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2014 SESSION

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SJ 47 Mental health; joint subcommittee to study services in the Commonwealth in twenty-first century.

Introduced by: R. Creigh Deeds | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles

SUMMARY AS PASSED: (all summaries)

Study; joint subcommittee to study the mental health services in the Commonwealth; report. Establishes a joint subcommittee to study mental health services in the Commonwealth in the 21st century. The joint subcommittee shall consist of 12 legislative members. Members shall be appointed as follows: five members of the Senate, of whom two shall be members of the Senate Committee on Education and Health, two shall be members of the Senate Committee on Finance, and one shall be a member at-large, to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules; and seven members of the House of Delegates, of whom two shall be members of the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions, two shall be members of the House Committee on Appropriations, and three shall be members at-large, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates. The joint subcommittee may appoint work groups to assist it with its work. In conducting its study, the joint subcommittee shall (i) review and coordinate with the work of the Governor's Task Force on Improving Mental Health Services and Crisis Response; (ii) review the laws of the Commonwealth governing the provision of mental health services, including involuntary commitment of persons in need of mental health care; (iii) assess the systems of publicly funded mental health services, including emergency, forensic, and long-term mental health care and the services provided by local and regional jails and juvenile detention facilities; (iv) identify gaps in services and the types of facilities and services that will be needed to serve the needs of the Commonwealth in the 21st century; (v) examine and incorporate the objectives of House Joint Resolution 240 (1996) and House Joint Resolution 225 (1998) into its study; (vi) review and consider the report The Behavioral Health Services Study Commission: A Study of Virginia's Publicly Funded Behavioral Health Services in the 21st Century; and (vii) recommend statutory or regulatory changes needed to improve access to services, the quality of services, and outcomes for individuals in need of services. In reviewing the need for facility beds at the community level, the joint subcommittee shall give consideration to whether the current fiscal incentives for expanding regional jail capacity should be eliminated and replaced with a new incentive for construction, renovation, or enlargement of community mental health facilities or programs, which may or may not be co-located with selected jails on a regional basis. The joint subcommittee shall consider the appropriate location of such facilities; cooperative arrangements with community services boards, behavioral health authorities, and public and private hospitals; licensing, staffing, and funding requirements; and the statutory and administrative arrangements for the governance of such facilities. The joint subcommittee shall give consideration to the development of such facilities or programs on a pilot basis. The joint subcommittee must submit its report to the Governor and the 2018 Regular Session of the General Assembly. This bill incorporates SJR 16 and SB 301. 


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