CESSA Statewide Advisory Committee Meeting 08/11/2025 Approved Minutes

CESSA Statewide Advisory Committee Meeting 08/11/2025 Approved Minutes

Time: 1:00 - 3:00 pm

Virtual (via Zoom)

Call to Order (David Albert)

  • David Albert called the meeting to order at 1:02 pm and reviewed OMA procedures

Roll Call (Sarah Ferguson)

  • Members present: David Albert, Alicia Atkinson, Jessica Gimeno (designee for Candace Coleman), Justin Houcek, Jim Hennessy, Brent Reynolds, Drew Hansen, Pete Dyer, Jim Kaitschuk, Michelle Churchey-Mims (designee for Blanca Campos), Emily Miller, Bobby Van Bebber (arrived late),
  • Members absent: Curtis Harris, Rachael Ahart
  • Quorum is present

Approval of Minutes from SAC Meeting on June 9, 2025

  • Members did not receive the minutes to review in advance of the meeting, so minutes were unable to be approved. The vote was postponed to the next meeting.

State Updates (Allie Lichterman)

  • Brittany Watson resigned; replacement recommendations welcome
  • Welcome new Statewide 911 Administrator to SAC: Alicia Atkinson
  • Legislative update
    • CESSA amendment is signed: Public Act 104-0155 (1. Creates protocol for law enforcement to work with BH staff in the involuntary commitment or transport process; 2. Moves implementation deadline to July 1, 2027)
  • 988 LGBTQ hotline updates
    • Subnetwork went offline on July 17; IL is talking with network providers and state call centers about existing training and resources, and is moving forward with an emergency procurement for additional training at call centers
    • Director Albert shared recent experience with National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors in DC: Spoke with other commissioners, SAMHSA, and Vibrant and got positive feedback about Illinois's rapid response to the hotline unfortunately ending
  • Collaborative in-person meetings with HFS and DMH leadership about moving towards Unified Crisis Continuum in a timely, integrated manner

BHCH Updates (Dr. Mary Smith)

  • Forum Attendee and Evaluation Summary
    • 326 people attended (unduplicated): 232 attendees on June 11; 190 attendees on June 18; 172 attendees on June 25
    • 78% of those who registered attended the forum
    • Attendees overwhelmingly reported the content applied to their work, left with new ideas for improving crisis services in Illinois communities, and they were glad that they attended the forum.
    • Director Albert: Thank you and everyone at the Hub for putting on a terrific series of meetings.
  • Operational Planning
    • Overview of process from Allie: Understanding program successes and challenges and setting goals for the next year to better align programs with CESSA and the Unified Crisis Continuum; currently collecting written and verbal feedback
    • Discussion questions
      • Where do you see opportunities to change expectations or requirements of crisis service providers to align with what's needed for CESSA implementation?
      • Considering each of those same services, what specific metrics should we use to evaluate their performance under full CESSA implementation?
    • Jim Hennessy: We're not apart of the pilot, but I've heard that there's a disconnect between 911 and 988 as far as how that transfer goes. 988 calls are coming in with very little information. I don't know if it's a confidentiality or technology thing, but then we have to go digging to find people without information. Often, it's transferred to us, and we don't know why. We have no idea where they are. It would help a lot if we could try to figure that out.
    • Allie Lichterman: If a call's going from 988 to 911, there needs to be expectations about what information 988 can capture and how it should be shared in a way that makes sense. Will require enough transfers happening that they build trust too.
    • Jim Hennessy: It gets odd when we have access to location data and they don't, because sometimes it's not even being transferred to the right place and needs to be sent to the correct center. 988 might be able to do some leg work to get it to the right place.
    • Brent Reynolds: Along the same lines as Jim, there is not enough data to report back on recommendations. As we get through these pilot programs, will have more feedback and experience. This discussion might be a little early.
    • Allie Lichterman: We want to have these conversations before we get too close to NOFO writing/new procurement process, when we have to lock down and can't have as many stakeholder conversations. But I totally hear your concern, in that we just are finishing the pilots and trying to draw conclusions about improving the long-term. We recognize the limitation of having conversations right now; conversations will continue.
    • Brent Reynolds: There is definitely better routing of calls. As Jim said, there's not exact location shared, but I do believe the routing has improved. I'm not sure if anybody else can back that up, but I'm definitely hearing that from RACs.
    • Alicia Atkinson: Yes, the routing should have improved recently because they moved to geospatial routing, instead of area code. Jim was talking about the transferring back and forth, which can be frustrating, especially if they aren't interacting on a daily basis and can't see what the other group is doing. Some pilots have standardized the handoff process for 911 center, making clear which information is shared. They have guidance so they know how transfers should go and what information should be received.
    • Mary Smith: There is definitely documentation and guidance about what information is passed from 911 telecommunicators to 988, and vice versa. In our recent small group calls, there was a call transferred to 988 to 911, but 988 did not have any location information. If it's an emergency or safety issue, they have to get the call to 911 ASAP and might not get all the information. We are working on it, but work in progress.
    • Allie Lichterman: Is that guidance something we can share with SAC members so that they can share it and we're all on the same page?
    • Mary Smith: Sure, we have guidance documents and reviewed with everyone involved in the pilot...Important to keep in mind that 988 doesn't have the same tools 911 has to identify the location of calls.
    • Jessica Gimeno: Most people on the SAC are a member of one Subcommittee, and these are broad questions that might be easier to answer after getting the updates. It would be easier to contribute if we could see the whole picture.
    • Allie Lichterman: Just to clarify, this planning process is thinking about what we can concretely do in FY 26 to move our programs in the right direction. As an example for living rooms, making sure that our 988 providers have living rooms on their resource lists, and knowing where referrals come from so, we can track if it came from 988. How do we make sure we are coordinating all our substance use supports and behavioral health supports?
    • Justin Houcek: If the federal administration clamps down, we will have more homeless people with behavioral health needs that need a "Place to Go". Where do we send these people, and is there ample room? When you said living rooms, I think we should consider the current administration and potential for greater numbers.
    • Allie Lichterman: I'm hearing a lot of concerns about capacity. The harder it is to access Medicaid and other services, the more it pushes people to our crisis systems. How do we prepare for that? Dr. Albert, can you expand on what you sent our providers about the recent Executive Order?
    • Dr. Albert: Justin, just to be clear, I think you may be thinking of housing that's needed; whereas a "Place to Go" is somewhere to be safe and stabilized and assessed. But the connection is important. The Executive Order stated that harm reduction efforts can't be funded with federal dollars; also mentioned Housing First and homelessness. After DBHR analysis, we expect very little effect on our current harm reduction efforts, which are primarily funded through state GRF dollars. A couple adjustments need to be made, but there will not be a reduction in funding and state is actively addressing. DBHR still committed to harm reduction, Housing First, and other evidence-based approaches.
    • Justin Houcek: A quick question-those living rooms allow you to stay only 24 hours. Do we look to extend that time if there is an influx of people?
    • Allie Lichterman: Yes, this is all hard. Living rooms are not set up for long-term service; we need to keep that space available for folks who need immediate service. We have Crisis Residential and other programs where you can stay longer, although not always accessible to all. I'm not sure if extending living rooms is the answer, but we do need to figure out how to support people and address the problem.
    • Dr. Albert: Just reiterating that there are not enough housing options for folks, and recent developments are going to put further pressure on the system to develop opportunities beyond institutionalization. We don't want to blur the line between the function of the living room and the need for housing. But we need to step up efforts to make sure everybody is aware of available options
    • Allie Lichterman asked SAC members to reach out if there are metrics that would be helpful to collect from any programs.

Communications (Allie Lichterman)

  • Finalized flyers will be distributed once the DBHR website is updated because the QR code on the flyers lead to the website.
  • New FAQs on DBHR website coming soon!

Communications Goals and Topline Messages (Allie Lichterman)

  • Goal: Increase awareness and usage of behavioral health crisis continuum of care services among system stakeholders [Crisis System Stakeholders (first responders: Police, EMS, Fire, PSAPs, hospitals)]
    • David Albert: Living rooms message might be too general. Need to let folks know they are comfortable home-like environments to stabilize during a crisis, but they are for behavioral health crises, as opposed to a drop-in center which works differently.
    • Michelle Churchey-Mims: Let people know there is availability to meet the need in the moment but also follow-up/making connections.
    • Jim Kaitschuk: Is this targeted regionally? Some places don't have these resources so it would cause confusion if you advertise that. Consider developing a map listing to show where services exist. Distribute a regionally-based template that shows services in that area for providers and law enforcement to refer.
    • Jessica Gimeno: A lot of people don't know about MCRT and Living Rooms. Word-of-mouth is the second most powerful way people learn, even more than social media. Thinking about the trusted messengers.
  • Goal: Challenge and correct misunderstandings of CESSA and other UCC programs [Crisis System Stakeholders (first responders: Police, EMS, Fire, PSAPs, hospitals)]
    • Jim Kaitschuk: Confusion that CESSA and 988 are the same. Need separate content/literature so folks can distinguish.
    • David Albert: We can't invest enough time and effort into communication. We need to keep this up and figure out what is effective.
    • Emily Miller: Using CESSA as shorthand is a disservice. Will be important to try to talk about it in terms of what the services are, what's available.
    • Allie Lichterman: Do you think it also needs to change among CESSA system stakeholders, or just with the general public? I'm curious to hear if you think it's worth pivoting.
    • Emily Miller: Not clear cut; this has brought together stakeholders for system change but there is still misinformation because they didn't previously have a relationship. Removing vernacular might help get on same page. That could help remove stigma about what's been said or done in the past.
  • Goal: Empower system stakeholders to share information with their peers about CESSA implementation and impacts of the law
    • Justin Houcek: We could say "CESSA is there to ensure the proper response or treatment" so that we minimize the focus on CESSA but explain what it does
    • Jim Hennessy: I like the last one, "law enforcement will continue to be involved in mental health calls if the caller reports criminal activity, or if there's a risk to public safety." That will help me in a lot of those conversations.
    • Jim Kaitschuk: You could still keep CESSA a part of it, but if you were to flip it to some extent and put what are the different programs that are available now and what is CESSA service availability. Focus on availability of the service because of CESSA, so CESSA is still there.
    • Alicia Atkinson: Agree with both Jims. The stakeholders and the responders want to hear when you're talking about helping with paperwork. 988 is another tool in the toolbox for 911 that CESSA helped create and formalize. Also capture that 988 has the training to support these callers.

Technical Subcommittees (David Albert)

Training and Education Subcommittee (Terry Solomon)

  • 1,583 people have completed the Core Pilot Trainings as of August 7, 2025.
    • PSAP Telecommunicators: 619
    • 988 Crisis Counselors: 204
    • Mobile Crisis Response Team Members: 693
    • Other: 67
  • On July 22, the Subcommittee approved the Core Training Plan Policies for 911, 988, and MCRT.
  • The Administrative Office of Illinois Courts is using CESSA training courses to train their Helpline staff.

Technology, Systems Integration & Data Management Subcommittee (Jodie Bargeron)

  • Pilot and implementation data: Will discuss during Protocols & Standards Sub-committee update
  • Police Social Worker survey to deploy this week (Data collection closing 8/26)
  • Crisis Data Reporting System (CDRS)
    • Currently working with DBHR to finalize detailed content for the database
    • Pre-alpha testing completed
    • Updates based on pre-alpha testing results in progress
    • Up next: Alpha testing
    • Purpose will be for 988 and 590 providers to submit their monthly or quarterly data in an online system instead of Excel sheets.

Pilot Updates from Protocols and Standards Technical Subcommittee (Dr. Mary Smith)

  • Total Response and Priority Dispatch
    • Evaluation in process
    • Weekly meetings continue with Priority Dispatch PSAPs
    • Bi-weekly meetings continue Total Response PSAPs, Centerstone and MCRTs
    • CESSA implementation Level 1 operations continue
  • APCO
    • Kick-off Meeting in June
    • Convened second planning meeting with three PSAP pilot sites July 8th
      • Guidance Documents
      • Flowcharts and other resources
      • Training
    • Weekly meetings with PSAP Administrators
    • Convened first meeting with MCRT sites
    • Discussed upcoming APCO pilots with Centerstone
    • Working with APCO and sites to finalize use of protocols and reporting
  • Update on Referrals from 911 to 988
    • Preliminary Call Transfer Status Update as of 7/31/2025
      • 202*calls transferred from 911 to 988
      • Majority of callers concerns were addressed by 988 crisis counselors
      • The 202 calls include one or two callers known to 911 who call frequently
      • 5 calls were successfully referred to MCRT for an on-site response
      • 5 calls were transferred back to 911
      • *Statistics combined for Total Response and Priority Dispatch; Totals are cumulative
  • Continued Planning for CESSA Implementation
    • Analysis of pilot data
    • Working on proposed updates to the IRLM
    • Developing roll-out plan for expansion

Discussion on Pilot Updates

  • Jim Hennessy: When you analyzed the 202 calls, was there any indication which are third-party, and which are first-party callers?
    • Mary Smith: Yes, that's a data point that we're collecting for both of the pilots. So far, the vast majority have been first-party callers that have been transferred to 988.
  • David Albert: Do we ask or do we know the disposition or what would have happened to those calls if they had not been part of the pilot and had not been transferred to 988?
    • Mary Smith: We're not specifically collecting that information, but I think that the usual policies and procedures that are part of each PSAP's workflow would be followed
  • David Albert: It's early on but it's not unreasonable to draw a preliminary conclusion that there are just a tremendous number of law enforcement or EMS dispatches that are being avoided by transfer to 988. I think that's really exciting.
  • Jim Hennessy: Of those 5 calls that went to the MCRT dispatch, I know there's a big confidentiality issue, but is there any way we can get a redacted call flow for that whole situation? I think a good way for us to get buy into this whole system is to show the call from start to transfer to outcome. Could be generalized so we know the outcome.
    • Mary Smith: That is some of the information that we can provide and as we continue with CESSA implementation, that feedback loop is something that we're going to build in.
  • Jessica Gimeno: What is the time frame for the 202 calls, and in the future could we hear about the total number of calls?
    • Mary Smith: January 29, 2025-July 31, 2025, and that's actually something that we're working on, and I think we'll be able to provide some of that information during our Protocols and Standards meeting.
  • Mary Smith: An example of qualitative data is that PSAPs gave feedback that folks should be screening for intoxication and a better definition between level 2 and level 4 intoxication.
  • Jim Kaitschuk: Can you do a blind study, if you don't want to name the call center? We could say "Dispatch Center A gets 500,000 calls and 100 were referred to 988" because some pilot sites are not receiving any.
    • Mary Smith: In terms of the evaluation report, we are going to identify the centers as "ABC" and are trying to get detailed information about the total number of calls that each center receives and which are mental health, but we may not have all of it.

Illinois Risk Level Matrix (IRLM)

  • Revised Timeline Update
    • Overview of IRLM Update Process - August 7, 2025
    • Distribution of Updated IRLM to PSTSC - August 13, 2025
    • Review of Updated IRLM - August 14, 2025
      • IRLM and CESSA Implementation Timeline
      • Discussion and Initial Feedback
    • IRLM Continued Discussion/Feedback - August 21, 2025
    • Discussion and Vote on Updated Risk Level Matrix - August 28, 2025
  • Important to stay on timeline in order to be able to implement CESSA changes at 176 PSAPs by June 2027; it's about 21 PSAPs a quarter.

Regional and Subregional Committees (Brenda Hampton)

  • We now have 17 sub-regional committees that have been developed within their racks. We anticipate that there will be a few more coming on this month, but I think this is tremendous growth within an 8-month period.
  • We presented the RAC co-chairs last month with a needs assessment. Response requested by December.
  • The purpose is to help them develop and design a crisis system that works for their local areas. What are resources, needs, and gaps? How do they work with local governance in terms of resource development?

Next Meeting Dates (Allie Lichterman)

  • Next In-Person Meeting
    • Date: September 8, 2025
    • Time change: 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
    • Location: 16911 Laraway Rd, Joliet, IL 60433

Public Comment (Allie Lichterman)

  • Lore Baker - AID [in chat during Communications discussion]:
    • But the reality is that people will show up at the Living Room and have nowhere to go after 24 hours.
    • Again, the population experiencing homelessness is going to increase due to the economic realities of our world. Just what Director Albert is saying.
    • I think hospital systems probably need the general CESSA info as well
    • Recommend specifying that living rooms can be used in crises.
    • We have seen a lot of discharge from ED at hospitals to the living room
    • I agree, Emily. There are a lot of behavioral health-related laws that pass every year and it may help to more directly discuss services.
  • Julie Brugger [in chat during Communications discussion]: We've begun referring to that as our recovery philosophy instead of calling it housing first.
  • Mikayla Gipp, Cumberland [in chat during Communications discussion]: As well as what will the precautionary measures be for those who may or may not take advantage?
  • Lia Daniels
    • [in chat during Communications discussion]: I'm happy to distribute to IHA members.
    • [verbal during Communications discussion]: I just want to agree with the law enforcement point. I'm still getting that from, rural hospitals, and I know I'm about to do a tour. We're going to do a tour of, like, 25 or 30 rural hospitals in southern Illinois, and this would be nice to bring back to them. Also, behavioral health reform is a long-term goal so use general language and then refer to the law itself in more in-depth conversations.
  • Alyssa Marrero [in chat during Communications discussion]:
    • I think you will get a lot of insight into the questions being asked if you ask the providers of these services directly. Sending out a survey to the 590/510 & 988 providers would allow you to collect a lot of data across the state on needs etc & metrics.
    • I would suggestion highlighting the mental health crisis aspect. Especially if we want to be able to bill towards health
    • You can create a template and ask racks to make more specific to their community. Like the 988 tool kits
  • Jen McGowan-Tomke:
    • [in chat during Pilot presentation]: Not sure if you're taking public questions, but curious if the 202 number represents all possible mental health/behavioral health calls that came in during the time period?
    • [verbal]: Understanding the universe of total calls that were mental health or behavioral health related, I think would also help us evaluate those 202 and then the subsequent interventions from there. So, just really curious to hear about that in the future.

Adjournment (Allie Lichterman)

  • Brent Reynolds motioned to adjourn, and Jim Hennessy seconded the motion
    • Voted to adjourn: Cindy Barbera-Brelle, Jessica Gimeno, Curtis Harris, Justin Houcek, Jim Hennessy, Brent Reynolds, David Albert, Bobby Van Bebber, Drew Hansen, Pete Dyer, Rachael Ahart, Jim Kaitschuk, Blanca Campos, Emily Miller
    • Motion passed; David Albert adjourned the meeting at 2:33pm.