OVERVIEW AND PURPOSE: The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is statutorily required (59 ILL. Admin. Ch 1 Part 132) to administer the Medicaid Community Mental Health Services Program (MCMHS) pertaining to the certification of providers and deliver technical assistance necessary for the development of Medicaid Community Mental Health Services. DCFS is responsible for providing an array of community level services, preventative services and protective services for the children and families of Illinois. The Purpose of Part 132 Medicaid Community Mental Health Services Program is to facilitate the establishment of a comprehensive and coordinated continuum of community-based programs, sensitive to the needs of local communities, for persons with or at risk for a diagnosis of mental illness; to effectuate the Division of Mental Health's role as the federally-recognized State Mental Health Authority with statutory mandates to plan, fund and monitor community-based mental health programs, to promote the availability of culturally relevant, evidence-based, developmentally appropriate, trauma-informed mental health programs across the lifespan; to maximize the effectiveness and quality of programs to ensure cost efficiency and best possible outcomes in natural settings that reduce the use of institutional care and to establish criteria for certification and recertification of Comprehensive Community Mental Health Centers (CMHC) and other entities seeking to offer programs directly funded by DCFS.
