CBHA advances several pieces of legislation each year to enhance the delivery of behavioral healthcare in Illinois. Our 2025 legislative agenda is summarized below. For specific questions or to support our initiatives, please contact Tyler Smith, Director of Policy and Government Affairs, at tsmith@cbha.net.

988 Omnibus – SB 1480 (Fine)

In previous years, CBHA championed legislation to achieve sustainability in crisis care delivery by constituting a work group of experts. With our partners at NAMI-IL and NAMI-Chicago, CBHA is working to enact the funding recommendations of that work group as quickly as possible to ensure all people have access to high-quality, appropriately-funded crisis care. 

CESSA Reforms – HB 3697 (Cassidy) & SB 2500 (Peters)

CESSA unintentionally eliminates the ability of providers to assist in involuntary commitment beyond a few specific tasks, which will unfortunately increase police involvement in crisis care. CBHA has been working with DMH and Access Living on reforms to CESSA so that our providers can continue to engage in the involuntary commitment process where appropriate and ensure that police involvement is always kept to an absolute minimum. 

988 Surcharge – SB 2120 (Fine)

One of the sustainable funding recommendations for crisis care is the establishment of a 988 surcharge, which, like the currently-existing 911 surcharge, funds emergency services via a telecommunications fee. Several states have enacted legislation to establish a 988 surcharge, but Illinois currently funds crisis care through General Revenue Funds, which is unreliable and unsustainable. 

Prior Authorization Ban – HB 1448 (Syed), HB 1603 (Fine), HB 3707 (LaPointe)

CBHA is pursuing a ban on prior authorizations for behavioral health services with our partners at NAMI-IL, IARF, and Thresholds. We are seeking a ban that is comprehensive and applies to both Medicaid and commercial insurance. Prior authorization requirements imposed on behavioral health services are a direct barrier to care for clients.  Although the vast majority of PAs are approved, PAs represent a serious administrative burden for clinicians who have to repeatedly justify their treatment decisions to MCOs. Prior authorizations also directly lead to clients going without services, which increases the financial strain on hospitals and jails. 

Licensure Package – HB 1365 (Morgan)

The 2025 CBHA Licensure Package is a comprehensive attempt to eliminate the effects of licensure delays on the behavioral health industry. Each of the major professions (social work, counseling, marriage and family therapy, music therapy, and psychology) are included in the legislation. 

Minimum Age Reforms – HB 3766 (West/Villa)

CBHA is championing legislation to lower the age requirement to become a Rehabilitative Support Associate (RSA) or a Peer Support Worker (PSW). RSAs and PSWs are both entry-level positions for behavioral health, so currently there are very few paths for a person under 21 years old to become a behavioral health professional. 

Anti-Conversion Therapy Resolution – SR 10 (Edly-Allen), HR Pending (Cassidy)

Conversion therapy is a form of fraud in which providers make a false promise to change a client’s sexual orientation or gender identity in exchange for money. CBHA will be advancing a resolution that condemns conversion therapy, declares it fraudulent for all populations, and directs the Department of Public Health to begin a public education campaign to crack down on currently-practicing providers who engage in conversion therapy. As part of this initiative, CBHA will also be working with the Trevor Project, Equality-Illinois, and NASW-IL to prepare educational resources for providers, clients, attorneys, and others who wish to help stop the spread of conversion therapy.  

Unfit Parent Reforms – HB 3365 (Vella)

Current DCFS policies unfairly label specific populations as unfit parents, including those who have experienced domestic violence, poverty, or homelessness. CBHA is pursuing legislation with a large coalition of child welfare providers and system advocates to re-examine the definition of “unfit parent” to ensure that no one unjustly faces the trauma of family separation. 

Child Welfare Conditional Employment – SB 222 (Halpin)

Substantial delays in the processing of background checks has caused workforce issues for many child welfare providers across the state. The DCFS background check process takes far too much time for most applicants (4–6 weeks on average), and hiring teams report losing prospective clinicians on a regular basis. CBHA has been working with CYFS to bring forward legislation that would establish conditional employment so that prospective clinicians can begin the extensive training while their background check results are pending, provided that these new clinicians do not have access to children (or information about children) until the results are in.