House Bill 0351

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                 HB 351

        By Representative Reddick






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to mental health; directing the

  3         Department of Children and Family Services to

  4         develop cooperative agreements with local

  5         agencies for diverting from the criminal

  6         justice system to the civil mental health

  7         system persons with mental illness arrested for

  8         a misdemeanor; directing the Louis de la Parte

  9         Florida Mental Health Institute at the

10         University of South Florida to report to the

11         Legislature on cost-effective diversion

12         strategies; directing the Department of Law

13         Enforcement and the Department of Children and

14         Family Services to jointly review training

15         curricula for law enforcement officers and to

16         recommend improvements to the Legislature;

17         directing the Department of Children and Family

18         Services to contract with an independent entity

19         to review court jurisdiction over persons with

20         mental illness who are arrested for or

21         convicted of a misdemeanor and to recommend

22         policy changes to the Legislature; directing

23         the district forensic coordinators in the

24         Department of Children and Family Services to

25         assess the provision of in-jail mental health

26         services and report to the Legislature;

27         directing the Department of Children and Family

28         Services to prepare a single report by a

29         specified date; directing the Louis de la Parte

30         Florida Mental Health Institute to evaluate the

31         specialized mental health court in Broward

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                 HB 351

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  1         County and report findings and recommendations

  2         to the Legislature; providing an appropriation;

  3         providing an effective date.

  4

  5  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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  7         Section 1.  (1)  The Department of Children and Family

  8  Services shall develop written cooperative agreements with the

  9  judicial system, the criminal justice system, and local mental

10  health providers in each district of the Department of

11  Children and Family Services which define strategies and

12  community alternatives for diverting from the criminal justice

13  system to the civil system under the Baker Act persons with

14  mental illness who are arrested for a misdemeanor. At a

15  minimum, the district diversion strategies must include:

16         (a)  Prebooking or postbooking interventions.

17         (b)  Ways in which mental health professionals may

18  assist law enforcement agencies with difficult mental health

19  cases.

20         (c)  Information-sharing among community entities

21  regarding persons with mental illness who are frequently

22  arrested for misdemeanors, in order to improve early

23  identification and treatment of these persons.

24         (d)  Referral of misdemeanant clients to appropriate

25  aftercare services upon release from jail or a facility that

26  receives clients under the Baker Act.

27         (e)  Provision of appropriate psychotropic medications

28  to misdemeanant clients for a reasonable number of days

29  following discharge from jail or a facility that receives

30  clients under the Baker Act.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                 HB 351

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  1         (f)  Provision of intensive case management services to

  2  the appropriate misdemeanant clients.

  3

  4  For the purpose of uniformity, each district must work with

  5  the central program office to develop and include an analysis

  6  of the client population and client movement, an analysis of

  7  available and unavailable resources, and the identification of

  8  key indicators that will measure the impact of these

  9  strategies on the clients and on the community systems. The

10  department must complete the district diversion strategies,

11  client data analysis, and identification of key indicators,

12  and submit a copy to the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental

13  Health Institute, by October 1, 2000.

14         (2)  The Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health

15  Institute at the University of South Florida shall review the

16  state's district diversion strategies developed by the

17  department, as well as cost-effective strategies being used in

18  communities in other states, to divert misdemeanants from the

19  criminal justice system to the mental health system. Based on

20  this review, the institute must recommend those diversion

21  strategies and treatment activities used by Florida or other

22  states that have proven to be the most effective with the

23  misdemeanant population. The review must include details about

24  the cost savings that are associated with those programs and

25  must explain how those long-term or short-term cost savings

26  are achieved. The institute shall submit a final report on its

27  findings, conclusions, and recommendations to the President of

28  the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by

29  January 1, 2001. The report must specify the results that can

30  be expected based on the current level of resources, as well

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                 HB 351

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  1  as specify additional resources that are needed to adequately

  2  serve the misdemeanant population.

  3         Section 2.  The Department of Law Enforcement and the

  4  Department of Children and Family Services shall jointly

  5  evaluate the extent and effectiveness of current training

  6  curricula and training efforts provided by the Criminal

  7  Justice Standards and Training Commission under s. 943.17,

  8  Florida Statutes, and the Department of Children and Family

  9  Services under part I of chapter 394, Florida Statutes, for

10  law enforcement officers in identifying mental illness and

11  shall make recommendations for improvements to the head of

12  each department. The Department of Law Enforcement and the

13  Department of Children and Family Services shall prepare a

14  joint report that includes the findings and recommendations by

15  December 31, 2000.

16         Section 3.  The Department of Children and Family

17  Services, in consultation with the Office of the State Courts

18  Administrator, shall contract with an independent entity to

19  study the concept of increasing court jurisdiction and

20  supervision over persons with mental illness who are arrested

21  for or convicted of a misdemeanor, to ensure compliance with

22  an approved individualized treatment or service plan. The

23  study shall focus on whether extending court jurisdiction

24  would enhance the mental stability of persons with mental

25  illness, allowing them to live in the community, function at

26  their optimal level, and avoid becoming involved in any type

27  of criminal behavior. The Department of Children and Family

28  Services shall prepare a report by December 31, 2000, that

29  includes recommendations for statutory changes or departmental

30  policy changes that do not require statutory revisions.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                 HB 351

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  1         Section 4.  The district forensic coordinators of the

  2  Department of Children and Family Services shall assess the

  3  provision of in-jail mental health diagnostic and treatment

  4  services. The department shall prepare a report of its

  5  findings, conclusions, and recommendations by December 31,

  6  2000, including any proposed statutory revisions.

  7         Section 5.  The reports that are required in sections

  8  2, 3, and 4 to be prepared by the Department of Children and

  9  Family Services, including the joint report in section 2, must

10  be submitted in one report to the President of the Senate and

11  the Speaker of the House of Representatives by December 31,

12  2000.

13         Section 6.  The Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health

14  Institute shall evaluate the effectiveness of the specialized

15  mental health court established in Broward County to determine

16  client and system outcomes and cost efficiencies and shall

17  make recommendations for establishing similar special courts

18  in other judicial circuits. This evaluation must include

19  tracking clients for 1 year following release from the Broward

20  County jail by the special mental health court and from a

21  county jail without a special mental health court. The Louis

22  de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute shall report to

23  the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of

24  Representatives on the findings of the evaluation, including

25  recommendations for any statutory revisions, by October 1,

26  2001.

27         Section 7.  For the purpose of implementing the

28  requirements of section 3, the sum of $100,000 is appropriated

29  from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Children

30  and Family Services for the 2000-2001 fiscal year.

31         Section 8.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                 HB 351

    146-237A-00






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  2                          HOUSE SUMMARY

  3
      Requires the Department of Children and Family Services
  4    to develop strategies for diverting persons with mental
      illness who are arrested for misdemeanors from the
  5    criminal justice system to the mental health system.
      Requires the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health
  6    Institute at the University of South Florida to review
      the diversion strategies and report to the Legislature.
  7    Requires the Department of Law Enforcement and the
      Department of Children and Family Services to evaluate
  8    the training provided to law enforcement officers in
      identifying mental illness and report to the Legislature.
  9    Requires the Department of Children and Family Services
      to contract with an independent entity to study extending
10    court jurisdiction of persons with mental illness who are
      arrested for or convicted of misdemeanors, and to prepare
11    a report with recommendations. Requires the department to
      report on in-jail mental health diagnostic and treatment
12    services. Requires that the Louis de la Parte Florida
      Mental Health Institute evaluate the mental health court
13    in Broward County and report to the Legislature. Provides
      an appropriation.
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