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Elizabeth M. Whitehorn, Director

N.B. Consent Decree

The N.B. lawsuit was filed in 2011 on behalf of Medicaid-eligible children under the age of 21 in the State of Illinois seeking certain mental and behavioral health services under the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (“EPSDT”) requirement of the Medicaid Act. On February 13, 2014, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois certified the case as a class action for the following individuals: “All Medicaid-eligible children under the age of 21 in the State of Illinois: (1) who have been diagnosed with a mental health or behavioral disorder; and (2) for whom a licensed practitioner of the healing arts has recommended intensive home- and community-based services to correct or ameliorate their disorders.”

The Department and Plaintiffs agreed to resolve the N.B. class action through a Consent Decree approved by the Court on January 16, 2018. The N.B. Consent Decree requires the Department to develop, through an Implementation Plan, a behavioral health delivery "Model" to provide Class Members with a continuum of Medicaid-authorized and required mental and behavioral health services, including home- and community-based services.  The initial Implementation Plan was developed and finalized by agreement of the Parties and Expert on December 2, 2019.  An update to the Implementation Plan was finalized by agreement of the Parties and Expert on October 24, 2022. For more information, please see the initial and first revised Implementation Plans available below.

The N.B. Consent Decree also requires an Expert to evaluate, provide input, and report to the parties and the Court during implementation of its requirements. On June 19, 2018, the Court approved Mr. John O'Brien to be the N.B. Consent Decree Expert. The N.B. Expert has issued his first and second annual reports regarding implementation of the N.B. Consent Decree, available below. 

For more information on the N.B. Consent Decree, please see the documents available below.

N.B. Consent Decree Documents

 

More Information

Information about programming for Class Members may be found on the Department's Children's Behavioral Health N.B. Consent Decree page.