Now is a truly exciting time to be a mental health law practitioner.

Mental Health Matters reported on the six sessions of the Illinois Mental Health Summit series, Improving the Court and Community Response to Persons with Mental Illness and Co-Occurring Disorders through Compassion and Hope, held virtually from September-December 2020.  As a final product of the summit series, the National Center for State Courts drafted and issued a 2020 Illinois Mental Health Summit Report, available at https://www.illinoiscourts.gov/courts/additional-resources/mental-health-task-force/

On December 7, the Illinois Supreme Court and National Center for State Courts hosted a Report Release Web Event: A Call to Action to present an overview of national initiatives, report findings, and Illinois Mental Health Task Force next steps.

In announcing the event, the court noted, “Ultimately, the results of the Regional Mapping Workshops will inform a statewide vision of what a behavioral health continuum of care with multiple diversion pathways should look like in Illinois and lead to development of a plan and pilot projects to improve court and community responses to mental health and co-occurring disorders.”  After completion of the Resource Mapping Workshops, it is hoped that each community and region will sustain efforts through ongoing Councils or leveraging efforts through collaboration with established coordinating councils, task forces, and coalitions.

“The release of the Summit Report and the recent hire of a Statewide Behavioral Health Administrator to facilitate the Task Force equips the Supreme Court with a road map and resource to continue leading the change at the intersection of behavioral health and justice. My Supreme Court colleagues and I thank everyone involved in the summit series and heeding this call to action,” said Hon. Chief Justice Anne M. Burke.

For further information regarding the Illinois Mental Health Task Force, visit https://www.illinoiscourts.gov/courts/additional-resources/mental-health-task-force/ or contact Scott Block, Statewide Behavioral Health Administrator, Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, at sblock@illinoiscourts.gov or (312) 793-1876.

Also, watch future issues of Mental Health Matters for reports on statewide projects as the momentum moves us forward.