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An Illinois law intended to help people with mental illness avoid confrontations with police had been on the books for three years when Sonya Massey was shot by a Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy.
The Community Emergency Services and Supports Act, or CESSA, requires mental and behavioral health calls to 911 be handled by mental health professionals, rather than police. It was supposed to go into effect on July 1, 2022 – two years before Massey, who was having a mental health crisis, was shot by Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson.
“I think if this system was in place, and emergency responders were trained and aware of what is available to them, then I think Sonya Massey would still be with us today,” said Candace Coleman, community strategy specialist with Access Living, a Chicago-based organization that advocates for disabled people.
The struggle over CESSA’s execution has twice caused lawmakers to push back its effective date, but Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, one of the bill’s sponsors, said Massey’s death underscores the need to carry out reform.
“I feel confident that we are going to get this done. The state and the advocates want to get this right,” Peters said. “And Sonya Massey is the exactly the reason we need to get this done.”
* From the Illinois Department of Human Services…
In close partnership with the legislature and advocates for this law, the deadline for implementation has been adjusted to July 1, 2025. The most recent change to the implementation timeline was enacted by SB 3648 (P.A. 103-0645).
Implementing CESSA is a significant undertaking that involves changes to many existing systems, including those administered by at least five entities and multiple State agencies (IDHS-DMH, IDHS-SUPR, the State 911 Administrator, IDPH, and HFS), as well as county and local jurisdictions, including local law enforcement, community mental health providers, public and private emergency medical services, and the advocates and associations that represent the individuals involved in these systems.
All these groups and organizations have different perspectives on CESSA’s challenges and potential solutions. They have also made significant investments in existing systems and their provider networks. In addition, many of these systems and organizations are subject to legislation and regulations that must be addressed, normalized, and integrated.
The full implementation of CESSA involves building relationships, addressing conflicts, leveraging opportunities, and connecting human and technological systems across these different entities. With the guidance of the CESSA Statewide Advisory Council (SAC) and eleven Regional Advisory Councils (RACs), DMH and its partners are working to identify, test, and scale solutions. We are grateful for the deep and broad cooperation across these systems that we have already seen, and look forward to seeing this expand to statewide implementation of CESSA.
Sometimes, legislators pass bills that are hugely complicated to implement in real life.
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Aug 30, 24 @ 11:06 am
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Stonewalling. In mid 1970s the Peoria Human Service Center had an emergency mental health team even with cars with emergency lights that went out with local police and other local emergencies. In mid 1970s the Decatur Mental Health Center had an emergency team that routinely went out with the Decatur City Pilive and the Macon County Sheriff Deputies. The locals worked with each other and simply called each other. There is no excuse except Bureacratic incompetence played a role in this ill women’s death. This is not that complicated.
Comment by Almost Retired Friday, Aug 30, 24 @ 11:19 am
@Almost retired, do you think it might be possible provider networks and legal mandates might have changed in the 50 years since the mid 70s? Do you think organizing something statewide might take more coordination than a couple people jumping in the back of an ambulance?
Comment by Perrid Friday, Aug 30, 24 @ 11:43 am
Sonya Massey was murdered by a person who never should have worn a uniform. Her murderer violated existing policy and did not follow existing training standards.
I don’t think we should pretend that CESSA is the policy solution to murderers who never should have been placed in a position of public trust. There needs to be real accountability put in place for people that make hiring decisions based off of who their friends’ kids are dating.
Comment by Candy Dogood Friday, Aug 30, 24 @ 12:21 pm
@Perrid
I am still working. I understand many of the levels of the system. I understand the changes from those times. This is typical bureaucratic stonewalling. The programs were more than people jumping on an ambulance. I must have touched a nerve. If you want to excuse a lack of competence and knowledge of how the community can work that is your right. I won’t excuse it. I know current legal mandates. I know current systems. I know the slowness of State bureaucrats. I know the excuses that bureaucrats make. I know when and how bureaucrats stopped these programs that did this. For me, there is no excuse.
Comment by Almost Retired Friday, Aug 30, 24 @ 2:09 pm
@ Candy Dogood
Your point is valid and I agree with the point you make.
Comment by Almost Retired Friday, Aug 30, 24 @ 2:17 pm
@AlmostRetired, there’s a shortage of behavioral health professionals right now. There’s literally not enough bodies, especially during the mental health crisis we’re facing post-COVID. You can get on the Behavioral Health Workforce Center’s website and see the exact data by county if you’d like. It’s really not as simple as just imlementing CESSA. Think about how much training it’s going to take to get 911 operators to fully understand the difference between a mental health call and a call where police is the appropriate response. There’s a lot of work to be done, which DHS is doing - based on their statement they have public workgroups that you could join if you feel passionately about this issue.
Comment by Anon Friday, Aug 30, 24 @ 3:30 pm
Building (or perhaps rebuilding?) an alternative response model for people in mental health crisis is critically important, and clearly complicated. And while the murder of Sonya Massey should certainly keep the issue front-and-center, her tragedy is much more about training for law enforcement and hiring standards (and hiring consequences).
As I understand it, the officers were responding to a call of a possible prowler, which would not have been diverted to an alternative response model if one existed. And an officer who never should have been hired at all responded and made the unfathomable decision to take her life.
I agree with Candy Dogood that CESSA isn’t necessarily the policy solution for this particular incident.
CESSA is important, but it shouldn’t be used to obfuscate other policy issues in this case.
Comment by Leslie K Friday, Aug 30, 24 @ 3:43 pm