Section 110 ILCS 58/40 - Local partnerships(a) Each public college or university must form strategic partnerships with local mental health service providers to improve overall campus mental wellness and augment on-campus capacity. The strategic partnerships must include linkage agreements with off-campus mental health service providers that establish a foundation for referrals for students when needs cannot be met on campus due to capacity or preference of the student. The strategic partnerships must also include (i) avenues for on-campus and off-campus mental health service providers to increase visibility to students via marketing and outreach, (ii) opportunities to engage the student body through student outreach initiatives like mindfulness workshops or campus-wide wellness fairs, and (iii) opportunities to support awareness and training requirements under this Act.(b) Through a combination of on-campus capacity, off-campus linkage agreements with mental health service providers, and contracted telehealth therapy services, each public college or university shall attempt to meet a benchmark ratio of one clinical, non-student staff member to 1,250 students. If linkage agreements are used, the agreements must include the capacity of students providers are expected to serve within the agency. Two years after the effective date of this Act, and once every 5 years thereafter, the Technical Assistance Center developed under Section 45 must propose to the General Assembly an updated ratio based on actual ratios in this State and any new information related to appropriate benchmarks for clinician-to-student ratios. The updated benchmark must represent a ratio of no less than one clinical, non-student staff member to 1,250 students.(c) Each public college or university must work with local resources, such as on-campus mental health counseling centers or wellness centers, local mental health service providers, or non-providers, such as affiliates of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and any other resources to meet the awareness and training requirements under Sections 25 and 30 of this Act.Added by P.A. 101-0251,§ 40, eff. 7/1/2020.