Changes in Funding for SASS and KYC’s Preparations for the New Program
The state budget has been passed and along with that came major changes to the structure and state funding for SASS (Screening, Assessment, and Support Services). As of August 1st, this program is now referred to as “Mobile Crisis Response Services”, and is expanding to serve not only children, but people of all ages. Significant changes in funding have also been made, including a completely revised set of coding and regulations for billing these services.
SASS was a crisis-response program that serves children at imminent risk of harm to themselves or others. Counselors dispatched 24 hours a day to provide assessments to determine the severity of the crisis and recommend appropriate treatment to youth and families.
Mobile Crisis Response expands this program to serve people of all ages, referred to as “lifespan programming”, and continues to support people in psychiatric crisis across the state.
As one of the largest providers of SASS services in Illinois, KYC assessed 1,700 children in severe distress or suicidal situations in fiscal year 2017. We expect to see a considerable increase in the number of crisis calls that our counselors will face with the addition of the adult population to this program. Crisis interventions protect clients from unnecessary institutionalization and hospitalization, and KYC is proud to expand this life-saving service to include the full lifespan of people in need.
As changes continue to be released, KYC will provide updated information here on our website or public notices can be found on the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services website.
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