Florida Senate - 2025 SB 1240 By Senator Calatayud 38-00785A-25 20251240__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to substance abuse and mental health 3 care; amending s. 394.4573, F.S.; expanding mental 4 health crisis services to include the 988 suicide and 5 crisis lifeline call center; amending s. 394.67, F.S.; 6 revising the definition of crisis services to 7 include a 988 suicide and crisis lifeline call center 8 and defining the term 988 suicide and crisis lifeline 9 call center; creating s. 394.9088, F.S.; requiring 10 the Department of Children and Families to authorize 11 and provide oversight of the 988 suicide and crisis 12 lifeline call centers and adopt specified rules; 13 amending s. 397.427, F.S.; removing requirements 14 relating to providers of medication-assisted treatment 15 services for opiate addiction; amending s. 916.111, 16 F.S.; revising training requirements for mental health 17 professionals; amending s. 916.115, F.S.; requiring 18 court appointed experts to have completed specified 19 training and continued education; amending s. 916.12, 20 F.S.; providing requirements for an expert to 21 determine acceptable treatments available in a 22 community; amending ss. 394.674 and 394.74, F.S.; 23 conforming cross-references; providing an effective 24 date. 25 26 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 27 28 Section 1.Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section 29 394.4573, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 30 394.4573Coordinated system of care; annual assessment; 31 essential elements; measures of performance; system improvement 32 grants; reports.On or before December 1 of each year, the 33 department shall submit to the Governor, the President of the 34 Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives an 35 assessment of the behavioral health services in this state. The 36 assessment shall consider, at a minimum, the extent to which 37 designated receiving systems function as no-wrong-door models, 38 the availability of treatment and recovery services that use 39 recovery-oriented and peer-involved approaches, the availability 40 of less-restrictive services, and the use of evidence-informed 41 practices. The assessment shall also consider the availability 42 of and access to coordinated specialty care programs and 43 identify any gaps in the availability of and access to such 44 programs in the state. The departments assessment shall 45 consider, at a minimum, the needs assessments conducted by the 46 managing entities pursuant to s. 394.9082(5). The department 47 shall compile and include in the report all plans submitted by 48 managing entities pursuant to s. 394.9082(8) and the 49 departments evaluation of each plan. 50 (2)The essential elements of a coordinated system of care 51 include: 52 (d)Crisis services, including the 988 suicide and crisis 53 lifeline call center, mobile response teams, crisis 54 stabilization units, addiction receiving facilities, and 55 detoxification facilities. 56 Section 2.Subsections (1) through (25) of section 394.67, 57 Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (2) through 58 (26), respectively, subsection (4) is amended, and a new 59 subsection (1) is added to that section, to read: 60 394.67Definitions.As used in this part, the term: 61 (1)988 suicide and crisis lifeline call center means a 62 call center meeting national accreditation and recognized by the 63 department to receive 988 calls, texts, or other forms of 64 communication in this state. 65 (4)Crisis services means short-term evaluation, 66 stabilization, and brief intervention services provided to a 67 person who is experiencing an acute mental or emotional crisis, 68 as defined in subsection (19) (18), or an acute substance abuse 69 crisis, as defined in subsection (20) (19), to prevent further 70 deterioration of the persons mental health. Crisis services are 71 provided in settings such as a crisis stabilization unit, an 72 inpatient unit, a short-term residential treatment program, a 73 detoxification facility, or an addictions receiving facility; at 74 the site of the crisis by a mobile crisis response team; or at a 75 hospital on an outpatient basis; or telephonically by a 988 76 suicide and crisis lifeline call center. 77 Section 3.Section 394.9088, Florida Statutes, is created 78 to read: 79 394.9088988 suicide and crisis lifeline call center. 80 (1)The department shall authorize and provide oversight to 81 988 suicide and crisis lifeline call centers. Unless authorized 82 by the department, call centers are not permitted to conduct 988 83 suicide and crisis lifeline services. The department may 84 implement a corrective action plan, suspension or revocation of 85 authorization for failure to comply with this section and rules 86 adopted under this section. 87 (2)The department shall adopt rules relating to: 88 (a)The process for authorization of 988 suicide and crisis 89 lifeline call centers. 90 (b)Minimum standards for 988 suicide and crisis lifeline 91 call centers to be authorized, including but not limited to, 92 service delivery, quality of care, and performance outcomes. 93 (c)The adequacy and consistency of 988 suicide and crisis 94 lifeline call centers personnel certifications, accreditations, 95 quality assurance standards, and minimum training standards. 96 (d)Implementation of a cohesive statewide plan for 988 97 suicide and crisis lifeline call centers to achieve statewide 98 interoperability with the 911 system and to provide individuals 99 with rapid and direct access to the appropriate care. 100 Section 4.Subsections (3) through (9) of section 397.427, 101 Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (2) through (8), 102 respectively, and present subsections (2) and (5) are amended, 103 to read: 104 397.427Medication-assisted treatment service providers; 105 rehabilitation program; needs assessment and provision of 106 services; persons authorized to issue takeout medication; 107 unlawful operation; penalty. 108 (2)The department shall determine the need for 109 establishing providers of medication-assisted treatment services 110 for opiate addiction. 111 (a)Providers of medication-assisted treatment services for 112 opiate addiction may be established only in response to the 113 departments determination and publication of need for 114 additional medication treatment services. 115 (b)If needs assessment is required, the department shall 116 annually conduct the assessment and publish a statement of 117 findings which identifies each substate entitys need. 118 (c)Notwithstanding paragraphs (a) and (b), the license for 119 medication-assisted treatment programs for opiate addiction 120 licensed before October 1, 1990, may not be revoked solely 121 because of the departments determination concerning the need 122 for medication-assisted treatment services for opiate addiction. 123 (4)(5)The department shall also determine the need for 124 establishing medication-assisted treatment for substance use 125 disorders other than opiate dependence. Service providers within 126 the publicly funded system shall be funded for provision of 127 these services based on the availability of funds. 128 Section 5.Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section 129 916.111, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 130 916.111Training of mental health experts.The evaluation 131 of defendants for competency to proceed or for sanity at the 132 time of the commission of the offense shall be conducted in such 133 a way as to ensure uniform application of the criteria 134 enumerated in Rules 3.210 and 3.216, Florida Rules of Criminal 135 Procedure. The department shall develop, and may contract with 136 accredited institutions: 137 (1)To provide: 138 (c)Training for mental health professionals in the 139 application of these protocols and procedures in performing 140 forensic evaluations and providing reports to the courts. 141 Training must include, but is not limited to, information on 142 statutes and rules related to competency restoration, evidence 143 based practices, least restrictive treatment alternatives and 144 placement options as described in s. 916.12(4)(c); and 145 Section 6.Subsection (1) of section 916.115, Florida 146 Statutes, is amended to read: 147 916.115Appointment of experts. 148 (1)The court shall appoint no more than three experts to 149 determine the mental condition of a defendant in a criminal 150 case, including competency to proceed, insanity, involuntary 151 placement, and treatment. The experts may evaluate the defendant 152 in jail or in another appropriate local facility or in a 153 facility of the Department of Corrections. 154 (a)The court To the extent possible, The appointed experts 155 shall: 156 1.have completed forensic evaluator training approved by 157 the department, and each shall Be a psychiatrist, licensed 158 psychologist, or physician. 159 2.Have completed initial and ongoing forensic evaluator 160 training, provided by the department. 161 3.If performing juvenile evaluations, complete annually, 162 juvenile forensic competency evaluation training approved by the 163 department. 164 (b)Existing evaluators shall complete department-provided 165 continuing education training by July 1, 2026, to remain active 166 on the list. 167 (c)(b)The department shall maintain and annually provide 168 the courts with a list of available mental health professionals 169 who have completed the initial and annual approved training as 170 experts. 171 Section 7.Paragraph (d) of subsection (4) of section 172 916.12, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 173 916.12Mental competence to proceed. 174 (4)If an expert finds that the defendant is incompetent to 175 proceed, the expert shall report on any recommended treatment 176 for the defendant to attain competence to proceed. In 177 considering the issues relating to treatment, the examining 178 expert shall specifically report on: 179 (d)The availability of acceptable treatment and, if 180 treatment is available in the community, the expert shall so 181 state in the report. In determining what acceptable treatments 182 are available in the community, the expert shall, at a minimum, 183 use current information or resources on less restrictive 184 treatment alternatives, as described in paragraph (c) and those 185 obtained from training and continuing education approved by the 186 department. 187 188 The examining experts report to the court shall include a full 189 and detailed explanation regarding why the alternative treatment 190 options referenced in the evaluation are insufficient to meet 191 the needs of the defendant. 192 Section 8.Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 193 394.674, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 194 394.674Eligibility for publicly funded substance abuse and 195 mental health services; fee collection requirements. 196 (1)To be eligible to receive substance abuse and mental 197 health services funded by the department, an individual must be 198 a member of at least one of the departments priority 199 populations approved by the Legislature. The priority 200 populations include: 201 (a)For adult mental health services: 202 1.Adults who have severe and persistent mental illness, as 203 designated by the department using criteria that include 204 severity of diagnosis, duration of the mental illness, ability 205 to independently perform activities of daily living, and receipt 206 of disability income for a psychiatric condition. Included 207 within this group are: 208 a.Older adults in crisis. 209 b.Older adults who are at risk of being placed in a more 210 restrictive environment because of their mental illness. 211 c.Persons deemed incompetent to proceed or not guilty by 212 reason of insanity under chapter 916. 213 d.Other persons involved in the criminal justice system. 214 e.Persons diagnosed as having co-occurring mental illness 215 and substance abuse disorders. 216 2.Persons who are experiencing an acute mental or 217 emotional crisis as defined in s. 394.67 s. 394.67(18). 218 Section 9.Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section 219 394.74, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 220 394.74Contracts for provision of local substance abuse and 221 mental health programs. 222 (3)Contracts shall include, but are not limited to: 223 (a)A provision that, within the limits of available 224 resources, substance abuse and mental health crisis services, as 225 defined in s. 394.67 s. 394.67(4), shall be available to any 226 individual residing or employed within the service area, 227 regardless of ability to pay for such services, current or past 228 health condition, or any other factor; 229 Section 10.This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.