Bill Text: IL HR0106 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Acknowledges the seriousness of mental health issues in Illinois and strives to improve awareness and treatment of these issues. Urges the members of the General Assembly to have discussions and forums with their communities to promote awareness of mental health issues and access to mental health resources. Encourages the members of the General Assembly and all school districts in Illinois to post information on mental health issues and local treatment resources on their public websites. Encourages all school districts in Illinois to implement mental health screenings to properly identify students with mental health problems. Encourages the federal government to improve mental health awareness, treatment, and funding to improve the lives of citizens struggling with mental health issues.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2021-05-12 - Resolution Adopted [HR0106 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2021-HR0106-Introduced.html
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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, Mental health is a state of well-being in which | ||||||
3 | the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope | ||||||
4 | with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and | ||||||
5 | fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her | ||||||
6 | community; and
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7 | WHEREAS, There is a stigma around mental health issues | ||||||
8 | that can often prevent informed conversations on mental health | ||||||
9 | issues as well as proper treatment from taking place; removing | ||||||
10 | the stigma surrounding mental health issues will allow those | ||||||
11 | suffering with mental health issues to more easily seek | ||||||
12 | treatment and gain an understanding of their condition; and
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13 | WHEREAS, Mental illnesses are health conditions that are | ||||||
14 | characterized by alterations in thinking, mood, or behavior, | ||||||
15 | or some combination thereof, associated with distress or | ||||||
16 | impaired functioning; behavioral health is defined as the | ||||||
17 | behaviors and biology relating to a person's mental | ||||||
18 | well-being, ability to function in everyday life, and concept | ||||||
19 | of self; and
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20 | WHEREAS, Mental illnesses take on a wide variety of forms, | ||||||
21 | including, but not limited to, mood disorders such as | ||||||
22 | depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, dementias, and |
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1 | eating disorders, which can be associated with learning | ||||||
2 | disabilities; and
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3 | WHEREAS, Learning disabilities are neurologically based | ||||||
4 | mental processing disabilities that can give rise to | ||||||
5 | difficulties in acquiring knowledge and skills; learning | ||||||
6 | disabilities include, but are not limited to, autism, | ||||||
7 | dyslexia, visual processing disorders, auditory processing | ||||||
8 | disorders, ADHD, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, and dyspraxia; and
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9 | WHEREAS, Children with learning disabilities are | ||||||
10 | disproportionately affected by mental health issues; 36% of | ||||||
11 | children with a learning disability will also develop mental | ||||||
12 | health issues; and
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13 | WHEREAS, Mental health is essential to one's overall | ||||||
14 | health and well-being, and mental health issues can strike a | ||||||
15 | person regardless of his or her age, gender, race, ethnicity, | ||||||
16 | religion, or economic status; and
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17 | WHEREAS, There is a lack of awareness of how to treat | ||||||
18 | mental health issues and of resources available for that | ||||||
19 | purpose; there is also a crisis of unaddressed mental health | ||||||
20 | issues in the United States and the State of Illinois; and
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21 | WHEREAS, Those suffering from a mental illness and their |
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1 | loved ones often do not understand how to identify the | ||||||
2 | symptoms and warning signs; and
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3 | WHEREAS, Untreated mental health issues lead to lost | ||||||
4 | potential and numerous societal problems, such as increased | ||||||
5 | incarceration rates, substance abuse rates, and emergency room | ||||||
6 | visits; and
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7 | WHEREAS, According to the National Institute of Mental | ||||||
8 | Health, there are an estimated 43.7 million adults with a | ||||||
9 | mental disorder, or 18.6% of the total adult population in the | ||||||
10 | United States; just over 20% of American children, either | ||||||
11 | currently or at some point during their life, have or will have | ||||||
12 | a seriously debilitating mental disorder; and
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13 | WHEREAS, The National Survey on Drug Use and Health found | ||||||
14 | that only 58.7% of adults in the United States with a serious | ||||||
15 | mental illness received treatment for a mental health problem; | ||||||
16 | and
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17 | WHEREAS, The National Health and Nutrition Examination | ||||||
18 | Survey found that only 50.6% of children with mental disorders | ||||||
19 | had received treatment for their disorder within the past | ||||||
20 | year; and
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21 | WHEREAS, With proper treatment, many mental health |
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1 | problems can dissipate or be reduced to a level where the | ||||||
2 | person can fully function; and
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3 | WHEREAS, According to the National Alliance on Mental | ||||||
4 | Illness, successful treatment rates for mental illness are | ||||||
5 | extremely high and range from between 60% to 80%; the | ||||||
6 | successful treatment rate for schizophrenia is roughly 60%, | ||||||
7 | while depression is 70% and bipolar disorder is 80%; and
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8 | WHEREAS, People with mental illness who are in treatment | ||||||
9 | can lead full, productive lives in their communities; and
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10 | WHEREAS, The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that | ||||||
11 | 89.3 million Americans live in federally designated Mental | ||||||
12 | Health Professional Shortage areas, where there is little to | ||||||
13 | no access to mental health professionals; and
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14 | WHEREAS, A Journal of Psychiatric Services survey found | ||||||
15 | that 47% of people untreated for mental health issues reported | ||||||
16 | cost as a reason not to seek treatment; the same survey also | ||||||
17 | found that 66% of untreated mental health patients did not go | ||||||
18 | to a doctor because they thought the problem would get better | ||||||
19 | on its own; and
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20 | WHEREAS, Six of 12 City of Chicago public mental health | ||||||
21 | clinics were closed in 2012; and
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1 | WHEREAS, A total of 64.2% of inmates in local jails | ||||||
2 | satisfied the criteria for a mental health problem currently | ||||||
3 | or in the previous year; and
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4 | WHEREAS, The United States Department of Justice's Survey | ||||||
5 | of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities found | ||||||
6 | that fewer than half of inmates with a mental health problem | ||||||
7 | have ever received treatment and only one-third received | ||||||
8 | mental health treatment after admission; and
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9 | WHEREAS, The National Alliance on Mental Illness found | ||||||
10 | that states collectively cut $1.8 billion from their mental | ||||||
11 | health budgets during the recession; the organization also | ||||||
12 | found that, from 2009 to 2012, Illinois cut mental health | ||||||
13 | funding by $187 million, a 31.7% reduction; Illinois cut the | ||||||
14 | fourth most of any state during this time period; and
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15 | WHEREAS, The Affordable Care Act makes behavioral and | ||||||
16 | mental health treatment available to people throughout the | ||||||
17 | country, especially those who could not previously afford | ||||||
18 | treatment; and
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19 | WHEREAS, Mental health issues influence all branches of | ||||||
20 | State government, including public health, children and family | ||||||
21 | services, criminal justice, housing, employment, and other |
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1 | services; and
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2 | WHEREAS, It should be a fundamental goal of the State of | ||||||
3 | Illinois to ensure proper awareness, identification, and | ||||||
4 | treatment for mental health issues; therefore, be it
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5 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
6 | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
7 | we acknowledge the seriousness of mental health issues in | ||||||
8 | Illinois and strive to improve awareness and treatment of | ||||||
9 | these issues; and be it further
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10 | RESOLVED, That we urge the members of the General Assembly | ||||||
11 | to have discussions and forums with their communities to | ||||||
12 | promote awareness of mental health issues and access to mental | ||||||
13 | health resources; and be it further
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14 | RESOLVED, That we encourage the members of the General | ||||||
15 | Assembly and all school districts in Illinois to post | ||||||
16 | information on mental health issues and local treatment | ||||||
17 | resources on their public websites; and be it further
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18 | RESOLVED, That we encourage all school districts in | ||||||
19 | Illinois to implement mental health screenings to properly | ||||||
20 | identify students with mental health problems; and be it | ||||||
21 | further
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1 | RESOLVED, That we encourage the federal government to | ||||||
2 | improve mental health awareness, treatment, and funding to | ||||||
3 | improve the lives of citizens struggling with mental health | ||||||
4 | issues; and be it further
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5 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
6 | delivered to President Joe Biden, the United States House of | ||||||
7 | Representatives, and the United States Senate to review and | ||||||
8 | discuss at the national level.
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