Bill Text: IL SR1824 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Urges all federal, State, and county legislators and officials to consider and enact policies to enhance access to mental health services at multiple levels in the criminal justice system which will create better results for both the individual and the system. Shows support for a wide range of programs to improve mental health treatment for individuals involved in the criminal justice system aimed to aid communities to end recidivism. Urges the law enforcement community to consider the integration of mental health treatment and services such as crisis intervention teams into the criminal justice system spectrum, in an effort to address mental health crisis situations and to reduce arrest rates. Calls upon all states and the federal government to examine the costs and benefits of suspending Medicaid coverage instead of termination of coverage for individuals in the criminal justice system and to allow Medicaid coverage to be suspended for incarcerated persons instead of being terminated. Calls upon the states and the federal government to consider promising criminal justice interventions and policies for mentally-ill offenders such as diversion programs and mental health courts to send seriously mentally ill offenders to community-based mental health treatment programs instead of prison or jail.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2016-05-31 - Resolution Adopted [SR1824 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2015-SR1824-Introduced.html

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SR1824 LRB099 21539 GRL 47852 r
SENATE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has been a strong proponent
for necessary reforms to the criminal justice system and an
advocate for successful re-entry of returning citizens to their
communities; and
WHEREAS, The prison population is disproportionately
comprised of African-American and Latino persons, with one in
every 13 African-American males in the United States aged 30 to
34 incarcerated or imprisoned in 2011 and one in 36 Latino
males incarcerated; by comparison, one in every 90 white males
of the same age group were incarcerated; and
WHEREAS, African-American and Latino women were 2.5 times
more likely and 1.4 times more likely respectively, to be
incarcerated than their white counterparts; and
WHEREAS, The expenses of incarceration account for a
substantial amount of almost every state's budget, an expense
which is ultimately borne by a state's taxpayers; and
WHEREAS, According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics,
more than half of those incarcerated in the United States have
mental health issues; mentally-ill incarcerated or imprisoned
adults are also disproportionately abused, beaten, and raped;

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and
WHEREAS, Enhanced mental health training for law
enforcement personnel and the use of diversion programs will
reduce arrest rates by de-escalating mental health crisis
situations; and
WHEREAS, Effectively treating inmates' physical and mental
health illnesses improves their well-being and can reduce the
likelihood that their condition will deteriorate, that they
will commit new crimes, violate their parole, or return to
prison; and
WHEREAS, The ability of offenders with serious mental
illness to obtain appropriate health care services upon release
from prison is essential to reducing recidivism rates; and
WHEREAS, Prisoners with serious mental illness who have
their Medicaid coverage canceled rather than suspended upon
incarceration face delays in access to essential health care
benefits upon their release of two to three months; and
WHEREAS, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
encourages states to suspend rather than terminate Medicaid
eligibility to limit long delays in accessing health care
benefits and services upon release from prison; therefore, be

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it
RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge all federal,
State, and county legislators and officials to consider and
enact policies to enhance access to mental health services at
multiple levels in the criminal justice system which will
create better results for both the individual and the system;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That we support a wide range of programs to
improve mental health treatment for individuals involved in the
criminal justice system aimed to aid communities to end
recidivism; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we urge the law enforcement community to
consider the integration of mental health treatment and
services such as crisis intervention teams into the criminal
justice system spectrum, in an effort to address mental health
crisis situations and to reduce arrest rates; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we call upon all states and the federal
government to examine the costs and benefits of suspending
Medicaid coverage instead of termination of coverage for
individuals in the criminal justice system and to allow
Medicaid coverage to be suspended for incarcerated persons

SR1824 - 4 - LRB099 21539 GRL 47852 r
instead of being terminated; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we call upon the states and the federal
government to consider promising criminal justice
interventions and policies for mentally-ill offenders such as
diversion programs and mental health courts to send seriously
mentally ill offenders to community-based mental health
treatment programs instead of prison or jail; and be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be delivered to
the President and Vice President of the United States, the
members of the Illinois congressional delegation, and other
federal and state government officials and agencies as
appropriate.