of non law enforcement alternative response teams in response to behavioral health crises has become best practice in the field of mental health and criminal justice reform across our nation.
Timeline for CESSA Implementation
In this section, we will describe the timeline and what stage CESSA implementation is in as of August 2025.
1. What is the estimated timeline for the implementation of CESSA?
On August 1, 2025, Governor JB Pritzker signed Public Act 104-0155. This Act extends the implementation deadline to June 30, 2027, in a phased approach with milestones for 2025 and 2026 as well. The level of systems change required to fully implement CESSA in a manner that is sustainable, scalable, and equitable necessitates the more extended approach afforded by the Act
No policies and procedures should change until fully approved by all governing bodies, and critical staff are fully trained. All procedural changes are subject to rigorous testing and evaluation and the ongoing governance of the CESSA Statewide Advisory Committee. More detail on the CESSA pilots is presented below.
Official notice concerning when these changes will become "operational" will be made by the 911 Administrator and the Illinois State Police, the Emergency Medical Services Administrators, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), and the Illinois Department of Human Services- Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery. Until then, current policies and procedures should remain in place, as is.
2. What implementation stage is CESSA in as of August 2025?
After two years of intentional relationship building and system change planning, State Fiscal Year 2025 saw CESSA implementation begin in earnest. Protocols utilized by 911 call centers are being adapted to comply with CESSA legislation. These adaptations are in the process of being pilot tested by a limited number of 911 call centers that have volunteered to participate in this process. An evaluation and report of the pilots is expected in the first quarter of State Fiscal Year 2026. For more information on the protocol changes, please see Additional Information for Crisis Responders.
3. Will CESSA implementation be paused after the 911 call center protocols are pilot tested?
No, the 911 call centers that are pilot testing the protocols will continue to operate with the modified protocols, policies, and procedures as they did during the pilot period. Outcomes from this pilot test period will be reviewed and protocols will be adjusted as necessary before implementing beyond the initial 911 call center pilot test sites.
The Scope of CESSA
1. Is CESSA statewide?
The Illinois Department of Human Services is dedicated to providing high quality behavioral health care to every Illinoisan regardless of race, class, gender identity, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, or zip code. Behavioral health crisis care is no exception.
CESSA is in the process of being implemented in every corner of Illinois. While this is not complete yet, many crisis response resources are already available.
Any Illinois resident can call, text, or chat 988 if they, or a loved one, are facing a mental health challenge to receive free, confidential, and culturally appropriate support 24/7/365. 988 can refer to resources in your community, including Mobile Crisis Response Teams, which meet you where you are to provide in-person support. Additionally, some law enforcement agencies include officers trained in the Crisis Team Intervention (CIT) model, and some others have developed relationships with trained community mental health professionals.
2. Are all 911 call centers across Illinois required to implement CESSA?
Yes, all 911 call centers are required to implement CESSA by June 30, 2027.
3. Is CESSA implementation optional for crisis responders such as law enforcement, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Fire?
CESSA is state law and will be implemented statewide. DBHR and its partners are working with local stakeholders to ensure that the changes required by CESSA are implemented in a way which recognizes that each locale has different resources available and unique needs which will impact implementation.
Crisis System Overview
This section describes the services that are being expanded by CESSA as part of the behavioral health crisis response continuum. These services include the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and Mobile Crisis Response Teams.
988
1. What is 988?
988 is the national Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. 988 is an easy to remember three-digit number that people can call to receive support when experiencing a mental health and/or substance use-related crisis. It is accessible 24/7/365. If you or someone that you know is in crisis, please call or text 988, or go to chat.988lifeline.org/ to access live chat.
For more frequently asked questions about 988, please visit 988 Frequently Asked Questions | SAMHSA.
2. How will 911 call centers and 988 crisis counselors interact?
When appropriate, 911 call centers will transfer callers to 988 crisis counselors for an urgent crisis response.
3. What will 988 do that 911 doesn't?
988 provides crisis counseling over the phone, while 911 provides dispatch to Emergency Response (Law, Fire, EMS). According to the United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), numerous studies have shown that most 988 callers are significantly more likely to feel less depressed, less suicidal, less overwhelmed, and more hopeful after speaking to a Lifeline crisis counselor. 988 crisis counselors are trained to help reduce the intensity of a situation for the person seeking help and connect them to additional local resources, as needed, to support their well-being. About 98% of people who reach out to 988 are helped by the crisis counselor, resources shared, or community connections made (without the involvement of 911).
Mobile Crisis Response Teams
1. What is a Mobile Crisis Response Team, and what do they do?
Mobile Crisis Response Teams (MCRTs) provide emergency crisis intervention services to people experiencing a mental health or substance use-related crisis. Importantly, MCRTs provide face-to-face services and safety planning at the location of the crisis, thereby seeking to reduce law enforcement involvement, emergency department use, and hospitalization. The team will always include at least one Mental Health Professional (MHP); the MHP must also have immediate, direct access to a Qualified Mental Health Professional (QMHP).
2. Are Mobile Crisis Response Teams (MCRTs) everywhere in the state?
Yes, every county in Illinois is covered by a designated MCRT. Response times vary depending on local resources.
3. How does one find a Mobile Crisis Response Team (MCRTs)?
Every MCRT has its own direct crisis line. You can access those numbers here. You can also call 988 to be referred to an MCRT in your area.
4. Will the mental health responders on the scene have protection in cases involving violence?
911 call center telecommunicators will screen all calls before transferring them to 988 to rule out those that pose a threat to mental health responders' safety. This includes those involving physical or verbal aggression, those involving active use of weapons and any callers involved in a criminal activity at the time of the call to 911. When callers are transferred to 988 for a mental health crisis response, experienced 988 crisis counselors will work with callers to resolve their crisis situation.
If 988 crisis counselors are unable to resolve a caller's crisis and no safety issues are identified, or if a caller requests an on-site response, the caller will be referred to a DBHR-funded mobile crisis response team. If, while on-site, safety is identified as an issue by mobile crisis responders, they will call 911 and request a law enforcement response.
If 988 crisis counselors are unable to resolve a caller's crisis and determine that there is a safety issue, the caller will be transferred back to 911 for an emergency response. They will not be referred to mobile crisis teams for an on-site response. Some mobile crisis response teams are also actively looking into purchasing an application to alert 911 call centers in the event of an emergency.
