There has been a recent amendment to the Community Mental Health Act (405 ILCS 20) to authorize counties with no local mental health authorities to form mental health advisory committees comprised of community stakeholders. The mental health advisory committee is charged with identifying and assessing current mental health services, monitoring the expansion or contraction of those services, and, if necessary, recommending any additional services.
As federal and state health/Medicaid reform must be implemented locally and now, more than ever, local mental health authorities serve as a safety net for the community mental health system, it is important to form, at a minimum, a voluntary mental health advisory committee to coordinate local efforts to carry out these new federal and state policies.
If you are interested in applying to participate in a 7-member task force–to be selected by the county chair– let us know.
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- You: Mental Health Advocates Face an Uphill Battle – New York Times (news.google.com)
- Election 2010: One in 10 Children Has Mental Illness – State by State Figures (prweb.com)
- Singer Mental Health Center Hearing: Don’t Cut Patient Care (skwillms.wordpress.com)
- You: Cuts would slash access to state mental hospitals – Chicago Tribune (news.google.com)
- Nation’s Jails Struggle With Mentally Ill Prisoners (npr.org)