(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Schools systems across the state are preparing for a new mandate, eventually requiring annual mental health screenings for all Illinois school children. Mental health professionals believe the schools will be more or less, up to the task.
The requirement for annual health screenings will be phased in starting this fall, and Geri Kerger, director of the DuPage Chapter of the National Alliance on mental Illness said she expects planning is well underway.
"We have a real strong regional office of education and I'm sure that...although I have not talked to them about this particular issue, they are really on top of mental health and they really promote mental health in schools."
The group Communities In Schools in Chicago provides support for the public schools there in delivering mental health services, and Robin Koelsch, the Chief Partnership Engagement Officer acknowledges it's a tall order, but necessary.
"We agree that this is a crisis across that's the spectrum, but that's our starting point," she said. "There are things that are gonna come up. This is not perfect."
Koelsch acknowledged that in the future, there might be some issues at some schools regarding the mandate, but said doing nothing about the mental health crisis just isn't acceptable.
Kerger also believes officials are making the right moves, but she warns that there may be some pushback from parents leery of having their children assessed.
"Parents or their particular culture in some cases or other issues may be barriers." She gave examples of cases of children who have severe mental health issues -adding that it's not always just about mental illness, but sometimes there's just "really bad things going on in their household."
Kerger and Robin Koelsch both note that screenings are not a diagnosis, but just away of perhaps identifying children who could benefit from further conversations.
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