Florida Senate - 2007 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 2520
Barcode 713842
CHAMBER ACTION
Senate House
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11 The Committee on Criminal Justice (Lynn) recommended the
12 following amendment:
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14 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
15 Delete everything after the enacting clause
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17 and insert:
18 Section 1. Behavioral Health Community Solutions Pilot
19 Program; creation; purpose; membership.--
20 (1) There is created the Behavioral Health Community
21 Solutions Pilot Program in the Tenth Judicial Circuit. The
22 purposes of the program are to identify gaps in service in
23 relation to behavioral health issues in the criminal justice
24 system and to design a comprehensive system to mitigate
25 problems.
26 (2) The pilot program shall consist of the cooperative
27 efforts of the Polk County Sheriff's Office and the Peace
28 River Center.
29 Section 2. As used in this act, the term:
30 (1) "Behavioral health services" has the same meaning
31 as in s. 394.9082(2), Florida Statutes.
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Florida Senate - 2007 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 2520
Barcode 713842
1 (2) "Qualified forensic team members" means
2 individuals who have at least a bachelor's degree with a
3 concentration in mental health and substance abuse treatment
4 and have successfully completed the Florida Forensic Evaluator
5 Training within 90 days after hire.
6 (3) "Community behavioral health offices" means the
7 Bartow Main Street Administrative Offices in Polk County, the
8 Wauchula Outpatient Clinic in Hardee County and the Sebring
9 Safehouse, or other suitable locations, in Highlands County.
10 Section 3. Behavioral Health Community Solutions Pilot
11 Program for the Tenth Judicial Circuit; creation; goals.--
12 (1) There is created a Behavioral Health Community
13 Solutions Pilot Program for the Tenth Judicial Circuit. The
14 purpose of the project is to divert people from the community
15 jails and criminal justice system who would benefit from other
16 available community services and treatments. The following
17 changes shall be implemented to assist in the success of this
18 project:
19 (2) Expansion of the crisis response team:
20 (a) Twenty new members of the crisis response team
21 shall be hired to cover the three counties in the Tenth
22 Judicial Circuit of Florida. The crisis response team
23 operating out of the Peace River Center's crisis stabilization
24 unit and providing mobile services to Polk and Hardee Counties
25 on July 1, 2007, is expanded to also be located in the four
26 substations of the Polk County Sheriff's Department and the
27 primary sheriff's offices in Hardee and Highlands Counties,
28 allowing the team members to work closely in collaboration
29 with each of the three county sheriff's departments.
30 (b) The purpose of the team is to provide local law
31 enforcement officers with 24-hour support to help prevent
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Florida Senate - 2007 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 2520
Barcode 713842
1 arrest by:
2 1. Assisting law enforcement officers in the field
3 with calls pertaining to behavioral health issues.
4 2. Assisting law enforcement with assessing and
5 determining if issues involving mental health or substance
6 abuse exist, such as those necessitating the use of the Baker
7 Act or substance abuse detoxification programs, and by
8 accessing immediate resources.
9 3. Supporting law enforcement officers by providing
10 the follow-up contact, communication, and monitoring of
11 previous crisis call-outs, thereby preventing recurrences of
12 individual crisis situations.
13 (3) Creation of two forensic teams:
14 (a) There shall be two forensic teams, each consisting
15 of seven people. Six of the people on the team shall be
16 qualified forensic team members. One person shall have
17 training and experience in the criminal justice system and
18 shall serve as the liaison from the criminal justice system to
19 the team.
20 (b) Each team shall be located in community behavioral
21 health offices in close proximity to each of the three
22 counties' judicial or correctional facilities.
23 (c) The purpose of each forensic team is to improve
24 the interface between the mental health, substance abuse
25 treatment, and criminal justice systems and facilitate the
26 community placement of individuals with mental or substance
27 abuse disorders who are involved in the criminal justice
28 system.
29 (4) Expansion of the mental health court:
30 (a) The current criminal judicial system within the
31 Tenth Judicial Circuit shall be expanded to provide for the
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Florida Senate - 2007 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 2520
Barcode 713842
1 specific recognition of judicial cases that are complicated by
2 behavioral health issues, especially misdemeanor cases.
3 Funding of the previously identified forensic teams shall
4 provide for the case management of behavioral health cases
5 involving misdemeanor charges.
6 (b) Attention to the mental health cases shall
7 decrease the amount of time people with behavioral health
8 issues spend in county jails and the criminal justice system.
9 (5) Conversion of an existing facility into a
10 step-down residential facility:
11 (a) The Peace River Center has an existing facility in
12 Lakeland that shall be converted into an eight-bed step-down
13 residential facility for individuals released from the state
14 forensic facilities. Funds shall be allocated to provide for
15 the daily food, shelter, activity, programming, and increased
16 supervision and monitoring of people residing in this unlocked
17 community facility.
18 (b) The purpose of this step-down residential facility
19 is to increase the number of individuals who would be
20 discharged from the state forensic hospitals by providing a
21 transitional residence for individuals who are difficult to
22 place.
23 (6) Conversion of an existing facility into a central
24 receiving facility:
25 (a) The Peace River Center shall provide a facility
26 that may be converted into a central receiving facility. This
27 facility shall be at a location in which people are assessed
28 and either transferred to the most appropriate stabilization
29 or detoxification inpatient facility or connected and referred
30 to outpatient community resources. This central receiving
31 facility shall be similar to the Orange County Central
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Florida Senate - 2007 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 2520
Barcode 713842
1 Receiving Facility.
2 (b) The facility shall be located in the area that has
3 the highest volume of cases handled under the Baker Act, with
4 satellite offices located in other areas of the Tenth Judicial
5 Circuit.
6 (c) Law enforcement officers currently transport
7 individuals who are being evaluated involuntarily under the
8 Baker Act to the nearest receiving facility. Law enforcement
9 personnel shall work cooperatively with the Peace River Center
10 to develop the most efficient system of transporting
11 individuals to the central receiving center and routing them
12 to the appropriate facility if necessary.
13 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.
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16 ================ T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ===============
17 And the title is amended as follows:
18 Delete everything before the enacting clause
19
20 and insert:
21 A bill to be entitled
22 An act relating to behavioral health; creating
23 the Behavioral Health Community Solutions Pilot
24 Program in the Tenth Judicial Circuit;
25 providing definitions; providing purposes of
26 the program; providing for cooperative efforts;
27 providing goals; expanding the current crisis
28 response team; creating two forensic teams;
29 expanding the mental health court; providing
30 for a step-down residential facility; providing
31 for a central receiving facility; providing an
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Florida Senate - 2007 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 2520
Barcode 713842
1 effective date.
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