HB 655 2023
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to suicide prevention; amending s. 2
394.9086, F.S.; revising the purposes of the 3
Commission on Mental Health and Substance Abuse to 4
include an assessment of the state's suicide 5
prevention infrastructure; revising the duties of the 6
commission to include duties relating to the state's 7
suicide prevention infrastructure; providing an 8
effective date. 9
10
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 11
12
Section 1. Subsection (2) and paragraph (a) of subsection 13
(4) of section 394.9086, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 14
394.9086 Commission on Mental Health and Substance Abuse. — 15
(2) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the commission are to 16
examine the current methods of providing mental health and 17
substance abuse services in the state and to improve the 18
effectiveness of current practices, procedures, programs, and 19
initiatives in providing such services; identify any barriers or 20
deficiencies in the delivery of such services; assess the 21
adequacy of the current infrastructure of Florida's National 22
Suicide Prevention Lifeline (NSPL) system and other components 23
of the state's behavioral health crisis system; and recommend 24
changes to existing laws, r ules, and policies necessary to 25
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implement the commission's recommendations. 26
(4) DUTIES.— 27
(a) The duties of the Commission on Mental Health and 28
Substance Abuse include the following: 29
1. Conducting a review and evaluation of the management 30
and functioning of the existing publicly supported mental health 31
and substance abuse systems and services in the department, the 32
Agency for Health Care Administration, and all other departments 33
which administer mental health and substance abuse services. 34
Such review shall include, at a minimum, a review of current 35
goals and objectives, current planning, services strategies, 36
coordination management, purchasing, contracting, financing, 37
local government funding responsibility, and accountability 38
mechanisms. 39
2. Considering the unique needs of persons who are dually 40
diagnosed. 41
3. Addressing access to, financing of, and scope of 42
responsibility in the delivery of emergency behavioral health 43
care services. 44
4. Addressing the quality and effectiveness of current 45
mental health and substance abuse services delivery systems, and 46
professional staffing and clinical structure of services, roles, 47
and responsibilities of public and private providers, such as 48
community mental health centers; community substance abuse 49
agencies; hospitals, including emergency services departments; 50
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law enforcement agencies; and the judicial system. 51
5. Addressing priority population groups for publicly 52
funded mental health and substance abuse services, identifying 53
the comprehensive mental health and sub stance abuse services 54
delivery systems, mental health and substance abuse needs 55
assessment and planning activities, and local government funding 56
responsibilities for mental health and substance abuse services. 57
6. Reviewing the implementation of chapter 2 020-107, Laws 58
of Florida. 59
7. Identifying any gaps in the provision of mental health 60
and substance use disorder services. 61
8. Providing recommendations on how behavioral health 62
managing entities may fulfill their purpose of promoting service 63
continuity and work with community stakeholders throughout this 64
state in furtherance of supporting the NSPL system and other 65
crisis response services . 66
9. Conducting an overview of the current infrastructure of 67
the NSPL system. 68
10. Analyzing the current capacity o f crisis response 69
services available throughout this state, including services 70
provided by mobile response teams and centralized receiving 71
facilities. The analysis must include information on the 72
geographic area and the total population served by each mobi le 73
response team along with the average response time to each call 74
made to a mobile response team; the number of calls that a 75
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mobile response team was unable to respond to due to staff 76
limitations, travel distance, or other factors; and the veteran 77
status and age groups of individuals served by mobile response 78
teams. 79
11. Evaluating and making recommendations to improve 80
linkages between the NSPL infrastructure and crisis response 81
services within this state. 82
12. Identifying available mental health block g rant funds 83
that can be used to support the NSPL and crisis response 84
infrastructure within this state, including any available 85
funding through opioid settlements or through the American 86
Rescue Plan Act, Pub. L. No. 117 -2; the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, 87
and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Pub. L. No. 116 -136; or other 88
federal legislation. 89
13. In consultation with the Agency for Health Care 90
Administration, identifying sources of funding available through 91
the Medicaid program specifically for crisis response ser vices, 92
including funding that may be available by seeking approval of a 93
Section 1115 waiver submitted to the Centers for Medicare and 94
Medicaid Services. 95
14. Making recommendations regarding the mission and 96
objectives of state-supported mental health and substance abuse 97
services and the planning, management, staffing, financing, 98
contracting, coordination, and accountability mechanisms which 99
will best foster the recommended mission and objectives. 100
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15.10. Evaluating and making recommendations regarding the 101
establishment of a permanent, agency -level entity to manage 102
mental health, substance abuse, and related services statewide. 103
At a minimum, the evaluation must consider and describe the: 104
a. Specific duties and organizational structure proposed 105
for the entity; 106
b. Resource needs of the entity and possible sources of 107
funding; 108
c. Estimated impact on access to and quality of services; 109
d. Impact on individuals with behavioral health needs and 110
their families, both those currently served through the affected 111
systems providing behavioral health services and those in need 112
of services; and 113
e. Relation to, integration with, and impact on providers, 114
managing entities, communities, state agencies, and systems 115
which provide mental health and substance abuse servic es in this 116
state. Such recommendations must ensure that the ability of such 117
other agencies and systems to carry out their missions and 118
responsibilities is not impaired. 119
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 120