Republican State Rep. Dan Swanson is looking to tweak state laws to direct more funding to veterans’ behavioral health programs.
The Illinois State Lottery has offered a series of scratch-off games to raise additional money to assist Illinois veterans since 2006.
Proceeds from these games are granted by the Illinois Department of Veteran’s Affairs to community groups around the state to help veterans.
Since the program began, Swanson says 390 grants totaling $18 million have been provided to different organizations.
But Swanson says it was noted in a quarterly grant review last spring that the statute’s wording would not allow funding for behavioral health, only diagnosis of PTSD.
This bill in part includes behavioral health programs so that could benefit from this funding.
Swanson says additionally the legislation will also add a measure that will allow organizations to veterans organizations to ask for veteran’s emergency financial assistance for housing, transportation costs, utilities, and other needs.