Mental Health Advocates in Springfield, Urge Illinois Lawmakers to Oppose ‘Sweep’ of Mental Health Care Money

(Springfield, IL) — More than 200 mental health advocates came to Springfield on Wednesday asking legislators to forbid Governor Rod Blagojevich from sweeping away existing mental health care money and to ask for more money fund to mental health programs.

Advocates from Stepping Stones and Janet Wattles Center were among 55 people who traveled from Rockford to lobby the Illinois General Assembly.

“The reason we’re here is because treatment works — if we can get it,” said Mark Heyrman, a prominent mental health advocate in Illinois. “In order to have treatment, you have to have money to provide the treatment.”

Heyrman said mental health agencies need the dedicated mental health money to care for thousands of mentally ill individuals and it should not be used to plug a hole in this year’s budget.

The Senate has approved a bill, S.B. 530, to empower the governor to sweep $530 million from dedicated funds into the operating budget. Steve Brown, spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago), said, however, the House has no plan to vote on the legislation.

Meanwhile, Frank Anselmo, left, CEO of the Community Behavioral Healthcare Association of Illinois, expressed concern that $10 million appropriated in this year’s budget for mental health care has gone unspent by the state.

But Kelley Quinn, spokeswoman for the governor, said the money is being allocated to agencies.

“Nothing is being held,” she said. “It’s not like it’s just sitting there.”

Quinn said there might have been a delay because the budget for this fiscal year, which ends June 30, was not finalized until last fall.

The money remains in a special account managed by the Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes.

“It’s unspent,” said Anselmo.

U.S. Grants Grants $50 Million to 20 States to Ease Access to Primary Medical Care; Illinois Gets $2 Million, Mental Health Providers to be Partners

(Washington, D.C.) — Grants of $50 million to 20 states to help improve access to primary medical care so that Medicaid beneficiaries could avoid improper use of costly hospital emergency rooms was announced on April 18 by U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Illinois will receive a two-year $2,006,000 grant for the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services for an Emergency Room Diversion program that will locate new Community Health Center sites on or near hospital campuses and partners with Illinois mental health providers.

“These grants provide new programs and services to help people get the non-emergency care they need in the most appropriate setting,” CMS Acting Administrator Kerry Weems said.

These grants will help Medicaid programs fund local and rural initiatives to provide alternative health care settings for individuals with non-emergency medical needs

The first award of $26 million will fund 29 programs in 20 states, including Illinois. The remaining $24 million will be available to grantees in 2009.

Grantees will use the funds to:

• Establish new community health centers;

• Extend the hours of operation at existing clinics;

• Educate beneficiaries about new services; and

• Provide for electronic health information exchange between facilities for better coordination of care.

Gov. Blagojevich Slashes Decatur Homeless Day Center Funding, Local Leaders Try to Fill the Gap

(Decatur, IL) — At a recent Decatur town hall meeting, local civic leaders gathered to provide money and to debate the threatened closure of the Oasis Day Center.

Governor Rod Blagojevich’s Administration has slashed state funding to Oasis from $230,000 to $75,000 for Fiscal Year 2009, leaving a gaping hole in its budget..

Diana Knaebe, right, president of Heritage Behavorial Health Center which runs the Oasis, said, “I want to keep it open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. for 365 days of the year. If you have family, you wouldn’t want them out in the cold or be hot and have no place to go.”

At least 175 to 200 people seek refuge at the Oasis every day between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Mary Garrison, assistant professor of social work at Millikin University in Decatur said Oasis offers a safe haven for homeless to take showers, wash their clothes, access to a telephone and job postings, along with socializing with others by playing cards and other games.

If Oasis closes, Knaebe says the homeless will turn to local emergency services, police department, restaurants, libraries, churches, parks and businesses.

Hoping to save Oasis, Robert Bushey with Central Christian Church presented a check of $4,000 to the center. The church gave $5,000 when Oasis first opened back in 1999.

Millikin student Krista Carter presented a $10,000 check to Oasis on behalf of St. Mary’s Hospital CEO Kevin Cast. Kevin Breheny, president of J.L. Hubbard Insurance and Bonds, matched St. Mary’s with a $10,000 check.

The Rev. Anthony Anderson with the Black Clergy of Decatur and AOK Travel Network pledged $1,000 annually to Oasis.

Oasis remains $125,000 short.

Number of Illinois Residents Waiting in 2008 for Alcohol, Drug Abuse Treatment Jumps 17%, Report Says

(Springfield, IL) – The estimated number of Illinois residents waiting for alcohol and drug abuse assessment and treatment at state-financed facilities in 2008 rose 17 percent in, according to a report released at a press conference in Springfield on May 1.

The report by the Survey Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago surveyed 106 Illinois community treatment providers in December 2007 and revealed 7,541 people were waiting for some form of treatment, up from 6,467 in March 2007.

“Substance abuse treatment works best when an individual is ready,” said Sara Moscato Howe, above, CEO of the Illinois Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Association. “Turning people away at the door is unacceptable and only leads to crises for the person and the community.”

Moscato Howe said the state must invest $41 million this year to provide care to the growing number of untreated Illinois residents, to decrease wait times, and to provide relief to community service providers burdened by escalating expenses.

State Sen. Jeff Schoenberg (D-Evanston), left, is backing Moscato Howe’s call for additional money. Schoenberg is sponsoring legislation, S.B. 2886, to boost funding by $41 million in this year’s budget.

“Illinois is losing the battle against drug and alcohol abuse by failing to care for those who need treatment,” said Schoenberg. “We must stop the growing number of people forced on to waiting lists. We must be able to provide services for those who need help by adequately funding substance abuse treatment and prevention.”

Across the state, northern Illinois has the most people, 2,168, waiting for care. The fewest, 830, is in southern Illinois. The report also estimated that 595 youth are waiting for treatment. Central Illinois has the most youth waiting for treatment with 182 on waiting lists.

The funding legislation’s fate is uncertain.

New State Campaign Encourges Good Mental Health

(Chicago, IL) — With data suggesting that one in five Illinois residents is experiencing a mental health challenge at any one time, a new public education campaign has been launched to promote good mental health.

The new statewide “Say it Out Loud” campaign is jointly sponsored by the State of Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health, and the Illinois Children’s Mental Health Partnership, a network of more than 30 organizations across the state.

The campaign was unveiled on May 1 at a rally on Chicago’s Navy Pier as the state began its annual observance of Mental Health Awareness Month.

Data shows 70-90 percent of mental health diagnoses are treatable, but that fewer than half of the people actually seek treatment.

The campaign is using the stories of real people in advertisements being distributed to newspapers and radio stations in the state, and through videos featured on the campaign’s new Web site, http://www.mentalhealthillinois.org.

New Study Ranks Illinois 51st in U.S. for Developmental Disabilities Funding; NAMI Grades Illinois “F” for Mental Health Service Access

(Springfield, IL) — A new report–2008 State of the States in Developmental Disabilities–ranks Illinois 51st in the United States in funding for community residential DD services.

Illinois ranked behind the District of Columbia.

In addition, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) has once again given Illinois an ‘F’ for its lack of funding to ensure access to community MH services.

At a Springfield press conference on April 30, Janet Stover, Executive Director of the Illinois Association of Rehabilitation Facilities said, “An investment of $300-$400 million is projected for community DD and MH services to begin to address the needs in the community system and to help Illinois move away from its 51st and failing status nationally.”

According to the University of Illinois Rate Study, commissioned by the General Assembly, the community services system is underfunded by as much as 25%. Meanwhile. a report commissioned by the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities, suggests the DD system needs at least $200 - $250 million to bring Illinois to mid-point among resource investment made by states nationally.

New Health Care Plan Aims to Help 17,000 More Illinois Residents Get Mental Health Care

(Springfield, IL) – On March 5th, Illinois mental health advocates announced at a Springfield press conference a new health care initiative that could extend mental health care to an additional 17,000 residents in Illinois.

Under the “Bridging the Health Care Gap” plan developed by the Community Behavioral Healthcare Association of Illinois, an additional 16,829 Illinois residents—of which 8,830 are children—fighting depression or teen suicide could soon get the help they need once the state of Illinois starts spending existing mental health care dollars.

“Any decent Illinois health care plan needs to provide mental health care too; otherwise, the health plan is a mirage,” said Frank Anselmo, CEO of the Community Behavioral Health Care Association. “This new health plan does that—it provides mental health care to more people in Illinois.”

“Once the legislature and the Governor give the green light, the $42 million available and designated for mental health can be used to provide mental health care to more people in Illinois,” said CBHA Board President, Diana Knaebe, above.

For example, Anselmo says local mental health care providers will be able to:

• Provide more mental health clinics to help students at local high schools.

• Initiate house calls to homebound seniors who can no longer drive or navigate public transportation.

• Help children to get child psychiatrist services, saving parents the need to travel for hours to another state with their suffering child.

• Hire bi-lingual and bi-cultural mental health counselors to explain the purpose, value, and directions of prescribed medications to non-English speaking patients.

The plan would cost an estimated $42 million. Key to CBHA’s plan is drawing on $42 million from the Hospital Tax Assessment money received from the federal government nearly a year ago and money from the state’s Mental Health Trust Fund.

Anselmo, above, worries, however, that Governor Rod Blagojevich will sweep away mental health care money to plug the emerging state budget hole, sacrificing the mental health care and alcohol and drug abuse treatment needs of residents.

“The Illinois General Assembly appropriated $10 million six months ago for mental health care, yet not a single dollar has reached mental health care agencies in Illinois,” said Anselmo.

“The legislature must ensure that the Governor does not sweep mental health care money, but spends it on mental health care.”