Treating People with Behavioral Health Disorder

Legislative Oversight Committee Concerning the Treatment of Persons with Behavioral Health Disorders in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Systems. Current law requires the department of health care policy and financing to provide medicaid reimbursement to opioid treatment programs for administering medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in a jail setting. Section 1 of the bill expands medicaid reimbursement to include licensed providers who administer MAT in a jail setting.

Current law excludes personnel employed by or contracted with a law enforcement agency from the definition of "secure transportation". Section 2 removes this exclusion to allow entities that contract with law enforcement agencies to provide secure transportation. Sections 3 and 4 transfer the licensing authority for secure transportation providers from the counties to the department of public health and environment beginning January 1, 2027. Sections 6 through 10 make changes to the secure transportation requirements and petition filing requirements related to emergency mental health holds and short-term and long-term certifications, including:

• Expanding the transportation provider types that may be contacted for assistance in detaining and transporting a person to a facility for an emergency mental health hold to include a behavioral health crisis response team, a private ambulance service provider, a private emergency medical services provider, and a secure transportation provider;
• Requiring a certified peace officer to advise the person being taken into protective custody that the person is not under arrest and has not committed a crime;
• Requiring the petition for a court-ordered evaluation to include any known history of the respondent's history of assault or possession of weapons and whether the respondent has a prior history of an emergency mental health hold or short-term or long-term certification; and
• Creating a right for a person detained for an emergency mental health hold to not be transported by a certified peace officer if an alternative secure transportation option is available.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)