Mental Health Early Action on Campus Appropriations Act
Today, January 31, 2022, NAMI Chicago is proud to announce the filing of the Mental Health Early Action on Campus Appropriations Act, brand-new legislation that would provide $19 million in funding for mental health on Illinois’ college and university campuses.
HB5424 was introduced Friday in the Illinois State House by State Representative La Shawn K. Ford. Companion legislation, SB4055, was introduced by State Senator Celina Villanueva in the Illinois State Senate.
For many years, NAMI Chicago and our partners at Young Invincibles have been champions for campus mental health. One third of all college students have been diagnosed with a mental health condition, a 14% increase in the last decade, yet only 25% of college students receive treatment. There are serious implications for this: research shows that graduation rates are lower for students with mental health conditions, especially for Black, Latinx, and low income students. Dropout rates are 2.5x higher.
HB5424/SB4055 would appropriate $19 million in Illinois’ 2023 fiscal year to fully fund the 2019 Mental Health Early Action on Campus Act (MHEACA). NAMI Chicago and Young Invincibles authored and championed the MHEACA, which required all of Illinois’ public 2- and 4-year colleges and universities to support the mental health of students through increased training and awareness, new screening tools, improving treatment options and peer support on campus, and more.
Though the MHEACA passed unanimously in 2019, it was not funded. For three years, universities and community colleges have been left scrambling without resources to create necessary change, especially amongst increased need due to COVID-19.
This year, we’re advocating to change that. HB5424/SB4055 would fully fund the MHEACA at all Illinois public colleges and universities next year, at the levels requested individually by each campus. The bill would also require the State to determine future funding levels needed to implement the Act the following year and beyond.
It is time we fund campus mental health services. This legislation represents a critical investment in the lives and futures of students in Illinois, and we must get it across the finish line.
To get involved with NAMI Chicago’s advocacy on campus mental health, please contact Rachel Bhagwat, Director of Policy, at rachelb@namichicago.org.