Olujide 1 First things first: Before you submit your next paper, I need you to revisit when and how to cite your sources. You were missing many, many in-text citations in this paper. Remember that you need to cite your sources when you're using information beyond the common sense. You can get help with your citations from the UIS Learning Hub. If you'd like to make an appointment with me to chat, I'd also be happy to help you. Since this is a 400-level class, it's really important that you cite your sources correctly. As a whole, I had a hard time determining your focus and how it related to our class. On the one hand, it seemed like you wanted to focus on safety in the workplace. On the other hand, it seems like you wanted to focus on access to mental health care. It wasn't exactly clear to me how you see either relating to poverty or the social safety net. If you want to focus on the lack of access to mental healthcare, I suggest you drop the workplace angle and instead focus on the poor's lack of access to mental healthcare. Health care in the United States is privatized and most people receive insurance through their workplace. When people receive insurance through work, it's not really considered a social safety net program. However, lots of people lack good jobs with good benefits. In those cases, people often turn to the government for help. Those few government programs are considered social safety net programs. As your contemporary problem, you could focus on the barriers low-income people face in accessing mental healthcare. For your historical paper, you could focus on efforts to expand mental healthcare to people within their communities during the 1970s. You could check out the work of Anne Parson, for instance. Alternatively, you could focus on previous calls to establish universal healthcare, untied to workplaces. For this, you could check out the work of Jennifer Klein. You could also focus on the history of Medicaid and efforts to expand it. If you wanted to focus on safety in the workplace, you could example the history of the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, the government agency that regulates safety at work. Regardless, you'll really need to decide on your specific contemporary issue before moving forward. Next time, too, make sure you're indenting your paragraphs and ensuring that your work is largely typo-free. You were also missing one new source. Workplace Mental Health and Safety Crisis in Illinois Mental health issues are prevalent in almost all the states in America, and Illinois is among the most affected states. Interventions by public health are usually directed toward high-risk populations and environments, one of them being the workplace. Most American adults Olujide 2 spend 75% of their time in the workplace, and research indicates that it is the top cause of mental health issues among this population. A Public Health Summit.

1. Olujide
1
First things first: Before you submit your next paper, I need you
to revisit when and how to cite your sources. You were
missing many, many in-text citations in this paper. Remember
that you need to cite your sources when you're using
information beyond the common sense. You can get help with
your citations from the UIS Learning Hub. If you'd like to
make an appointment with me to chat, I'd also be happy to help
you. Since this is a 400-level class, it's really important
that you cite your sources correctly.
As a whole, I had a hard time determining your focus and how it
related to our class. On the one hand, it seemed like you
wanted to focus on safety in the workplace. On the other hand,
it seems like you wanted to focus on access to mental
health care. It wasn't exactly clear to me how you see either
relating to poverty or the social safety net. If you want to
focus on the lack of access to mental healthcare, I suggest you
drop the workplace angle and instead focus on the poor's
lack of access to mental healthcare. Health care in the United
States is privatized and most people receive insurance

2. through their workplace. When people receive insurance
through work, it's not really considered a social safety net
program. However, lots of people lack good jobs with good
benefits. In those cases, people often turn to the government
for help. Those few government programs are considered social
safety net programs.
As your contemporary problem, you could focus on the barriers
low-income people face in accessing mental healthcare.
For your historical paper, you could focus on efforts to expand
mental healthcare to people within their communities
during the 1970s. You could check out the work of Anne
Parson, for instance. Alternatively, you could focus on previous
calls to establish universal healthcare, untied to workplaces. For
this, you could check out the work of Jennifer Klein. You
could also focus on the history of Medicaid and efforts to
expand it.
If you wanted to focus on safety in the workplace, you could
example the history of the Occupational Health and Safety
Administration, the government agency that regulates safety at
work. Regardless, you'll really need to decide on your
specific contemporary issue before moving forward. Next time,
too, make sure you're indenting your paragraphs and
ensuring that your work is largely typo-free. You were also
missing one new source.

3. Workplace Mental Health and Safety Crisis in Illinois
Mental health issues are prevalent in almost all the states in
America, and Illinois is among
the most affected states. Interventions by public health are
usually directed toward high-risk
populations and environments, one of them being the workplace.
Most American adults
Olujide
2
spend 75% of their time in the workplace, and research
indicates that it is the top cause of
mental health issues among this population. A Public Health
Summit held in 2018 indicate
that “approximately 63% of Americans participate in the labor
force and the workplace
represents an often-neglected setting for focused prevention
efforts”. Numerously, Illinois has
reported mental healthcare crises that most affected the
workforce in the state. The crisis was

4. high during the COVID-19 pandemic when most workers lost
their jobs due to the closure of
businesses. According to Chicago Business News (2022),
Illinois is facing an economic
burden and challenges due to an unproductive workforce
affected by mental health problems.
Workplace mental health crisis in Illinois has been a standing
problem for many years. Since
the year 2009, the state of Illinois has been experiencing high
budget cuts due to mental
health services and initiatives. A press release by the State
Government of Illinois on Friday,
June 10, 2022, indicates that the problems the state is trying to
solve have been a menace for
ten years. Since 2015, cost-cutting plans in the state have
always focused on the mental
health sector. Most of this stress are acquired due to the
workplace and high demands from
employers. The Increase of workplace mental health problems
in the state over the years was
connexted to the lack of enough mental health facilities and
mental health professionals.
Lawmakers in Illinois started focusing on laws that promote
mental health after the COVID-

5. 19 pandemic hit in 2020. The legislators are now advocating for
tax credits for all employees
in the state of Illinois.
A news article published on WTTW News by Hernandez Acacia
indicated that workers are
fleeing Illinois due to poor compensation and the pressure
experienced because of the
COVID-19 pandemic. Most workers in the state are battling
mental health issues, and those
willing to seek mental healthcare lack access to facilities and
professionals. A state official
stated that “workers are fleeing because of overwork burnout
dealing with COVID. The
opportunities for greater compensation are available elsewhere.
Fortunately, due to legislative
Olujide
3
reasons recently, we’re going to see a change with respect to
reimbursement and the ability to
pay a fair wage to those workers” (WTTW, News, 2022). The
schedules and wait periods for
workers to see mental health professionals are too long, and

6. most individuals have become
unproductive. Workplaces and organizations do not have mental
health therapists or social
workers who can handle the mental problems facing workers.
Another report by 25 news in August (2022) indicated a rise in
mental health challenges in
Peoria county in Illinois. According to the report, within a
week, three suicide attempts are
reported in the county. Reports provided by healthcare centers
in the county indicate that
most victims are workers, and their stressors are outside the
home. Workers were receiving
salaries that wasn't enough to cater to tough economic times,
meet basic needs, and pay
school fees. Most of these people are at work every day and
have no time to seek mental
healthcare or counseling. An indication that most employees in
the workplace are suffering
from mental problems such as stress and depression and lack
ways of expressing their
problems can be assumed.
There is a need for a workplace in Illinois that upholds the
mental health of workers, and

7. ensure they are healthy and safe while working. Employers in
Illinois should partner with the
government to ensure there are enough healthcare professionals
in the state to provide mental
health services to those in need. There should be laws requiring
all workplaces in Illinois to
have mental therapists or social workers who can provide
guidance and counseling services
to employees at work.
The issue of the workplace mental health crisis in Illinois
relates to this class as it highlights a
potential problem that is affecting productivity in society. It
also points out how legislators
and laws come in to solve problems. Workplace health and
safety are essential issues that are
outlined under The United States law. When an individual is not
protected in the workplace,
Olujide
4
their family is affected, as well as the whole community.
Therefore, this topic is an essential
learning point on how the health of workers is neglected in

8. different states and the effects of
workplace mental health crises.
References
25 News (2022). Mental health concerns might be on the rise in
Peoria County. Retrieved
from https://www.25newsnow.com/2022/08/15/mental-health-
concerns-might-be-
rise-peoria-county/
Olujide
5
Chicago Business News (2022). Illinois lawmakers aim to stem
mental health worker
shortage. Retrieved from

9. https://www.chicagobusiness.com/forum-ideas-workplace-
mental-health/illinois-lawmakers-take-aim-mental-health-crisis
Illinois.gov (2022). Governor Pritzker Signs Legislation
Increasing Mental Health Workforce
in Illinois. Press Release. Retrieved from
https://www.illinois.gov/news/press-
release.25035.html
public Health Summit (2018). Mental Health in the Workplace:
A Call to Action Proceedings
From the Mental Health in the Workplace. Retrieved from
https://journals.lww.com/joem/fulltext/2018/04000/mental_healt
h_in_the_workplace_
_a_call_to_action.5.aspx
WTTW News (2022). New Law Meant to Increase Mental
Health Care Workforce in Illinois.
Retrieved from https://news.wttw.com/2022/06/14/new-law-
meant-increase-mental-
health-care-workforce-illinois
For this assignment, you will investigate the history of the
contemporary issue or
program that you identified in your first paper. Your paper will

10. make an argument in
response to the following question: “What social, cultural,
political, economic, and/or
legal phenomena played an important role in giving rise to my
issue or program?”
Regardless of your topic, there is not one correct answer to this
question. History
unfolds in reaction to a variety of forces. You could make an
argument about how many
different social, political, economic and/or legal phenomena
gave rise to your issue or
program. But to write a strong, focused paper, you’ll need to
pick an angle and make a
concise argument. Depth is more important than breadth. In
other words, don’t try to
cover everything. Instead, tell me a lot about an aspect of
history that you think is
particularly important in shaping your contemporary issue or
program.
In order to pick your angle, you’ll need to do some research!
Required Sources
Your paper must draw on at least four scholarly books or peer-
reviewed journal
articles that you found in the Brookens Library database.
Scholarly books and journal
articles are distinct from government documents, websites, book
reviews, newspaper, or
magazine articles.