Title
Resolution accepting and placing on file the Mental Health Coalition Data Sharing Project Report dated December 11, 2017.
Staff Summary
• The Lake County Board created the Mental Health Coalition (Coalition) on November 8, 2016, to study and collaborate with stakeholders and service providers to affect community level goals of reducing and preventing mental, emotional, and behavioral health illness in Lake County.
• Lake County Chairman Aaron Lawlor and former Illinois Senator Susan Garrett led the community based initiative focused on data sharing and evidence-based practices to address gaps and develop a connected sustainable continuum of care on mental health.
• The Coalition consisted of treatment providers from various organizations, including representatives of the County Board, other current or former elected officials, local hospitals, health department, homeless and housing agencies, education and employment agencies, consumer and philanthropic organizations, law enforcement and justice
• The 18-member ad hoc committee met monthly to collaborate, leverage existing programs, collect and share data, and enhance and improve the many strong programs, providers, and services in the community.
• The Coalition developed consensus on a long-term vision, recommendations, and 2018 through 2019 go first strategies to enhance Behavioral Health Care coordination.
• The Coalition’s recommendations include: 1) implementing a multi stage approach to data sharing near term results it deidentified, unduplicated aggregated data and that long term results in a centralized data warehouse with participant-level data; 2) implement data governance structures, standard operating procedures, security, and processes; 3) formalize change management structures; 4) foster relationships with the Illinois Medicaid Agency and Managed Care Organizations; 5) support learning opportunities for behavioral health service providers and an anti-stigma education campaign; 6) support expansion or shifts in the behavioral health services continuum, 7) influence federal and state law that support active sharing of information to coordinate care, while also safeguarding privacy; and 8) explore potential funding mechanisms to establish a financially sustainable data sharing program.
• The Coalition accepted and placed on file the Data Sharing Project Report with the eight recommendations and go first strategies; and formally recommends that the Lake County Board also accept and place on file this report.
• Following action by the Lake County Board, the goal will be to broadly share the findings of the report with the larger Lake County community and begin work on the go first strategies.
Body
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, the nation and Lake County are facing a mental health crisis; and
WHEREAS, one in five adults (43.8 million in the U.S. lives with a mental health condition. Mental health challenges impact each one of our communities; and
WHEREAS, adults in the U.S. living with a serious mental illness die an average 25 years earlier than others, largely due to treatable conditions; and
WHEREAS, 17 percent of adults in Northern Lake County reported mental illness in the past year; and
WHEREAS, Lake County Chairman Aaron Lawlor championed the behavioral health community to start where we are, use what we have, and do what we can; and
WHEREAS, the Mental Health Coalition (Coalition) was established on November 8, 2016, to address gaps and develop a connected sustainable continuum of care on mental health; and
WHEREAS, Lake County Chairman Aaron Lawlor and former Illinois Senator Susan Garrett led the community-based initiative to address gaps and develop a connected sustainable continuum of care on mental health; and
WHEREAS, the Coalition consists of a diverse group of treatment providers from various organizations, including representatives of the County Board, other current or former elected officials, local hospitals, health department, homeless and housing agencies, education and employment agencies, consumer and philanthropic organizations, law enforcement, and justice; and
WHEREAS, the Coalition’s purpose is to advance sustainable community level
change through collaborative efforts, such as enhanced system-wide data sharing,
coordination, and collaboration, to better leverage existing limited resources, and
maximize their impact; and
WHEREAS, the Coalition met monthly in 2017 to focus on data sharing and evidence-based practices to address the mental health crisis and strengthen behavioral health services in Lake County; and
WHEREAS, the Coalition researched other successful communities’ behavioral health data sharing initiatives that could align with Lake County; and
WHEREAS, the Coalition conducted a data sharing environmental scan to understand what data is shared, by whom, for what purpose, in what format, and the gaps in current data sharing; and
WHEREAS, the Coalition conducted 65 interviews of twenty healthcare, justice, and community organizations to understand the wide spectrum of services available in Lake County, there strengths, opportunities, and perceived barriers to data sharing; and
WHEREAS, the Coalition found from its research that there does not exist a technology solution in Lake County that can collect store, and report participant and aggregate information across systems; and that data sharing primary occurs by telephone calls and facsimile; and
WHEREAS, the Coalition agreed to develop mechanisms to collect, store, analyze, and report on aggregate, deidentified, unduplicated behavioral health data; and
WHEREAS, the Coalition developed a future state data sharing vision with short-term, near-term, and long-term data sharing solutions; and
WHEREAS, the Coalition developed eight (8) Go-First Strategies including 1) engaging early adopters from several cross-system partners to implement a pilot data sharing project; 2) developing a data governance model to include governance structures, standard operating procedures, security, and processes; 3) formalizing change management; 4) foster relationships with the Illinois Medicaid Agency and Managed Care Organizations; 5) support learning opportunities for local behavioral health providers; 6) support expansion or shifts in the behavioral health services continuum; 7) influence federal and state laws that support active sharing of information to coordinate care; 8) explore potential funding mechanisms to establish a financially sustainable data sharing program; and
WHEREAS, the Coalition documented its first-year activities in the Data Sharing Project Report and is presenting this report and an executive summary to the Lake County Board; and
WHEREAS, your Chairman recommends that this County Board accept and place on file the Mental Health Coalition Data Sharing Project Report.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by this County Board of Lake County, Illinois that the Mental Health Coalition Data Sharing Project Report is accepted and placed on file, and the Mental Health Coalition is directed to implement the eight data sharing project recommendations in fiscal years 2018 - 2019, as follows:
1. Implement a pilot data sharing project with cross-system early adopters;
2. Implement data governance structures, standard operating procedures, security, and processes;
3. Formalize change management structures;
4. Foster relationships with the Illinois Medicaid Agency and Managed Care Organizations;
5. Support learning opportunities for local behavioral health provider;
6. Support expansion or shifts in the behavioral health services continuum;
7. Influence federal and state laws that support active sharing of information to coordinate care; and
8. Explore potential funding mechanisms to establish a financially sustainable data sharing program.
Dated at Waukegan, Lake County, Illinois, on March 13, 2018.