Florida Senate - 2015 SB 1458
By Senator Braynon
36-00593A-15 20151458__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to mental health early intervention;
3 providing a short title; amending s. 394.463, F.S.;
4 authorizing physician assistants and advanced
5 registered nurse practitioners to initiate involuntary
6 examinations under the Baker Act of persons believed
7 to have mental illness; creating s. 394.47892, F.S.;
8 providing legislative findings; adding curriculum
9 requirements to the basic training programs for
10 certain first responders; requiring the Department of
11 Children and Families, in consultation with specified
12 entities, to adopt standards for the training of
13 certain first responders in mental health; providing
14 requirements for such training; providing an effective
15 date.
16
17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
18
19 Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Florida Mental
20 Health Early Intervention Act of 2015.”
21 Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
22 394.463, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
23 394.463 Involuntary examination.—
24 (2) INVOLUNTARY EXAMINATION.—
25 (a) An involuntary examination may be initiated by any one
26 of the following means:
27 1. A court may enter an ex parte order stating that a
28 person appears to meet the criteria for involuntary examination,
29 giving the findings on which that conclusion is based. The ex
30 parte order for involuntary examination must be based on sworn
31 testimony, written or oral. If other less restrictive means are
32 not available, such as voluntary appearance for outpatient
33 evaluation, a law enforcement officer, or other designated agent
34 of the court, shall take the person into custody and deliver him
35 or her to the nearest receiving facility for involuntary
36 examination. The order of the court shall be made a part of the
37 patient’s clinical record. No fee shall be charged for the
38 filing of an order under this subsection. Any receiving facility
39 accepting the patient based on this order must send a copy of
40 the order to the Agency for Health Care Administration on the
41 next working day. The order shall be valid only until executed
42 or, if not executed, for the period specified in the order
43 itself. If no time limit is specified in the order, the order
44 shall be valid for 7 days after the date that the order was
45 signed.
46 2. A law enforcement officer shall take a person who
47 appears to meet the criteria for involuntary examination into
48 custody and deliver the person or have him or her delivered to
49 the nearest receiving facility for examination. The officer
50 shall execute a written report detailing the circumstances under
51 which the person was taken into custody, and the report shall be
52 made a part of the patient’s clinical record. Any receiving
53 facility accepting the patient based on this report must send a
54 copy of the report to the Agency for Health Care Administration
55 on the next working day.
56 3. A physician, physician assistant, clinical psychologist,
57 psychiatric nurse, mental health counselor, marriage and family
58 therapist, or clinical social worker, or advanced registered
59 nurse practitioner may execute a certificate stating that he or
60 she has examined a person within the preceding 48 hours and
61 finds that the person appears to meet the criteria for
62 involuntary examination and stating the observations upon which
63 that conclusion is based. If other less restrictive means are
64 not available, such as voluntary appearance for outpatient
65 evaluation, a law enforcement officer shall take the person
66 named in the certificate into custody and deliver him or her to
67 the nearest receiving facility for involuntary examination. The
68 law enforcement officer shall execute a written report detailing
69 the circumstances under which the person was taken into custody.
70 The report and certificate shall be made a part of the patient’s
71 clinical record. Any receiving facility accepting the patient
72 based on this certificate must send a copy of the certificate to
73 the Agency for Health Care Administration on the next working
74 day.
75 Section 3. Section 394.47892, Florida Statutes, is created
76 to read:
77 394.47892 First responder training in mental health.—
78 (1) The Legislature finds that an emergency medical
79 technician, a paramedic, a firefighter, or a law enforcement
80 officer is likely to be the first responder to a request for
81 assistance involving a person with a mental illness. The
82 Legislature further finds that these first responders should be
83 trained in appropriate responses to calls involving a person
84 with a mental illness.
85 (2) The basic training programs required for certification
86 as an emergency medical technician, a paramedic, a firefighter,
87 or a law enforcement officer as defined in s. 943.10 must
88 include a curriculum that contains instruction to help identify
89 and understand the signs of mental illness and provide the first
90 responder with skills to appropriately help a person who is
91 developing or experiencing a mental health problem.
92 (3) The department, in consultation with the Emergency
93 Medical Services Advisory Council; the Firefighters Employment,
94 Standards, and Training Council; and the Criminal Justice
95 Standards and Training Commission, shall adopt, by rule,
96 curriculum standards for the required basic training programs of
97 the first responders specified in subsection (2).
98 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.