Public Act 103-0545

SB0646 Enrolled LRB103 03099 RJT 48105 b

AN ACT concerning health.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,

represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Task

Force for a Healing-Centered Illinois Act.

Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly makes the

following findings:

(1) The short-term, long-term, and multi-generational

impacts of trauma are well-documented and include

increased risk for reduced life expectancy, cancer,

cardiovascular disease, diabetes, smoking, substance

abuse, depression, unplanned pregnancies, low birth

weight, and suicide attempts as well as workplace

absenteeism, unemployment, lower educational achievement,

and lower wages.

(2) Trauma-informed and healing-centered principles,

policies, and practices can prevent and mitigate the

adverse health and social outcomes associated with trauma.

(3) Equitable strategies and a multisector approach

are needed to ensure that all residents at every stage of

life have the supports at home and in their communities

that build well-being, buffer against negative

experiences, foster healing, and make it possible to

thrive.

(4) The State of Illinois is a national leader in

supporting trauma-informed strategies and is committed to

becoming a trauma-informed and healing-centered State.

(5) The State of Illinois has previously recognized

the impact of trauma on its residents' health and

well-being, including through Trauma-Informed Awareness

resolutions in 2019, 2021, and 2022, the creation of the

Whole Child Task Force in 2021, and the Children's Mental

Health Transformation Initiative established in 2022.

(6) The State of Illinois has public entities, such as

the State Board of Education, the Department of Human

Services, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the

Department of Public Health, and the Illinois Criminal

Justice Information Authority, non-governmental entities,

such as the Illinois Childhood Trauma Coalition and the

Illinois ACEs Response Collaborative, and public-private

entities, such as the Illinois Children's Mental Health

Partnership, leading efforts related to being

trauma-informed and healing-centered.

(7) Better coordination and alignment of existing

trauma-informed and healing-centered activities among

public and non-governmental agencies will lead to more

effective, equitable, and consistently high-quality

implementation of services and supports to Illinois

residents.

(8) Designing a sustainable structure to support and

measure trauma-informed, healing-centered activities is

essential to long-term transformation and should take into

consideration the importance of providing ongoing training

and support to the multisector, multidisciplinary

workforce, as well as ongoing research to inform the

development and implementation of trauma-informed,

healing-centered policies, practices, and programs.

Section 10. Purpose. The Healing-Centered Illinois Task

Force is created to advance the State's efforts to become

trauma-informed and healing-centered through improved

alignment of existing efforts, common definitions and metrics,

and strategic planning for long-term transformation. The Task

Force shall have the following objectives:

(1) Recommend shared language and common definitions

for the State to become trauma-informed and

healing-centered across sectors by aligning language and

definitions included in the work of the Whole Child Task

Force, the Children's Mental Health Transformation

Initiative, and the Illinois Children's Mental Health

Plan.

(2) Ensure the meaningful inclusion in Task Force

matters of young people, parents, survivors of trauma, and

residents who have engaged with Illinois systems or

policies, such as child welfare and the legal criminal

system.

(3) Identify the current training capacity and the

training needs to support healing-centered and

trauma-informed environments among organizations,

professional cohorts, educational institutions, and future

practitioners and project how best to meet those needs.

(4) Design a process identifying what data are needed

to understand the dimensions of trauma in the State and

the status of the trauma-related work in Illinois and

identify current relevant data sources in Illinois.

(5) Recommend a process for collecting and aggregating

such data identified, as well as a process for improving

transparency and accountability by developing and

maintaining a platform of aggregated data that is

accessible to a range of stakeholders, including the

public.

(6) Identify existing State resources that are being

invested to support trauma-informed and healing-centered

work, develop recommendations to align these resources,

and propose an approach and recommendations to support

ongoing or expanded stable resources for this work.

(7) Identify what, if any, administrative or

legislative policy changes are needed to advance goals to

make Illinois a healing-centered or trauma-informed State.

(8) Recommend an overarching organizational structure

to ensure coordination, alignment, and progress to make

Illinois a trauma-informed, healing-centered State.

(9) Devise a set of benchmarks to measure success in

advancing the State toward becoming trauma-informed and

healing-centered and a process for measuring them.

Section 15. Membership. Members of the Healing-Centered

Illinois Task Force must represent the diversity of this State

and possess the expertise needed to perform the work required

to meet the objectives of the Task Force set forth under

Section 10. Members of the Task Force shall include the

following:

(1) One representative of a statewide coalition

addressing childhood trauma, appointed by the Lieutenant

Governor.

(2) One representative of a statewide collaborative

addressing trauma across the lifespan (birth through older

adulthood), appointed by the Lieutenant Governor.

(3) One representative from the Resilience Education

to Advance Community Healing (REACH) Statewide Initiative,

appointed by the Superintendent of the Illinois State

Board of Education.

(4) One member of the General Assembly, appointed by

the President of the Senate.

(5) One member of the General Assembly, appointed by

the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

(6) One member of the General Assembly, appointed by

the Minority Leader of the Senate.

(7) One member of the General Assembly, appointed by

the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.

(8) The Director of the Governor's Children's Mental

Health Transformation Initiative or the Director's

designee.

(9) The Director of the Illinois Criminal Justice

Information Authority or the Director's designee.

(10) The Director of Public Health or the Director's

designee.

(11) The Secretary of Human Services or the

Secretary's designee.

(12) The State Superintendent of Education or the

State Superintendent's designee.

(13) The Director of Juvenile Justice or the

Director's designee.

(14) The Director of Corrections or the Director's

designee.

(15) The Director of Children and Family Services or

the Director's designee.

(16) The Director of Aging or the Director's designee.

(17) The Director of Healthcare and Family Services or

the Director's designee.

(18) The Chair of the Illinois Law Enforcement

Training Standards Board or the Chair's designee.

(19) The Director of the Administrative Office of the

Illinois Courts or the Director's designee.

(20) Up to 5 additional representatives appointed by

the Lieutenant Governor who have expertise in

trauma-informed policies and practices within health care,

public health, public education, the criminal legal

system, violence prevention, child welfare, human

services, adult behavioral health services, children's

behavioral health services, or law enforcement.

(21) Up to 3 representatives who have been impacted by

State systems, including the criminal legal system and

child welfare, appointed by the Lieutenant Governor.

(22) At least one representative from student and

youth counsels or advisory groups focused on advancing

awareness and resources for mental health and

trauma-informed services in diverse communities across the

State, appointed by the Lieutenant Governor.

(23) At least one representative from an organization

that brings parents together to improve mental health and

supports for children and families, appointed by the

Lieutenant Governor.

(24) One representative from a public-private

partnership to support children's behavioral health,

appointed by the Lieutenant Governor.

Section 20. Meetings. The Healing-Centered Illinois Task

Force shall meet at the call of the Lieutenant Governor or his

or her designee, who shall serve as the chairperson. The

Office of the Lieutenant Governor shall provide administrative

support to the Task Force. Members of the Task Force shall

serve without compensation.

Section 25. Reports. The Healing-Centered Illinois Task

Force shall submit a report of its findings and

recommendations to the General Assembly and the Governor

within one year after the effective date of this Act. The Task

Force is dissolved, and this Act is repealed, one year after

the date of the report.