Senate Bill sb0012

    Florida Senate - 2007                                    SB 12

    By Senator Bullard





    39-6-07

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the Crisis Intervention Team

  3         program; providing for adoption of the program

  4         as a pilot program; directing the Louis de la

  5         Parte Florida Mental Health Institute at the

  6         University of South Florida to conduct a study

  7         of the Crisis Intervention Team (C.I.T.)

  8         program; providing the purpose of the study;

  9         providing for a report; providing for funding;

10         providing an effective date.

11  

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

13  

14         Section 1.  It is the intent of the Legislature to

15  reduce the number of arrests of people who have serious mental

16  illnesses and reduce the number of force-related injuries

17  involving people who have serious mental illnesses. Therefore,

18  the Department of Law Enforcement may adopt the Crisis

19  Intervention Team (C.I.T.) program as a pilot program to

20  provide lessons for its statewide use by other law enforcement

21  agencies.

22         Section 2.  The Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health

23  Institute at the University of South Florida shall conduct a

24  study of the Crisis Intervention Team (C.I.T.) program being

25  used by the members of the Florida C.I.T. Coalition, which is

26  a coalition of several counties involving law enforcement

27  agencies, community providers, and families and consumers, for

28  the purpose of developing core standards for a consistent

29  C.I.T. program for the state. The purpose of the study is to

30  assess the effectiveness of the C.I.T. program in reducing the

31  number of arrests of people who have serious mental illnesses,

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2007                                    SB 12
    39-6-07




 1  reducing the number of force-related injuries, and identifying

 2  those core elements of the C.I.T. program which make it an

 3  effective police response. The institute, in conjunction with

 4  the Florida C.I.T. Coalition, shall submit a report of the

 5  findings of its study to the Legislature and the Department of

 6  Law Enforcement by July 1, 2008. The report must include

 7  recommendations as to whether the C.I.T. program should be

 8  adopted by all law enforcement agencies as a best practice,

 9  recommendations as to the resources necessary to assist

10  communities in adopting the C.I.T. program, and

11  recommendations as to other training needs for law enforcement

12  agencies related to people who have serious mental illnesses.

13         Section 3.  The Department of Law Enforcement is

14  authorized to use up to $175,000 to contract with the Louis de

15  la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute to implement this

16  act.

17         Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

18  law.

19  

20            *****************************************

21                          SENATE SUMMARY

22    Provides for adopting the Crisis Intervention Team
      program (C.I.T.) as a pilot program. Directs the Louis de
23    la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute at the
      University of South Florida to conduct a study of the
24    C.I.T. program.

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.