IL HB2944

Creates the Mind Strong Act to strengthen mental health and substance use crisis response services as alternatives to law enforcement involvement.

Requires the Department of Public Health to develop and lead a 2-year educational campaign across Illinois' 11 health regions on adult mobile crisis response services, beginning no later than January 1, 2022, with culturally competent and multilingual materials targeting community stakeholders including hospitals, law enforcement, faith-based organizations, and homeless shelters.

Establishes a grant program under the Department of Human Services to provide adult mobile crisis response services to adults age 18 or older experiencing mental health or substance use crises regardless of insurance status, including linkage and case management services for up to 90 days post-crisis.

Directs the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to develop training and protocols for Crisis and Referral Entry Services (CARES) line staff within one year, including staffing requirements for mental health professionals and peers with lived experience, and to standardize crisis response policies across providers.

Requires collection of annual data on CARES line calls, demographics of service recipients, provider availability, law enforcement involvement, service linkages, and caller satisfaction to develop crisis response systems in each health region.