Florida Senate - 2022                              CS for SB 478
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; and
       Senators Brodeur and Perry
       
       
       
       
       586-01943-22                                           2022478c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to suicide prevention; amending s.
    3         394.9086, F.S.; revising the purposes of the
    4         Commission on Mental Health and Substance Abuse to
    5         include an assessment of the state’s suicide
    6         prevention infrastructure; revising the duties of the
    7         commission to include duties relating to the state’s
    8         suicide prevention infrastructure; providing an
    9         effective date.
   10          
   11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   12  
   13         Section 1. Subsection (2) and paragraph (a) of subsection
   14  (4) of section 394.9086, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   15         394.9086 Commission on Mental Health and Substance Abuse.—
   16         (2) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the commission are to examine
   17  the current methods of providing mental health and substance
   18  abuse services in the state and to improve the effectiveness of
   19  current practices, procedures, programs, and initiatives in
   20  providing such services; identify any barriers or deficiencies
   21  in the delivery of such services; assess the adequacy of the
   22  current infrastructure of Florida’s National Suicide Prevention
   23  Lifeline (NSPL) system and other components of the state’s
   24  behavioral health crisis system; and recommend changes to
   25  existing laws, rules, and policies necessary to implement the
   26  commission’s recommendations.
   27         (4) DUTIES.—
   28         (a) The duties of the Commission on Mental Health and
   29  Substance Abuse include the following:
   30         1. Conducting a review and evaluation of the management and
   31  functioning of the existing publicly supported mental health and
   32  substance abuse systems and services in the department, the
   33  Agency for Health Care Administration, and all other departments
   34  which administer mental health and substance abuse services.
   35  Such review shall include, at a minimum, a review of current
   36  goals and objectives, current planning, services strategies,
   37  coordination management, purchasing, contracting, financing,
   38  local government funding responsibility, and accountability
   39  mechanisms.
   40         2. Considering the unique needs of persons who are dually
   41  diagnosed.
   42         3. Addressing access to, financing of, and scope of
   43  responsibility in the delivery of emergency behavioral health
   44  care services.
   45         4. Addressing the quality and effectiveness of current
   46  mental health and substance abuse services delivery systems, and
   47  professional staffing and clinical structure of services, roles,
   48  and responsibilities of public and private providers, such as
   49  community mental health centers; community substance abuse
   50  agencies; hospitals, including emergency services departments;
   51  law enforcement agencies; and the judicial system.
   52         5. Addressing priority population groups for publicly
   53  funded mental health and substance abuse services, identifying
   54  the comprehensive mental health and substance abuse services
   55  delivery systems, mental health and substance abuse needs
   56  assessment and planning activities, and local government funding
   57  responsibilities for mental health and substance abuse services.
   58         6. Reviewing the implementation of chapter 2020-107, Laws
   59  of Florida.
   60         7. Identifying any gaps in the provision of mental health
   61  and substance use disorder services.
   62         8. Providing recommendations on how behavioral health
   63  managing entities may fulfill their purpose of promoting service
   64  continuity and work with community stakeholders throughout the
   65  state in furtherance of supporting the NSPL system and other
   66  crisis response services.
   67         9.Conducting an overview of the current infrastructure of
   68  Florida’s NSPL system.
   69         10.Analyzing the current capacity of crisis response
   70  services available throughout the state, including services
   71  provided by mobile response teams and centralized receiving
   72  facilities. The analysis must include information on the
   73  geographic area and the total population served by each mobile
   74  response team along with the average response time to each call
   75  made to a mobile response team; the number of calls that a
   76  mobile response team was unable to respond to due to staff
   77  limitations, travel distance, or other factors; and the veteran
   78  status and age groups of individuals served by mobile response
   79  teams.
   80         11. Evaluating and making recommendations to improve
   81  linkages between the NSPL infrastructure and crisis response
   82  services throughout the state.
   83         12. Identifying available mental health block grant funds
   84  that can be used to support the NSPL and crisis response
   85  infrastructure within this state, including any available
   86  funding through opioid settlements or through the American
   87  Rescue Plan Act, Pub. L. No. 117-2, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief,
   88  and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Pub. L. No. 116-136, or other
   89  federal legislation.
   90         13. In consultation with the Agency for Health Care
   91  Administration, identifying sources of funding available through
   92  the Medicaid program specifically for crisis response services,
   93  including funding that may be available through seeking approval
   94  of a Section 1115 waiver submitted to the Centers for Medicare
   95  and Medicaid Services.
   96         14.9. Making recommendations regarding the mission and
   97  objectives of state-supported mental health and substance abuse
   98  services and the planning, management, staffing, financing,
   99  contracting, coordination, and accountability mechanisms which
  100  will best foster the recommended mission and objectives.
  101         15.10. Evaluating and making recommendations regarding the
  102  establishment of a permanent, agency-level entity to manage
  103  mental health, substance abuse, and related services statewide.
  104  At a minimum, the evaluation must consider and describe the:
  105         a. Specific duties and organizational structure proposed
  106  for the entity;
  107         b. Resource needs of the entity and possible sources of
  108  funding;
  109         c. Estimated impact on access to and quality of services;
  110         d. Impact on individuals with behavioral health needs and
  111  their families, both those currently served through the affected
  112  systems providing behavioral health services and those in need
  113  of services; and
  114         e. Relation to, integration with, and impact on providers,
  115  managing entities, communities, state agencies, and systems
  116  which provide mental health and substance abuse services in this
  117  state. Such recommendations must ensure that the ability of such
  118  other agencies and systems to carry out their missions and
  119  responsibilities is not impaired.
  120         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.