Bill Amendment: IL HB0439 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly
NOTE: For additional amemendments please see the Bill Drafting List
Bill Title: HEALTH-TECH
Status: 2023-07-28 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 103-0273 [HB0439 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2023-HB0439-House_Amendment_001.html
Bill Title: HEALTH-TECH
Status: 2023-07-28 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 103-0273 [HB0439 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2023-HB0439-House_Amendment_001.html
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1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 439
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2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 439 by replacing | ||||||
3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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4 | "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | ||||||
5 | Illinois Youth in Care Timely Provision of Essential Care Act.
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6 | Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds that: | ||||||
7 | (1) From 2013 to 2018 more than 500 in-state | ||||||
8 | residential treatment beds were eliminated for youth in | ||||||
9 | the care of the Department of Children and Family Services | ||||||
10 | with serious and ongoing mental health needs. | ||||||
11 | (2) Development of evidence-based alternatives to | ||||||
12 | residential treatment, such as therapeutic foster care and | ||||||
13 | multi-dimensional treatment foster care, has not met the | ||||||
14 | need caused by the elimination of more than 500 | ||||||
15 | residential treatment beds. | ||||||
16 | (3) Quality residential treatment, evidence-based |
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1 | therapeutic foster care, and specialized foster care are | ||||||
2 | critical components of the system of care for youth in the | ||||||
3 | care of the Department. | ||||||
4 | (4) It is imperative that children identified as | ||||||
5 | requiring residential treatment, therapeutic foster care, | ||||||
6 | or specialized foster care receive that treatment in a | ||||||
7 | timely and competent fashion. | ||||||
8 | (5) One significant barrier to the development of new | ||||||
9 | residential treatment beds has been the ability to attract | ||||||
10 | and retain qualified staff. | ||||||
11 | (6) Community-based providers have a 42%-50% annual | ||||||
12 | staff turnover rate for caseworkers, supervisors, | ||||||
13 | therapists, and residential staff. | ||||||
14 | (7) High rates of staff turnover are directly linked | ||||||
15 | to poor outcomes for children and youth in care, including | ||||||
16 | increased lengths of stay, which especially hurt black | ||||||
17 | children as they are 3 times more likely to languish in | ||||||
18 | care. | ||||||
19 | (8) Due to the lack of in-state residential treatment | ||||||
20 | beds, evidence-based alternatives, and quality specialized | ||||||
21 | foster homes for youth in care: | ||||||
22 | (A) Youth in care are waiting long periods of | ||||||
23 | times in temporary settings where they often receive | ||||||
24 | inadequate treatment to address their highly acute | ||||||
25 | needs. The temporary settings also force youth to | ||||||
26 | experience placement changes that are only necessary |
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1 | because of the lack of critical beds. | ||||||
2 | (B) Youth in care are left in locked inpatient | ||||||
3 | psychiatric units beyond the time that they clinically | ||||||
4 | need to be hospitalized ("beyond medical necessity") | ||||||
5 | because the outpatient placement resources they need | ||||||
6 | are not available. In State Fiscal Year 2022, youth | ||||||
7 | who were beyond medical necessity remained in | ||||||
8 | psychiatric hospitals for an average of 75 days longer | ||||||
9 | than they needed to be in the hospital because of the | ||||||
10 | lack of placement resources. These stays cause | ||||||
11 | irreparable harm to youth. | ||||||
12 | (C) Youth in care identified as needing inpatient | ||||||
13 | psychiatric care are being denied admission to | ||||||
14 | inpatient psychiatric units due to the risk that the | ||||||
15 | youth will not have a placement to discharge to when | ||||||
16 | they are ready for discharge. | ||||||
17 | (D) Youth in care are being sent to out-of-state | ||||||
18 | residential facilities where it is more difficult to | ||||||
19 | monitor safety and well-being and more costly and | ||||||
20 | challenging to facilitate achievement of their | ||||||
21 | permanency goals.
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22 | Section 10. Improving access to residential treatment, | ||||||
23 | evidence-based alternatives to residential treatment, and | ||||||
24 | specialized foster care. The Department of Children and | ||||||
25 | Family Services shall develop a written, strategic plan that |
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1 | comprehensively addresses improving timely access to quality | ||||||
2 | in-state residential treatment, evidence-based alternatives to | ||||||
3 | residential treatment, and specialized foster care for youth | ||||||
4 | in the care of the Department who have significant emotional, | ||||||
5 | behavioral, and medical needs. The planning process must be | ||||||
6 | transparent and allow for stakeholder input.
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7 | Section 15. Implementation. The strategic plan developed | ||||||
8 | by the Department of Children and Family Services shall be | ||||||
9 | finalized and made public no later than one year after the | ||||||
10 | effective date of this Act. The strategic plan shall be | ||||||
11 | revised within 6 months after the rate study required under | ||||||
12 | Section 35.11 of the Children and Family Services Act is | ||||||
13 | complete and available for review, and the Department shall | ||||||
14 | incorporate the rate study's recommendations into the | ||||||
15 | strategic plan. The strategic plan shall include: | ||||||
16 | (1) Benchmarks and a timeline for implementing each | ||||||
17 | provision of the plan. | ||||||
18 | (2) Strategy for obtaining resources needed to | ||||||
19 | implement each provision of the plan. | ||||||
20 | (3) Ongoing stakeholder engagement during the | ||||||
21 | implementation of the plan.".
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