Testimony of Cynthia Yonan
Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs

Hearing Tuesday, July 15, 2003

Nowhere to Turn: Must Parents Relinquish Custody in Order to Secure Mental Health Service for Their Children? Part 1: Families and Advocates

Madam Chairman and Members of the Committee

Thank you for providing me with this opportunity to testify at this hearing about a subject that is near and dear to my heart - the struggles that my family has endured in attempting to access mental health services for my twin sons. My name is Cynthia Yonan, and I appear before you today as a parent and a deeply concerned citizen from Glendale Heights, Illinois.

I am appearing today on behalf of NAMI - the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill - and NAMI will be submitting a written statement for the record.

In 1984, I was truly blessed with the birth of my identical twin sons - Ryan and Sean. Despite our blissful beginning, both boys showed early warning signs of mental health related concerns. My husband and I divorced early in their lives and soon after his visitation was established, I discovered that he had physically, emotionally and sexually abused the boys for one and a half years.

The abuse had a devastating impact on Sean and Ryan. They both required hospitalization. Sean required it for suicidal tendencies and Ryan for homicidal tendencies. Before the boys were hospitalized - Sean attempted suicide 3 times and was extremely unstable - leaving the house in the middle of the night, stealing money, food, clothing and other items. Ryan exhibited the same difficult behaviors and also could not control his anger. He was removed from school after making violent threats. Because of the seriousness of their illnesses, both boys spent 3 months in the hospital. This quickly exhausted our private health insurance benefits, which included restrictive caps on mental health coverage. Those caps caused my sons to be released from the hospital, at which point I turned to the County Mental Health Department and they directed me to turn my children over to the state to secure the treatment that they needed.

Both of my sons were diagnosed early on with bipolar disorder, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, oppositional deviant disorder, and Kleinfelders Syndrome - an illness that results from an extra "Y" chromosome and that makes the boys aggressive and lack impulse control.

Our struggles really grew after the boys returned from the hospital in January of that year. At that time, I also had 3 daughters, ages 16, 6, and 5. Sean and Ryan did not return to school and I spent from January through May attempting to find them an alternative educational placement. The school district failed to provide me with any assistance. Tragically during this time - and despite my attempts to keep a 24-hour watch on my sons - they threatened and assaulted 2 of my daughters. As you can well imagine, this was devastating to my family. I was physically exhausted, at wits end and a nervous wreck. It was quite clear that the boys needed intensive mental health treatment and services.

Through this incredibly trying experience, I was forced to quit my job to stay home to keep the boys and my daughters safe. Despite the loss of my job and income, Medicaid was not an option for mental health services because I owned my house and did not qualify under the strict minimum asset requirements. I simply did not know where to turn to secure mental health services for my sons.

Exhausted and frustrated, I searched for help from the Department of Mental Health and the Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS). Both agencies informed me that I would have to turn custody of my sons over to the state to secure mental health services. Frankly, I was shocked when faced with this agonizing prospect. I could not fathom how state agencies could ask families to abandon their ill child to secure mental health services. At the time, I wondered if families with children with other brain illnesses - like cancer -- were ever asked to turn their child over to the state for treatment. I love my sons - despite all that we have been through. They are ill not bad. I was determined that I would not abandon them in their hour of greatest need. Giving up my sons was not an option and would serve only to make them feel unwanted and unloved - not to mention the further trauma that it would cause in their lives.
I spent 2 years calling and searching for mental health services for my sons. In 1998, I was directed to the Community Residential Services Authority (CRSA) - a well kept secret and one that was offered to me only after years of struggle and when it became clear that I was not going away. The state agency was created for kids that do not fit within the criteria for services established under DCFS, the Department of Mental Health, the Department of Corrections or the Illinois Care Grant. With the guidance and help of CRSA, my sons were placed in a residential treatment facility in July of 1999. I am pleased to report that the treatment they have received has made a significant difference and given us hope for a brighter future.

No family should be forced to go through what I did. Families with children with serious mental illnesses want and deserve laws that provide funding for mental health treatment so that no family is told that they must give up custody of their child to secure mental health treatment and services. I am so pleased that Senator Collins has proposed the introduction of legislation to address this crisis. Her leadership is greatly appreciated.

Again, thank you for this opportunity to speak with you this morning. I am happy to respond to any questions that you may have.