Illinois § 20

§ 20.

Identification and referral of eligible individuals prior to hospital discharge or correctional facility release for purposes of rapid housing post discharge/release and illness stability. The pilot program is intended to enable affordable housing to avoid institutionalization or overdose death by providing for connection to housing through a variety of settings, including in hospitals, county jails, prisons, homeless shelters and inpatient detoxification facilities and the referral process established must take this into account. Within 2 months of the effective date of this Act, the Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health, in partnership with the Department of Healthcare and Family Services and the Department of Human Services, Division of Substance Use Prevention and Recovery (SUPR), the Department of Corrections, and with meaningful stakeholder input through a working group of Community Mental Health Centers, homeless service providers, substance use treatment providers, hospitals with inpatient psychiatric units or detoxification units, representatives from county jails, persons with lived experience, and family support organizations, shall develop a process for identifying and referring eligible individuals for the Housing is Recovery program prior to hospital discharge or correctional system release, or other appropriate place for referral, including homeless shelters. The process developed shall aim to enable rapid access to housing post-discharge/release to avoid unnecessary institutionalization or a return to homelessness or unstable housing. The working group shall meet at least monthly prior to development of an administrative rule or policy established to carry out the intent of this Act. The Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health, shall explore ways to collaborate with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Coordinated Entry System and other ways for electronic referral. The Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health, and the Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall collaborate to ensure that the referral process aligns with any existing or future Medicaid waivers or State plan amendments for tenancy support services. (Source: P.A. 102-66, eff. 7-9-21.)