Apapachar in Rhythm Document by Heidy Martinez

The post Apapachar en Rhythm first appeared on NAMI Chicago.

Ask any person how they feel about taxes and prepare yourself for a myriad of responses. Some people have strong opinions; others have no opinion. What is consistent is that most people do not enjoy paying taxes – in many cases, the process is onerous and expensive.

Here in Illinois, we are subject to relatively high tax rates compared to surrounding states, but we seem to be in a permanent budget crisis. Any news out of Springfield revolves around the ongoing budget shortfalls and consistent fights between lawmakers about what survives the budgetary process each session. Local governments are left to shift their tax structures in response to these state insufficiencies, often resulting in higher property taxes to keep local services operational. If we are paying so much in taxes, where is the money going? Why do social services continually need to be cut? The answer lies in a foundational issue – our tax structure is outdated and inadequate for generating revenues for robust public service provision. To make matters even worse, our tax system is also deeply unequal – we are the 8th most unfair in the country. Without rethinking Illinois’ tax structure, we will continue to get less than what we pay for and see the further erosion of services like behavioral health clinics and health programming.

The first culprit of tax insufficiency is our sales tax. First implemented in the 1930s, the state sales tax primarily taxes goods rather than services at a total rate of 6.25% on general merchandise. This means that products like shampoo, clothing, and furniture have sales tax applied, but services like cleaning services and landscaping do not.

What is the problem with this? Under our current structure, the items low- and middle-income earners spend most of their income on are taxed, but that is not the case for high income earners. Wealthy individuals spend more on services at a ratio of 5 to 1 compared to lower-income households. This has a two-fold effect for the wealthy: the services they spend greater proportions of their incomes on are protected from taxation and less of their income is impacted by taxation on goods because they are not paying taxes on all of the items they purchase. As a result, wealthy and high-income individuals are largely insulated from the tax burden while low- and middle-income individuals bear the brunt of the tax. It simply does not make sense that individuals who have more ability to spend on services are effectively exempt from paying taxes on these items; if we want an efficient tax structure, we need to align the types of items taxed with the spending habits of the entire tax base.

The wealth and income inequality generated from this sales tax structure is enough to warrant reform, but there is additional evidence pointing toward the insufficiency of this structure for the growing expenditure needs of the state. Between 1997 and 2023, expenditures on goods rose by 156 percent compared to a rise of 200 percent on consumer services in the same period. Our inefficient structure misses the opportunity to generate revenue from items that are becoming more common. We have only been able to generate about 20% of state general funds from sales taxes; and this is our second largest source of revenue. The state’s failure to capture potential revenues through sales tax creates our perpetual budget crisis.

To make matters worse, Illinois also has a flat 4.95 percent individual income tax rate. This means that regardless of income, every person is taxed at the same rate, ensuring that high income earners pay less in taxes proportional to their income. In other words, because everyone is being taxed at the same rate, low-and-middle income earners spend a greater amount of their income on taxes compared to high income earners. Not only is this structure unfair, it is also deeply inefficient as it misses out on potential tax revenues to be gained by a more progressive structure. A progressive structure, where the tax rate increases proportionally with income, would cut income taxes for at least two-thirds of taxpayers while growing the Illinois economy by $1 billion to $8 billion annually. Our current system is leaving money on the table, and reinforcing inequities, inequalities, and inefficiencies in the process.

The clear issues with our tax system require reform, however, the biggest challenge to an improved structure is the state Constitution. Article IX, Section 2 of the Illinois Constitution requires uniformity across non-property taxation to ensure that all subjects are treated equally. In 2019, Governor J.B. Pritzker introduced the Fair Tax Illinois proposal to introduce a graduated tax structure in the state. This proposal gained traction but faced significant political challenges in a year already strained by the pandemic. Its ultimate failure taught important lessons about the uphill battle facing the state regarding tax reform but demonstrated a significant appetite for change among a diverse coalition of stakeholders.

There are two key considerations for future tax reform:

1. Amending the Illinois tax code to introduce a 5% sales tax that applies to goods and services would generate nearly $2 billion in annual state revenues, as well as additional revenues for counties, municipalities, local governments, and transit agencies and allow us to reduce inequalities and inefficiencies.
2. Reform to the income tax system begins with a Constitutional amendment to remove the uniformity requirement from Article IX, Section 2, similar to the Fair Tax Illinois proposal. An amendment should open the conversation for what comes next by focusing on creating more options for Illinoisians at every income level.
3. Implementing new revenue streams for Illinois will present lawmakers at the local and state levels with an opportunity to freeze or lower property taxes, providing much needed relief to Illinoisians who pay the highest effective property tax rates in the country.

If Illinois wants to continue providing high quality services for its residents, tax reform is needed. With the ongoing chaos at the federal level, it will become more important for the state to be self-sustaining and able to meet the needs of an increasing number of people. The current system is deeply unequal and leaves revenue opportunities on the table. Reforming the sales tax and the income tax will create stability and new opportunities for the state. We can improve the status quo while building a better future. We must recognize the dire straits we find ourselves in and move toward new.

The post A Tax Code That Can’t Keep Up: Why Revenues Don’t Match Our Needs first appeared on NAMI Chicago.

Starting July 16, 2022, people all over the United States will be able to dial 9-8-8 for someone to talk to if they’re having a mental health emergency. This launch is being celebrated as a big win for the mental health world. And it is an important step – but only a first step towards reimagining our mental health crisis response system.

What’s happening with 988 in Illinois?
When 988 rolls out, it will simply be an easy, 3-digit dialing code to reach an expanded version of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (NSPL). Not much will change from the existing NSPL service. People will be able to call or text the 988 line around the clock, and call takers will be trained mental health counselors who can listen, support, and help the caller stay safe.

The challenge is that the NSPL has struggled in Illinois. We haven’t had enough call centers or call takers for years, which means that 80% of calls placed in Illinois get answered out of state, and callers can face long hold times. In the first quarter of 2022, 31% of Illinois callers actually hung up before someone was able to answer.

With the launch of 988, the federal and Illinois governments have provided funding to bolster our call centers and improve answer rates. But Illinois has a tough hill to climb to build a successful 988 line. Hopefully, the 988 experience in our state after July 16 will be better than the NSPL has historically been.

What needs to happen?
NAMI Chicago advocates for a future where every person having a mental health emergency can get a safe, appropriate, urgent response in the moment, as well as a connection to longer-term support.

In this vision, the 988 phone number should operate as the “front door” into a multi-part, coordinated mental health crisis system. This would mean 988 could deploy mobile crisis responders to come to an emergency location, could send and receive calls from 911, and could  direct people to physical places where they can get same-day mental health support.

Bringing this vision to life will take years of work and leadership. Illinois’ system for mobile mental health responders is just getting set up, and needs more investment to cover the whole state. We need many, many more “places to go” during mental health emergencies; a range of alternatives to emergency rooms. And there is a lot of work to do behind the scenes like technology platforms, databases, and data sharing.

We must fund every piece of this system. Illinois is receiving some short-term federal grants to launch 988, and has invested $5 million of our own funds. But especially given that Illinois started off behind, the current funding levels won’t be enough as demand grows, and much of the short-term funding will expire.

Our advocacy
NAMI Illinois and NAMI Chicago are leading statewide advocacy and communications efforts  on the implementation of 988, including how it connects to the rest of the mental health crisis ecosystem. Our two main areas of advocacy are:

1. Sustainable funding: Designing creative solutions to make 988 successful long-term in Illinois, such as improving health insurance coverage of mental health emergency care, or securing dedicated state funding for call centers.

2. Build 988 as a full crisis continuum: Thinking big about care for people in crisis, including growing a more local network of 988 call centers, building processes for every part of the system to communicate with each other, and adding more in-person mental health emergency services.

For more information about the 988 and mental health crisis, or to get involved with advocacy efforts, please contact Rachel Bhagwat at rachelb@namichicago.org.

Reinventing Crisis Response – Preparing Illinois for 988

What’s New in 2022 in Illinois’ Mental Health Crisis System

The post Reinventing Crisis Response: Preparing Illinois for 988 first appeared on NAMI Chicago.

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.

The post Mental Health Early Action on Campus Appropriations Act first appeared on NAMI Chicago.

NAMI Chicago envisions a city where everyone has meaningful and equitable access to mental health treatment as well as services and resources that promote individual and community wellness and recovery. Learn more about each issue area below.

1. Treatment Availability

Everyone deserves access to the mental health services they need, when they need them, and in the manner that works best for them. Promoting “treatment availability” in Chicago requires complex solutions, because treatment looks different for everyone. People differ in their preferences and the levels of support they need.

Areas that fall under “treatment availability” policy work include: expanding mental health crisis response services, reducing barriers to paying for services, increasing service capacity in currently underserved communities, and ensuring the availability of both in-person and virtual services.

NAMI Chicago’s ongoing work in this area

• Advocating for the development of infrastructure for the mental health crisis response system in Chicago and Illinois. This includes the development of co-responder and non-police crisis response models that are interconnected with 9-1-1 emergency services.

• Advocating for increased state funding for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline ahead of the full implementation of 9-8-8 in July 2022.

• Advocating for reform of the state forensic mental health system to foster recovery among individuals within this system.

2. Equity

Equity weaves through all of NAMI Chicago’s work. However, it’s critical to call out the central necessity of ensuring that all Chicagoans, regardless of language, national origin, race, ethnicity, or gender, are able to live in well communities and have access to high quality mental health services from competent and appropriate providers.

NAMI Chicago will advocate for policies that expand opportunities for people with diverse backgrounds and lived experience to join the peer workforce, increase service capacity in BIPOC communities, address community trauma, and promote prevention and early intervention.

NAMI Chicago’s ongoing work in this area

• Expanding outreach, education, and engagement around mental wellness on the South and West Sides of Chicago to build community power

• Advocating for the expansion of availability of mental health services for low-income Illinois children through Medicaid.

• Building our own organization’s capacity to train and empower a peer workforce, with intentional work to recruit from communities that reflect those we serve

3. Prevention

Prevention is about providing mental health education and empowerment on a community level, that equips people to build the tools they need to support mental wellness. It is also about intervening as soon as possible after the onset of a person’s mental health symptoms, to provide treatment that improves their quality of life in the short- and long- term.

NAMI Chicago will advocate for policies that keep individuals and families healthy and stable as well as ensuring individuals are able to connect to services right away, before they get to a point of crisis.

NAMI Chicago’s ongoing work in this area

• Expanding access to mental health support on college campuses across Illinois

• Increasing diversion for individuals with mental health conditions away from the juvenile and adult criminal court systems, into treatment

• Increasing the flexibility of mental health service options, so that waitlists and delays in care do not interfere with people’s ability to access mental health care early and when needed

4. Community Supports

Each person’s mental health is affected by the situations and society in which they live. NAMI Chicago recognizes the importance of home, community, and purpose to people’s mental health experiences. We support policies and practices that improve access to community supports that foster mental wellness.

NAMI Chicago will advocate for policies that promote access to safe, affordable and appropriate housing, heal community trauma, and address the impacts of structural racism on communities.

NAMI Chicago’s ongoing work in this area

• Advocating for the full implementation of the City of Chicago’s 2019 Healing Communities report

• Expanding the availability and funding of permanent supportive housing through state legislation.

• Advocating for trauma-informed practices to address community trauma, which disproportionately impacts communities of color in Chicago.

With questions about NAMI Chicago’s policy and advocacy work, contact Tony Ohlhausen, Research Coordinator, at tony@namichicago.org. To get involved as an advocate, visit namichicago.org/advocate.

The post NAMI Chicago’s 2021-22 Policy Priorities first appeared on NAMI Chicago.

To continue supporting people living with mental health conditions across the country, national mental health advocates, including NAMI, came together to develop a comprehensive vision to create a comprehensive mental health system in every state and nationally. This vision provides a platform to create a paradigm shift in the way mental health, substance use, and well-being are prioritized by policymakers.

Critical elements of this work include:

• Early identification and prevention- Outcomes can be greatly improved by focusing on prevention, early identification and intervention, with a focus on children, youth, and families.

• Emergency and crisis response- Currently, responses to mental health crises often result in negative outcomes – physical harm, trauma, and criminal justice involvement. Creating systems of care for individuals experiencing a mental health crisis will improve outcomes and promote recovery.

• Equity- Racism, historical inequities, and discriminatory structures and policies disproportionately impact the mental health of people of color within and outside the mental health system. By addressing these traumatic inequities, we can reduce stigma and improve mental health in all communities.

• Integration- By integrating physical health, mental health, and substance use services, we can improve quality and outcomes by treating the whole person.

• Parity- Ensure fair and equivalent coverage for mental health and substance use disorders.

• Standards- High quality services are necessary to achieve positive outcomes for individuals living with mental health conditions. Systems of accountability improve outcomes and quality of life.

• Workforce- Increase the number and diversity of mental health and substance use disorder providers, including peer providers.

Read the Unified Vision for Transforming Mental Health and Substance Use Care by clicking here.

The post National Mental Health Advocates Develop Vision for Mental Health and Substance Use Care first appeared on NAMI Chicago.

A Lurie Children’s Hospital study from July 2020 found 20% of children in Illinois are experiencing symptoms of a mental health condition, largely due to stress related to the pandemic. This signals a massive increase in the need for mental health support for the state’s kids.

With the pandemic, kids are dealing with the loss of peer contact and social interaction in school, the loss of a relative, a financial strain due to a parent losing a job combined with the group of kids who are untreated and unrecognized this percentage is growing. Before the pandemic, only a fraction of children who needed mental health treatment were able to access care. Now, it is likely even more difficult.

These challenges cannot be solved overnight, nor can they be solved by legislation alone. However, NAMI Chicago has been working hard to expand access to mental health services for youth and young adults across the state.

For years, NAMI Chicago has been providing mental health awareness training in classrooms across the city through our Ending the Silence (ETS) program. ETS is a 90-minute curriculum for high school students that incorporates a young adult sharing their personal experience addressing their mental health needs as well as tools for students to seek the help they or a friend needs. NAMI Chicago has also created a dedicated online hub for youth mental health to help kids, family members, and educators best support themselves and those they care about. In 2020, NAMI Chicago presented ETS to over 10,000 students across the city.

As part of the Healthy Minds Healthy Lives Coalition, NAMI Chicago supported the passage of multiple pieces of state legislation aimed at making it easier for kids to get the mental health treatment they need. Through our efforts, Illinois has expanded Medicaid and private insurance coverage for in-home team-based mental health and substance use treatment for youth and young adults. Illinois is the first state in the country to mandate coverage for these models, like Assertive Community Treatment and Community Supported Treatment, for private insurance.

Further, mental health care needs don’t end when kids graduate high school and go to college. Nationally, only 25% of college students who need mental health services receive them. To address this huge gap in care, NAMI Chicago and Young Invincibles supported the passage of the Mental Health Early Action on Campus Act in 2019. The Act seeks to improve access to mental health treatment and support at Illinois public colleges and universities by increasing training and awareness, peer support, capacity building, and technical assistance.

There is still much work to be done to support the mental health of youth and young adults in Illinois. NAMI Chicago is committed to continue advocating for increased access to mental health services and supports for all children in the state.

The post Growing need to support Illinois children’s mental health first appeared on NAMI Chicago.