Senate Bill sb2520c1
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Florida Senate - 2007 CS for SB 2520
By the Committee on Criminal Justice; and Senator Dockery
591-2603-07
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to behavioral health; creating
3 the Behavioral Health Community Solutions Pilot
4 Program in the Tenth Judicial Circuit;
5 providing definitions; providing purposes of
6 the program; providing for cooperative efforts;
7 providing goals; expanding the current crisis
8 response team; creating two forensic teams;
9 expanding the mental health court; providing
10 for a step-down residential facility; providing
11 for a central receiving facility; providing an
12 effective date.
13
14 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
15
16 Section 1. Behavioral Health Community Solutions Pilot
17 Program; creation; purpose; membership.--
18 (1) There is created the Behavioral Health Community
19 Solutions Pilot Program in the Tenth Judicial Circuit. The
20 purposes of the program are to identify gaps in service in
21 relation to behavioral health issues in the criminal justice
22 system and to design a comprehensive system to mitigate
23 problems.
24 (2) The pilot program shall consist of the cooperative
25 efforts of the Polk County Sheriff's Office and the Peace
26 River Center.
27 Section 2. As used in this act, the term:
28 (1) "Behavioral health services" has the same meaning
29 as in s. 394.9082(2), Florida Statutes.
30 (2) "Qualified forensic team members" means
31 individuals who have at least a bachelor's degree with a
1
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Florida Senate - 2007 CS for SB 2520
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1 concentration in mental health and substance abuse treatment
2 and have successfully completed the Florida Forensic Evaluator
3 Training within 90 days after hire.
4 (3) "Community behavioral health offices" means the
5 Bartow Main Street Administrative Offices in Polk County, the
6 Wauchula Outpatient Clinic in Hardee County and the Sebring
7 Safehouse, or other suitable locations, in Highlands County.
8 Section 3. Behavioral Health Community Solutions Pilot
9 Program for the Tenth Judicial Circuit; creation; goals.--
10 (1) There is created a Behavioral Health Community
11 Solutions Pilot Program for the Tenth Judicial Circuit. The
12 purpose of the project is to divert people from the community
13 jails and criminal justice system who would benefit from other
14 available community services and treatments. The following
15 changes shall be implemented to assist in the success of this
16 project:
17 (2) Expansion of the crisis response team:
18 (a) Twenty new members of the crisis response team
19 shall be hired to cover the three counties in the Tenth
20 Judicial Circuit of Florida. The crisis response team
21 operating out of the Peace River Center's crisis stabilization
22 unit and providing mobile services to Polk and Hardee Counties
23 on July 1, 2007, is expanded to also be located in the four
24 substations of the Polk County Sheriff's Department and the
25 primary sheriff's offices in Hardee and Highlands Counties,
26 allowing the team members to work closely in collaboration
27 with each of the three county sheriff's departments.
28 (b) The purpose of the team is to provide local law
29 enforcement officers with 24-hour support to help prevent
30 arrest by:
31
2
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Florida Senate - 2007 CS for SB 2520
591-2603-07
1 1. Assisting law enforcement officers in the field
2 with calls pertaining to behavioral health issues.
3 2. Assisting law enforcement with assessing and
4 determining if issues involving mental health or substance
5 abuse exist, such as those necessitating the use of the Baker
6 Act or substance abuse detoxification programs, and by
7 accessing immediate resources.
8 3. Supporting law enforcement officers by providing
9 the follow-up contact, communication, and monitoring of
10 previous crisis call-outs, thereby preventing recurrences of
11 individual crisis situations.
12 (3) Creation of two forensic teams:
13 (a) There shall be two forensic teams, each consisting
14 of seven people. Six of the people on the team shall be
15 qualified forensic team members. One person shall have
16 training and experience in the criminal justice system and
17 shall serve as the liaison from the criminal justice system to
18 the team.
19 (b) Each team shall be located in community behavioral
20 health offices in close proximity to each of the three
21 counties' judicial or correctional facilities.
22 (c) The purpose of each forensic team is to improve
23 the interface between the mental health, substance abuse
24 treatment, and criminal justice systems and facilitate the
25 community placement of individuals with mental or substance
26 abuse disorders who are involved in the criminal justice
27 system.
28 (4) Expansion of the mental health court:
29 (a) The current criminal judicial system within the
30 Tenth Judicial Circuit shall be expanded to provide for the
31 specific recognition of judicial cases that are complicated by
3
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Florida Senate - 2007 CS for SB 2520
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1 behavioral health issues, especially misdemeanor cases.
2 Funding of the previously identified forensic teams shall
3 provide for the case management of behavioral health cases
4 involving misdemeanor charges.
5 (b) Attention to the mental health cases shall
6 decrease the amount of time people with behavioral health
7 issues spend in county jails and the criminal justice system.
8 (5) Conversion of an existing facility into a
9 step-down residential facility:
10 (a) The Peace River Center has an existing facility in
11 Lakeland that shall be converted into an eight-bed step-down
12 residential facility for individuals released from the state
13 forensic facilities. Funds shall be allocated to provide for
14 the daily food, shelter, activity, programming, and increased
15 supervision and monitoring of people residing in this unlocked
16 community facility.
17 (b) The purpose of this step-down residential facility
18 is to increase the number of individuals who would be
19 discharged from the state forensic hospitals by providing a
20 transitional residence for individuals who are difficult to
21 place.
22 (6) Conversion of an existing facility into a central
23 receiving facility:
24 (a) The Peace River Center shall provide a facility
25 that may be converted into a central receiving facility. This
26 facility shall be at a location in which people are assessed
27 and either transferred to the most appropriate stabilization
28 or detoxification inpatient facility or connected and referred
29 to outpatient community resources. This central receiving
30 facility shall be similar to the Orange County Central
31 Receiving Facility.
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Florida Senate - 2007 CS for SB 2520
591-2603-07
1 (b) The facility shall be located in the area that has
2 the highest volume of cases handled under the Baker Act, with
3 satellite offices located in other areas of the Tenth Judicial
4 Circuit.
5 (c) Law enforcement officers currently transport
6 individuals who are being evaluated involuntarily under the
7 Baker Act to the nearest receiving facility. Law enforcement
8 personnel shall work cooperatively with the Peace River Center
9 to develop the most efficient system of transporting
10 individuals to the central receiving center and routing them
11 to the appropriate facility if necessary.
12 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.
13
14 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
15 Senate Bill 2520
16
17 - Omits reference to Polk County in the name of the pilot
program.
18
- Defines "behavioral health," "community behavioral health
19 offices," and the qualifications for forensic team
members.
20
- Specifies that the crisis response team operating from
21 Peace River Center's crisis stabilization unit is
expanded to also operate out of the four Polk County
22 Sheriff's Department substations and the primary offices
of the Hardee and Highland County Sheriff's Departments.
23
- Clarifies the purpose of the forensic teams.
24
- Clarifies the purpose of the step-down facilities.
25
- Requires law enforcement personnel and the Peace River
26 Center to work together to develop an efficient system
for transferring persons to the Central Receiving
27 Facility and from there to other facilities if necessary.
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29
30
31
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