Illinois partners with Google to launch mental health portal BEACON

CHICAGO - Illinois is taking part in a first of its kind mental health initiative.

Gov. J.B. Pritkzer announced the creation of BEACON on Monday. The state-of-the-art online care portal, which stands for Behavioral Health Care and Ongoing Navigation, is powered by Google and artificial intelligence.

It's basically an advanced AI technology portal that provides a user-friendly experience for families to access behavioral and mental health resources for children.

"Families will now have a modern, easy-to-use online system to guide them through the behavioral health universe," Pritzker said. "With no time to waste, we intend to have the first iteration of BEACON up and running this summer with key capabilities for parents and caregivers."

The initiative is all about reducing barriers to mental health care for all families and children, and it's part of a new phase of the governor's behavioral health services initiative.

Once it's up and running, Illinois will become the first in the nation to offer it statewide.