RESOLUTION CONCERNING THE FUTURE OF CHICAGO PUBLIC MENTAL HEALTH CLINICS
WHEREAS, Providing for adequate and appropriate mental health services for all Chicagoans in need is essential to the safety and general well-being of the entire City of Chicago; and
WHEREAS, In 2012, the City of Chicago closed six of its 12 mental health clinics reducing mental health services available to Chicagoans, disrupting client/therapist relationships and requiring many clients to travel much farther for services; and
WHEREAS, The closure of the clinics was so poorly managed that CDPH could only account for 2,789 of the 5,337 clients CDPH referenced in testimony before the City Council regarding the plans for closure of the clinics; and
WHEREAS, The claimed $2.3 million in cost savings resulting from the closure of the six city clinics failed to account for the additional costs of increased emergency room visits, hospitalizations, police interventions and incarcerations; and
WHEREAS, The CDPH leadership is currently pursuing policies that jeopardize the city's remaining six clinics including the failure to join a provider network such as CountyCare, triggering the termination of services for current Medicaid patients as the state moves towards managed care; and
WHEREAS, As part of a health care network the city's six remaining clinics could generate a more stable source of revenue and ensure continued access to mental health services in currently underserved areas and for underserved populations, such as individuals released from Cook County Jail and homeless individuals; now therefore
BE IT RESOLVED That we, the undersigned members of the City of Chicago City Council, gathered together this 2nd Day of April, 2014 AD, urge the Committee on Health and Environmental Protection to expeditiously convene public hearings to take testimony from the Commissioner of the Department of Public Health and experts in the mental health field as well as solicit comment from the general public concerning the future of the Chicago Department of Public Health Mental Health Clinics and the need for expanded mental health services within the city as well as measures that can be implemented to ensure continued access to mental health services in all communities throughout the City of Chicago.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED That a copy of this resolution be prepared and presented to Dr. Bechara Choucair, Commissioner of the Department of Public Health and the Honorable George Cardenas, Chairman of the Committee on Health and Environmental Protection.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the findings of this hearing be documented and presented to this august body and the Honorable Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of the City of Chicago, so that appropriate action on behalf of one of this city's most needy and vulnerable populations may be undertaken.