Governor Announces Funds to Help Juveniles in Detention Receive Mental Health Services

SPRINGFIELD -- Governor George H. Ryan and First Lady Lura Lynn Ryan today announced $2.5 million will be administered through the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS)--as part of the Futures for Kids Initiative--to provide mental health services to all juvenile detention centers in Illinois.

This expansion of the Futures for Kids Juvenile Justice Mental Health initiative allows the department to provide a stronger continuum of care between the state's mental health system, courts, probation and detention services and community mental health providers.

"By expanding the department's Mental Health Juvenile Justice Initiative, we can better monitor and meet the needs of Illinois' minors with mental illness," Governor Ryan said. "Young people, especially those who are mentally ill, deserve every opportunity to lead productive lives and we can help make that possible by providing the services necessary to prevent them from becoming lost in the system."

The increased funding will allow juvenile detention centers to better identify youth with serious mental illness and also create a liaison position within the partner or provider's organization to assure linkage to needed mental health and other important services. The funds also will provide access to services that may not otherwise be readily available in the community.

"By providing youth who have been detained in juvenile facilities with appropriate mental health services and partnering them with a liaison, we can better assist these young people in having a productive future," said Lura Lynn Ryan, First Lady and Futures for Kids Chair. " This was one of the top recommendations of the Futures for Kids Advisory Panel's Juvenile Justice Work Group and we are pleased to have been able to implement it through the Department of Human Services."

Futures for Kids is an umbrella initiative for programs and policies under the direction of First Lady Lura Lynn Ryan, which makes a significant difference in the lives of Illinois' children. Some programs include academic assistance, recreation and sports, cultural and artistic activities, life skills education, employment training and mentoring. Its goals are to increase academic success while reducing risk-taking behaviors such as substance abuse, criminal activity and premature sexual behavior.

The MHJJ program expansion will increase department services to ten counties with detention centers in Illinois and augment services in Cook County. The additional $2,575,000 will allow DHS to provide services to youth exiting their county detention centers who have major affective disorders or psychoses. In Cook County, the Community Mental Health Council will receive funding for four service integration liaisons to better serve the detention center that receives the largest number of detainees statewide.

DHS began funding the MHJJ initiative in FY00 in seven counties in Illinois. Currently, more than 18,000 minors are held in Juvenile Detention Centers in Illinois. Federal research finds that approximately 15% of the youth in detention have major mental illnesses.

Below is a list of partners and providers whose programs will be expanded.