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About IDPH

Illinois Children's Mental Health Partnership

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Publications

The Illinois Children’s Mental Health Partnership was created as a result of the Children’s Mental Health Act of 2003. Its mission is to develop and monitor the implementation of the Illinois Children’s Mental Health Plan and advise state agencies and the Children's Behavioral Health Transformation Initiative on designing and implementing short-term and long-term strategies to provide comprehensive and coordinated services for children from birth to age 25 and their families to address children's mental health needs across a full continuum of care, including social determinants of health, prevention, early identification, and treatment.

The partnership consists of the following members or their designees:

  • Governor
  • Attorney General
  • Secretary, Illinois Department of Human Services
  • Illinois State Superintendent of Education
  • Director, Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
  • Director, Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services
  • Director, Illinois Department of Public Health
  • Director, Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice
  • Executive Director, Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development
  • Director, Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority
  • Illinois House member appointed by the House Speaker
  • Illinois Senate member appointed by the Senate President
  • Illinois Senate member appointed by the Senate Minority Leader
  • Illinois House member appointed by the House Minority Leader
  • Up to 25 representatives from the public, reflecting a diversity of age, gender identity, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and geographic location are to be appointed by the Governor. Those public members must include, but are not limited to:
    1. a family member or individual with lived experience in the children's mental health system
    2. a child advocate
    3. a community mental health expert, practitioner, or provider
    4. a representative of a statewide association representing a majority of hospitals in the state
    5. an early childhood expert or practitioner
    6. a representative from the K-12 school system
    7. a representative from the health care sector
    8. a substance use prevention expert or practitioner, or a representative of a statewide association representing community-based mental health substance use disorder treatment providers in the state
    9. a violence prevention expert or practitioner
    10. a representative from the juvenile justice system
    11. a school social worker
    12. a representative of a statewide organization representing pediatricians

Two co-chairs are appointed by the governor, one being the director of Public Health and the other representing the public. IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra currently serves as co-chair.

A list of current members is available here

Resources

Publications