About
The Illinois Campus Cares Technical Assistance Center (ICC TAC), which is part of the Mental Health Early Action on Campus (MHEAC) Act, collaborates with the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) and Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) to address gaps in mental health services on public college and university campuses. The ICC Technical Assistance Center (ICC TAC) is funded by the State of Illinois and administered by the Illinois Board of Higher Education. Current partner institutions for the ICC TAC are Southern Illinois University School of Medicine and the University of Illinois Chicago.
The ICC TAC is dedicated to raising awareness, providing training, and offering services to support mental health resources on Illinois college and university campuses. It has launched implementation strategies to help colleges and universities better serve the mental health needs of their students, and meet the requirements of the MHEAC Act.
MHEAC TAC Work Group
A work group of professionals from around the state and leaders from college and university campuses regularly convene to provide input and feedback on the work of the ICC TAC. They assist in the development of goals and benchmarks for the successful implementation of the MHEAC requirements and support the development of programs and services for campuses in Illinois. This work group helps identify gaps in services, share evidence-based models, and disseminate best practice strategies and tools to assist campus leaders with implementation of their plans.
Background
The Mental Health Early Action on Campus Act (110 ILCS 58) was passed by the Illinois General Assembly and became effective on July 1, 2020. The act was created to address gaps in mental health services on college campuses across Illinois through training, peer support, and community-campus partnerships.
Primary Goals
The following goals of the ICC TAC are the priorities and actions outlined in the MHEAC Act.
- Develop standardized policies for medical leave related to mental health conditions for students of a public college or university.
- Provide tailored support to public colleges or universities in reviewing policies related to students living with mental health conditions and their academic standing.
- Establish initial standards for policies and procedures to ensure consistency in how each college or university advises students, faculty and staff on proper procedures for identifying and addressing student needs, increase knowledge and understanding of student legal protections, and provide training as needed.
- Disseminate best practices for peer support programs.
- Develop statewide standards and best practices for partnerships between campus services and local mental health agencies.
- Collect, analyze and disseminate mental health needs data and academic engagement.
- Collect, analyze and disseminate best practices related to Section 50 housing data.
- Monitor and evaluate linkage agreements between colleges and community-based mental health agencies to ensure referral processes.
- Facilitate a learning community to support capacity building and learning across all colleges and universities.