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2021 SESSION

21102974D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 578
Offered January 13, 2021
 Requesting the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to study the feasibility of developing a secure, de-identified, renewable, and relational database of criminal justice, behavioral health, and other human services records to facilitate the development of more effective interventions. Report.
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Patrons-- Price, Guzman, Hope, Levine and Watts; Senators: Deeds and Howell
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Referred to Committee on Rules
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WHEREAS, the analysis of linked and de-identified information contained in criminal justice, behavioral health, and other human services records can facilitate a better understanding of service trajectories and long-term outcomes of various interventions; and

WHEREAS, understanding these outcomes can help guide policy making, resulting in more effective and efficient interventions for individuals involved in the criminal justice, behavioral health, and human services systems; and

WHEREAS, development of a coordinated state strategy concerning the collection and analysis of information in such linked and de-identified information contained in criminal justice, behavioral health, and other human services records may facilitate such collection and analysis, the development of interventions, and the formulation of policies; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services be requested to study the feasibility of developing a secure, de-identified, renewable, and relational database of criminal justice, behavioral health, and other human services records to facilitate the development of more effective interventions.

In conducting its study, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services shall convene a work group composed of representatives of the Office of the Attorney General, Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court, the Departments of Health and Social Services, the Virginia State Police, the Virginia State Compensation Board, the Institute for Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy at the University of Virginia, and such other stakeholders as the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services shall deem appropriate to determine the feasibility of establishing a secure, de-identified, renewable, and relational database that combines information from records created and maintained by criminal justice, behavioral health, and other human services agencies in the Commonwealth, which may be utilized by stakeholders to evaluate the effectiveness of existing interventions and facilitate the development of new interventions to improve outcomes.

All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services for this study, upon request.

The Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services shall complete its meetings by November 30, 2021, and shall submit to the Governor and the General Assembly an executive summary and a report of its findings and recommendations for publication as a House or Senate document. The executive summary and report shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports no later than the first day of the 2022 Regular Session of the General Assembly and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.