CESSA - Region 1 Committee Meeting Approved Minutes 05/21/2025

CESSA - Region 1 Committee Meeting Approved Minutes 05/21/2025

Time: 9:00am

  • Open Meetings Act
  • These meetings will be subject to the Open Meetings Act.
  • A copy of the agendas and meeting minutes will be posted to the Illinois Department of Human Services/Division of Mental Health Open Meetings Page.
  • Call to Order/Approval of Minutes
  • Meeting called to order at 9:05am by Stacie Kemp.
  • Motion made by Joan Lodge to approve the 4/16/25 meeting minutes. Jason Holcomb seconded the motion. Meeting minutes were approved via roll call for 4/16/2025.
  • Members Present: Stacie Kemp, Heather Butler, Jason Holcom, Deanna Cada, Nicole Weathersby, Dane Johnson, Danielle Angileri, Jason Leverton, JolynnMarcum, Joan Lodge, Mary Trujillo, and Brittany Carls.
  • State Updates:
  • 988 LGBTQ+ potential impact
    • Separate training for dedicated LGBTQ+ training.
    • Concern of losing that funding from the federal level.
    • Resolution is that all staff are trained in responding to LGBTQ+ calls.
  • 988 messaging campaign
    • It would be beneficial to have a media packet
      • Have started some campaigns using buses, radio and print.
      • Already have some messages on billboards and buses.
  • CESSA bills SB2500 and HB3697
    • The Senate bill has been passed; the house bill (HB) has not been passed.
    • Extends implementation through July 1, 2027
    • May not have legislative authority to meet in July if HB has not yet passed. Will decide at June meeting.
  • SAC meetings are doing strategic planning for fiscal year 2026
    • Going to put out new benchmarks and timelines
  • CESSA Pilot Background
  • Goals of the Pilots
    • Individuals calling 911 experiencing behavioral health crisis receive a behavioral health response when appropriate, as an alternative to law enforcement only response.
    • Monitor the use of the updated vendor protocols and extent to which dispatch decisions made by 911 telecommunicators comport with the interim Risk Level Matrix (IRLM) recommendations.
    • Track the referrals of individual meeting Level 1 IRLM criteria to 988 to crisis response as appropriate and the outcomes
    • Track the referrals to Mobile Crisis Response Team (MCRT) for response when onsite response is necessary and outcomes.
  • Pilot Status as of May 5, 2025
  • Total Response (formerly PowerPhone) Pilot: in progress
    • All nine pilot PSAP sites launched by late February 2025
    • The pilot will conclude for most sites by May 30, 2025
    • Weekly and bi-weekly check-in meetings continue with the PSAP administrators, the Centerstone Crisis Project Director, and the MCRT project directors to identify operational and technical issues and to troubleshoot them as they arise.
    • Weekly with PC Administrators and bi-weekly with Mobil Crisis response providers
    • The UIC BHCH developed tools to assist in pilot implementation, including webinars, guidance documents, flow charts, checklists, and reporting resources
  • 988 callers
    • 45 calls have been transferred to 988 from 911.
      • Only 4 calls got an MCRT response
      • 1 call was transferred back to the PD
      • Majority of the calls are being handled with 988
    • Priority Dispatch Pilot: In Progress
    • The priority dispatch pre-test began with four sites on March 3, 2025, and was completed on March 31, 2025
    • The Priority Dispatch Pilot launched on April 1, 2025
      • Five sites launched on April 1, 2025
      • Two sites launched on May 1, 2025
      • Three sites will be launched by the end of May 2025
  • Pilot preparation activities include weekly meetings with PSAP administrators, bi-weekly meetings with MCRT teams assigned to Priority Dispatch PSAP's, development of internal policies within PSAP's training for telecommunications, and sharing and development of tools to assist with implementation
  • APCO: Upcoming
    • APCO has far fewer users in the State of Illinois (15 PSAPs, compared to 75 for Total Response and 78 for Priority Dispatch)
    • Current pilot preparation activities include:
      • Completing review of protocols and recommended changes to protocols
      • Planning for reporting needs with the vendor
      • Confirming pre-test/pilot sites
  • Preliminary Pilot Observations/Accomplishments
    • Pre-test and pilot PSAP administrators, MCRT project directors and 988 staff are committed to participating in the pre-test and pilots as evidenced by the fact that they have volunteered to be early testers and adopters
    • Bi-weekly meetings scheduled by the BHCH and MCRT project managers are well attended. The meetings allow participants to share information regarding safety planning and other issues
    • Pilot PSAP administrators are updating their policies and procedures to accommodate participation in the pilot. They are also developing site-specific training for their staff.
    • The BHCH has implemented documentation and reporting procedures to capture issues related to the transfer of callers from 911 to 988 and from 988 to MCRT. These issues are reviewed and addressed as they arise. IDHS/DMH staff, the 911 State Administrator, and the BHCH staff collaborate to review and work on resolving these issues.
    • Most calls transferred from 911 to 988 have been de-escalated by 988 crisis counselors and have not required a referral to MCRT or back to 911.
      • If calls don't need to be transferred, then we have limited data to assess how the pilot is working
  • Preliminary Observations/Challenges
    • The pilots require a cultural shift and an operational shift in policies and procedures involving hundreds of professionals, which are being implemented relatively quickly.
    • There is some variability in protocols, policies, and procedures utilized by PSAPs participating in the pilot. This, in turn, impacts implementation and data collection strategies that have been put into place.
    • There have been some concerns about whether liability is associated with transferring calls from 911 to 988. These concerns have been addressed in both CESSA legislation and the Emergency Telephone System Board Act.
    • Several issues have emerged with call transfer protocols from 911 to 988. These issues are being addressed consistently. Some of the issues identified relate to training.
  • Preliminary Takeaways from the Pilots Thus Far
    • It's early in the process
      • Total Response Pilots have been running for approximately a little over 2 months
      • Priority Dispatch Pilots have just recently begun
      • Cultural and organizational change takes time.
    • The Pilots are doing what we've designed them to do
      • Resulting in alternative responses to law enforcement for callers experiencing behavioral health issues
      • Providing information about how the processes that have been modified are working
      • Identifying processes/procedures that may need tweaking or reworking as we move into full implementation, but we need data to evaluate this
      • Helping to identify issues that need to be addressed as we move into implementation
      • Highlighting variability between Pilot participants that impact implementation including reporting and other processes.
  • What is not the focus of the SRCs?
    • They should not change CESSA policies concerning transfers from 911 to 988
    • They should not make decisions that are contradictory to CESSA legislation
    • They should not make independent changes to the CESSA protocols
    • They should not make premature changes to their CAD systems that impact CESSA implementation
    • They should not make changes to the Interim Risk Level Matrix
  • Role of Police Social Workers
    • Going to be asking who utilizes them, what kind of policies we have in place, how they're employed, what training they have, what does the model look like, who responds (alone or in a partnership), etc.
    • Many of the individuals in these roles are social workers
    • In DeKalb for example, all their social workers are employed by Ben Gordon.
    • DeKalb PD's perspective that their embedded social worker has had a tremendous impact.
      • Has lowered repeat callers and lowered the number of instances where a police response was necessary
  • RAC Next Steps
    • Reminders
      • Submit RAC monthly reports and any SRC reports received
        • All reports - cc: cessa@uic.edu
    • OMA Training Reminders
      • All members to complete
      • Send certificate to Melissa
    • June meeting HB3697 will extend CESSA
      • Governor anticipated to sign late July or August
      • July meeting (action item) - Decided to wait until June to make a determination about July meeting, dependent on legislation.
  • Meeting adjourned at 9:52am
    • Heather motioned to adjourn, and Deanna seconded
    • Motion passed via roll call

Next meeting: June 18, 2025, 9:00AM