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Board of Directors

Dennis Raleigh, President
Rodolfo Hernandez, Vice President
Bob Peiler, Secretary / Treasurer
Donna Adamic
Michelle Bednarz
Melissa Ditkowich
Magda Favale
Diane Johnson
Mario Lavorato
Jean Rehor

Honorary Board Members

Larry Dominick, Town President
Martin Sandoval, State Senator
James Heelan
Helen "Scottie" Heelan

Executive Director
John Morgan, LCPC

Family Service and Mental
Health Center of Cicero

5341 W. Cermak Road
Cicero, Illinois 60804
www.cicerofs.org
(708) 656-6430

March 10, 2008

Proposed Plan Seeks to Increase Access to Mental Health Care for 17,000 More Illinois Residents

Illinois mental health advocates recently announced a new health care initiative that could extend mental health care to an additional 17,000 residents in Illinois.

Under the plan proposed by the Community Behavioral Healthcare Association of Illinois (CBHA), an additional 16,829 Illinois residents, including 8,830 children, could soon get the help they need once the state allocates money already available for mental health care.

"Any decent health care plan needs to provide mental health care too," 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, $42 million designated for mental health services can be used to provide care to more people in Illinois," said Anselmo.

The additional money will allow community mental health providers to:

• Provide more school-based mental health care to emotionally troubled students.
• Reach out to homebound seniors who can no longer drive or navigate public transportation.
• Improve access to psychiatric care for children, easing the burden currently placed on parents.
• Hire bi-lingual mental health counselors to improve mental health care in communities with large immigrant populations.

The plan proposed by CBHA would be funded by the Hospital Tax Assessment received from the federal government nearly a year ago, as well as money from the state's Mental Health Trust Fund.

Anselmo worries, however, that Governor Blagojevich will sweep away these funds for other purposes, sacrificing the needs of children and adults with serious mental health concerns, as well as drug and alcohol problems.

"The legislature appropriated $10 million six months ago for mental health care, yet not a single dollar has reached community mental health agencies in Illinois," said Anselmo. "The legislature must ensure that the Governor does not redirect these funds for other purposes."

Anselmo noted that in 2006, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) gave the mental health care system in Illinois a grade of "F". "If Illinois is to improve, the state needs to spend this money on mental health care."