In 2019, the State Justice Institute (SJI) funded a three-year project called the National Initiative to Improve the Justice System Response to Mental Illness and Co-Occurring Disorders. Based on the recognition and importance of the “initiative”, the Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators (CCJ/COSCA) established the National Judicial Task Force to Examine State Courts’ Response to Mental Illness with a charge to “assist state courts in their efforts to more effectively respond to the needs of court-involved individuals with serious mental illness.” Led by four chief justices and four state court administrators (including Illinois’ very own Director Meis and Second District Appellate Court Justice, Kathryn Zenoff) and joined by 40 additional judges, court, and behavioral health experts, SJI continues to support the Task Force in accomplishing its goals of developing tools, resources, best practices and policy recommendations for the state and local courts. It expected that CCJ/COSCA will approve final Task Force documents, resources, and recommendations at its July 2022 meeting.
As part of the Task Force origins, Chief Justice Anne M. Burke led an Illinois delegation to a CCJ/COSCA hosted Summit that combined educational sessions with opportunities for multidisciplinary state teams to identify opportunities and develop strategies to improve the state court response to mental illness. Upon returning to Illinois, Chief Justice Anne M. Burke and her Supreme Court Colleagues established the an interdisciplinary, multi-branch group of leaders to form the Illinois Mental Health Task Force (Task Force). Through SJI funding, the Illinois Supreme Court added a national partner, the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) to provide technical assistance. The Task Force goals are to:
- Build a community-by-community approach, supported by statewide leadership from all three branches of government;
- Conduct a statewide mapping or needs assessment to identify what is working and what gaps exist;
- Assist in creating a vision for Illinois' mental health continuum of care;
- Develop and implement a statewide strategic plan; and
- Ensure accountability through transparency and accessible reports on Task Force activities.
Since it’s inception, the Task Force has been leading change in Illinois through general stakeholder engagement and state-level/cross sector coordination along with several calls to action and activities including:
Moving forward, the Task Force will further its efforts by drafting an Action Plan based on resources, information, and opportunities shared through the Regional Council and Resource Mapping Workshops and Community Assessment Survey. Forthcoming actions also include implementation of Pilot Programs through administration of the BJA Justice & Mental Health Collaboration Program Grant and a follow-up to the previously hosted Improving the Court and Community Response to Persons with Mental Illness and Co-Occurring Disorders Through Compassion and Hope Summit Series.
Ongoing updates, resources, and training opportunities can be found on the Task Force Webpage. Stay Tuned and Stay Informed!
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