By Marcia M. Meis, Director, Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts
Federal SAMHSA Assisted Outpatient Treatment – A Pathway to Community Care
In November 2022, the Illinois Supreme Court approved an Illinois Mental Health Task Force Action Plan with recommendations to increase the use of civil pathways to outpatient care. In response, the Special Supreme Court Advisory Committee for Justice and Mental Health Planning, along with the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts (AOIC) and several key justice partners, developed a grant application in expectation of the Federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration’s (SAMHSA) FY2024 Assisted Outpatient Treatment Program for Individuals with Serious Mental Illness Notice of Funding Opportunity.
Due to the tireless efforts of many, the AOIC is pleased to announce approval of its competitive grant application titled “Assisted Outpatient Treatment: A Pathway to Community Care.” The grant project allocates up to $2,915,393 over 4 years. The AOIC and its justice partners will use the funds to operationalize effective structures to increase use of statutorily created civil outpatient pathways to mental health care in Cook and McLean Counties.
Why does Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) matter to the Illinois courts? AOT, also known as “outpatient civil commitment” or “mandated outpatient treatment,” is a form of civil commitment that authorizes the judicial system to commit eligible individuals with serious mental illness to mental health intervention in the community. By statute, Illinois establishes the parameters of whether an individual meets the criteria for this civil pathway to community-based mental health care. See 405 ILCS 5/1-119.1.
Although 47 states have established AOT statutes, some have been more successful than others in implementing and operationalizing AOT. At present, this pathway to mental health care in Illinois is said to be underutilized for a host of reasons, including lack of familiarity with the statutorily established process, fragmented communication amongst key stakeholders, inadequate process coordination, and limited case management resources. Consequently, many individuals repeatedly cycle through emergency medicine settings, inpatient units, and the criminal justice system.
AOT matters to the Illinois courts because effective implementation of AOT orders are anticipated to produce much needed positive outcomes, including individual quality of life improvements and benefits for the larger community by decreasing the stress on hospital emergency departments and criminal justice systems. AOT is a unique opportunity to improve the lives of people who, without court oversight, may struggle with adherence to treatment. The court’s oversight role provides structured accountability for both the community treatment provider and the person with an AOT order. Through increased use of this statutorily created intervention, courts may help circumvent the “revolving door” of repeated inpatient hospitalizations and/or arrests that is a reality for far too many individuals living with serious mental illness.
Although the grant project is focused on two counties, the grant funds also support the development and design of a “Tool Kit” to assist all Illinois courts and healthcare providers in replicating an AOT program design/model. Ultimately, funds will build capacity to ensure procedural adherence and system efficiency while also supporting direct client services such as community case management and peer support. For ongoing information and updates on the project, please monitor our Illinois Courts – Mental Health Leading Change Webpage.
Bureau of Justice Assistance – Community Supervision Strategies
The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) has awarded the AOIC application for the BJA FY24 Community Supervision Strategies grant. This is a 3-year grant ($900,000) allowing the AOIC Probation Services Division to work with two jurisdictions in establishing evidence-based community supervision strategies. The national model to be implemented is Swift, Certain, Fair (SCF) strategies with McLean and Kankakee Counties.
SCF strategies has substantial years of demonstrated effectiveness with individuals on probation. The BJA funds millions each year nationally to increase SCF nationwide. This grant will serve primarily as a “pass through” to provide local courts with additional training, resources, and established best practices to assess and improve responses to client behavior in accordance with the principles of SCF. Guided by one or more of those principles, supervision agencies will engage in collaborative problem-solving with stakeholders using data and research-informed strategies to improve supervision outcomes and promote the fair administration of justice.
DOJ Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention – Illinois Youth Are Worth it
Last but certainly not least, the AOIC recently was awarded a federal grant from the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention for the purpose of convening Illinois juvenile detention stakeholders to discuss detention standards, challenges, program highlights, and resources. The event, “Illinois Youth Are Worth It: A Learning Event for Illinois Juvenile Detention Partners” will be held in Kane County on October 9 with the aim of fostering productive conversations with detention leaders statewide to achieve the goal of providing the highest caliber of detention services in Illinois facilities. The target population is chief judges/juvenile judges, detention superintendents, and probation directors for each of the detention facilities.
The AOIC is indeed fortunate, and very grateful, for its leadership and grant staff whose dedication and grant application expertise helped to make all this work possible.