Florida Senate - 2025 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 886
Ì504398OÎ504398
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
04/02/2025 .
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The Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs (Leek)
recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Section 394.6581, Florida Statutes, is created
6 to read:
7 394.6581 Crisis Care Coordination Pilot Programs.—
8 (1) Subject to a specific appropriation, the department
9 shall establish and implement Crisis Care Coordination Pilot
10 Programs in Polk and Volusia Counties. The purpose of the pilot
11 programs is to reduce repeat involuntary examinations initiated
12 by law enforcement, provide persons who are experiencing an
13 acute mental health crisis an option for crisis intervention
14 other than the use of law enforcement, reduce their level of
15 follow-up interaction with law enforcement officers post crisis,
16 and assist them with engagement in behavioral health care.
17 (a) The pilot programs shall facilitate partnerships
18 between law enforcement agencies in Polk and Volusia Counties
19 and organizations in the coordinated system of care under s.
20 394.4573 that are operating in those counties by placing crisis
21 counselors within law enforcement agencies to intervene with and
22 provide follow-up care for persons who are experiencing or have
23 experienced an acute mental health crisis and their families and
24 support networks.
25 (b) The pilot programs shall be implemented by nationally
26 accredited community mental health centers in partnership with
27 local law enforcement.
28 (2) Crisis counselors placed in law enforcement agencies
29 shall provide support and assistance to persons who are
30 experiencing or have experienced an acute mental health crisis,
31 connecting them to the coordinated system of care. Duties of
32 crisis counselors shall include:
33 (a) Intervening when law enforcement is contacted relating
34 to a person experiencing an acute mental health crisis to make
35 observations and provide information to responding officers,
36 conduct assessments, de-escalate the crisis situation, or
37 provide referrals, as appropriate.
38 (b) Follow up with such persons following an acute mental
39 health crisis involving law enforcement, such as an involuntary
40 examination as defined in s. 394.455 initiated by law
41 enforcement. A person’s involvement with follow-up care is
42 voluntary. Such follow-up care by crisis counselors may include,
43 but is not limited to:
44 1. Conducting assessments.
45 2. Providing individualized safety planning tailored to the
46 person’s needs and risks.
47 3. Providing supportive counseling.
48 4. Assisting persons in accessing recommended mental health
49 services and substance abuse services.
50 5. Assisting persons in adhering to discharge plans.
51 6. Providing care coordination as defined in s. 394.4573,
52 unless a person is already receiving that service from another
53 organization.
54 (3) The pilot programs shall establish formal partnerships
55 through written referral agreements and information exchange
56 procedures with, at a minimum, providers of mental health
57 services and substance abuse services, local hospitals licensed
58 under chapter 395, and not-for-profit agencies and other
59 organizations which can be of assistance to persons who are
60 experiencing or have experienced an acute mental health crisis
61 and their families and support networks. Such agreements must,
62 at a minimum, facilitate timely access to community-based
63 behavioral health services and other local systems and entities
64 as provided in the person’s discharge plan.
65 (4) The department shall contract for an independent
66 evaluation of the pilot programs regarding, at a minimum, their
67 effectiveness and return on investment. By January 15, 2029, the
68 department shall submit a report of the findings of the
69 evaluation of the pilot programs to the Governor, the President
70 of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
71 which must include, at a minimum:
72 (a) The amount of time that law enforcement officers were
73 engaged in responses to persons who were experiencing or had
74 experienced an acute mental health crisis.
75 (b) Repeat involuntary examinations initiated by law
76 enforcement.
77 (c) Engagement in post-crisis mental health and substance
78 abuse services among persons served by the programs.
79 (d) The effectiveness of the pilot program services.
80 (e) Recommendations regarding enhancements to, and
81 continuation and expansion of, the pilot programs.
82 (5) The department may adopt rules to implement this
83 section.
84 (6) This section expires June 30, 2029.
85 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.
86
87 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
88 And the title is amended as follows:
89 Delete everything before the enacting clause
90 and insert:
91 A bill to be entitled
92 An act relating to crisis care coordination; creating
93 s. 394.6581, F.S.; requiring the Department of
94 Children and Families to implement, subject to
95 appropriation, Crisis Care Coordination Pilot Programs
96 in specified counties for certain purposes; providing
97 requirements for the pilot programs; requiring the
98 department to contract for an independent evaluation
99 of the pilot programs and submit a report to the
100 Governor and the Legislature by a specified date;
101 providing rulemaking authority; providing for
102 expiration of the pilot programs; providing an
103 effective date.