Illinois fails troubled kids

Chicago Lakeshore Hospital is one of the last acute care mental health safeguards in Illinois, and it serves roughly 25 percent of the children who are wards of the state needing mental health care. Across the United States, access to mental health and substance abuse services are severely lacking.

There must exist an outlet for treating the most acute, symptomatic population of our community. Otherwise, our patients end up in alternatives that are unacceptable — jails, the juvenile system, substandard and unspecialized general acute hospitals that lack the capacity — or they go untreated in the foster system and homeless population.

As Christy Gutowski reported (“Watchdogs want outside investigation of Chicago pyschiatric hospital,” Nov. 1), Illinois has seen a reduction of 450 beds in residential treatment facilities. Combine that with cuts to psychiatric leadership grants, which fund many local treatment providers, and Illinois is unable to address the basic mental health needs of its residents. This systemic problem also includes dismal funding for neonatal services and early education programs for low-income families. Illinois routinely ranks at the bottom of the list for states funding these resources, and it has one of the lowest Medicaid reimbursement rates in the country. Lakeshore is one of the few largescale, acute care mental health hospitals that has not been forced to close due to Illinois’ dismal funding.

The patients we treat often have a history of trauma and neglect and are prone to acting out. Health care providers know this population of patients, who are often physically and emotionally volatile, are difficult to treat. That is why many simply refuse to do so. Unlike other providers, Lakeshore has continuously filled the need and made a commitment to serve as a safety net for children who are wards of the state. Every allegation, regardless of the probability, is taken seriously, reported to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, and immediately investigated.

Funding to community mental health programs has been dramatically reduced, largely because of the budget impasse that began in 2014. Community mental health programs are vital partners. By eviscerating them, the state puts more pressure on hospitals as the only resource. We are mightily trying to do our job. When will the state of Illinois do its job and properly fund this important work?

— David Fletcher-Janzen, CEO Chicago Lakeshore Hospital