Illinois young people with disabilities and mental health medical needs in the care of the state’s Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) will get more attention closer to home as the result of recently signed legislation.

When the Illinois Youth in Care Timely Provision of Essential Care Act arrived in the state Senate in March, state Sen. Adriane Johnson, D- Buffalo Grove, became its chief sponsor.

Johnson shepherded the legislation through the upper chamber before the end of the session in May to ensure youth in residential facilities will get better care and, when outplacement is necessary, it is closer to home.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker electronically signed the legislation Friday, charging DCFS with developing a plan in a timely fashion to assure youths in its care receive timely access to essential treatment.

“We can do better, and we ought to do better for these children who need care,” Johnson said. “Their lives have value. We want to make sure they get timely care and we can do it in Illinois.”

Part of the motivation behind Johnson’s effort to hold DCFS more accountable for the care of at risk youths is the disproportionate impact on minorities. Often already in foster care, the youngsters can be separated from people they know.

“Black and Brown youth are often sent out of town because of the long wait for care,” Johnson said. “They don’t have anyone around who knows them.”

As the Illinois General Assembly’s got closer to adjourning in May, Johnson enlisted the help of state Sen. Julie Morrison, D-Lake Forest, and state Sen. Mary Edly-Allen, D-Libertyville. They were the two Senate co-sponsors.

Morrison said it must also be easier for the level of care to be decreased, as a child has less needs and residential placement is no longer necessary. As they get better, they need more room to grow.

“We needed to hold DCFS’s feet to the fire on this important issue,” Morrison said. “As a child improves, they must be able to step down to a less restrictive environment. They must be able to step down in our state.”

Edly-Allen said the new law will give DCFS the tools it needs to improve a situation which has required updating for a long time. An educator as well as a legislator, she sees the necessity from a variety of angles.

“As an educator, I’m always looking to help those who are the most vulnerable,” Edly-Allen said.

With the legislation now law, DCFS is required to develop a written, strategic plan to comprehensively improve timely access to quality residential treatment locally, according to the legislation. The plan must be finalized within a year.

Along with provisions for residential treatment, the plan must include specialized foster care with significant emotional, behavioral and medical needs, according to the legislation. A transparent process with comments from stakeholders is required.

When done, the plan must also include a timeline for implementing each provision and ongoing stakeholder engagement while it is being put in place, according to the legislation.

Two days before this legislation became law Friday, Johnson was present when Pritzker signed a law she helped push through the Senate codifying to executive orders he issued during the coronavirus pandemic to reduce homelessness.

Johnson said the law creates the Illinois Interagency Task Force on Homelessness. It is designed to implement the governor’s goal to make homelessness “essentially zero” in 2025.