Subject to appropriations for that purpose, the Department, in consultation with the Department of Human Services, shall contract with professional counseling specialists to provide a range of confidential counseling and direct treatment services to war-affected Southwest Asia combat veterans and their family members, and to provide additional treatment services to Viet Nam War veterans for post-traumatic stress disorder, particularly those Viet Nam veterans whose post-traumatic stress disorder has intensified or initially emerged due to the war in the Middle East. Any such contracts entered into by the Department must be with individuals and entities pre-approved by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and must be for the provision of services pre-approved by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. In consultation with the Department of Human Services, the Department shall, to the extent funds are available:
         (1) develop an educational program designed to inform
    
and train primary health care professionals, including mental health professionals, about the effects of war-related stress and trauma;
        (2) provide informational and counseling services for
    
the purpose of establishing and fostering peer-support networks throughout the State for families of deployed members of the reserves and the Illinois National Guard; and
        (3) provide for veterans’ families a referral network
    
of mental health providers who are skilled in treating deployment stress, combat stress, and post-traumatic stress.
    As used in this Section, “Southwest Asia combat veteran” means an Illinois resident who is, or who was honorably discharged as, a member of the Armed Forces of the United States, a member of the Illinois National Guard, or a member of any reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States and who served on active duty in connection with Operation Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom, or Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Terms Used In Illinois Compiled Statutes 20 ILCS 2805/8

  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • State: when applied to different parts of the United States, may be construed to include the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" may be construed to include the said district and territories. See Illinois Compiled Statutes 5 ILCS 70/1.14
  • United States: may be construed to include the said district and territories. See Illinois Compiled Statutes 5 ILCS 70/1.14
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