Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts Senate Bill S1407 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1903 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
3	3	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1407
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Paul W. Mark
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act to create equitable approaches to public health.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Paul W. MarkBerkshire, Hampden, Franklin and
16	16	Hampshire 1 of 9
17	17	SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1903 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
18	18	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1407
19	19	By Mr. Mark, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1407) of Paul W. Mark for legislation
20	20	to create equitable approaches to public health. Public Health.
21	21	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
22	22	_______________
23	23	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
24	24	(2023-2024)
25	25	_______________
26	26	An Act to create equitable approaches to public health.
27	27	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
28	28	of the same, as follows:
29	29	1 SECTION 1. Chapter 6A of the General Laws shall be amended by inserting the
30	30	2following new section:-
31	31	3 Section 16CC. The Executive Office of Health and Human Services shall establish and
32	32	4provide administrative oversight to the Equitable Approaches to Public Health grant program to
33	33	5increase the availability of non-law-enforcement, unarmed community-based response options
34	34	6for emergency calls.
35	35	7 Said grant program shall --
36	36	8 (i) make competitive grants to eligible applicants to develop local systems for protecting
37	37	9the mental and physical well-being of residents, preventing violence, de-escalating volatile
38	38	10situations, ensuring access to human services, and reducing government use of force, in
39	39	11emergency and non-emergency situations that do not necessitate the presence of law enforcement 2 of 9
40	40	12personnel, or, where appropriate, the person requesting help requests a response from an
41	41	13alternative to law enforcement and;
42	42	14 (ii) produce timely evaluation of grant performance to clarify and assess the outcomes
43	43	15and costs of funded programs, and any trends across service models provided through the grant
44	44	16program overall; provided further that outcomes assessed shall include, though need not be
45	45	17limited to, mental, physical, and behavioral health outcomes, impact on reduced demand for law
46	46	18enforcement response to 911 calls, and rate of successfully connecting residents with human
47	47	19services for which they present a need.
48	48	20 Grant making criteria and decisions shall be made by a board of community-based
49	49	21stakeholders, one of whom shall be the executive director of the Massachusetts Chapter of the
50	50	22National Association of Social Workers or a designee, one of whom shall be the secretary of the
51	51	23Department of Mental Health or a designee, one of whom shall be the director of Greater Boston
52	52	24Association of Black Social Workers or a designee, one of whom shall be the director of the
53	53	25Massachusetts Peer Support Network or a designee, one of whom shall be the director of the
54	54	26Western Massachusetts Learning Community or designee, one of whom shall be a consumer of
55	55	27services of the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, one of whom shall be a consumer of services of
56	56	28the Massachusetts Office of Addiction and Recovery, and one of whom shall be the director of
57	57	29Jane Doe Inc. or a designee.
58	58	30 SECTION 2. To be eligible to receive a grant under this act, an entity shall be a
59	59	31partnership of—
60	60	32 1.(a) a unit of local government, or its contractor or tribal organization, acting through an
61	61	33entity that is independent of any law enforcement agency; and 3 of 9
62	62	34 (b) a covered community-based organization. The term Community-Based Organization
63	63	35shall mean — A nonprofit community-based organization, a consortium of nonprofit
64	64	36community-based organizations, or a national nonprofit organization acting as an intermediary
65	65	37for a community-based organization.
66	66	38 2. if applicable, a nonprofit or public institution of higher education, community mental
67	67	39health center, or behavioral health organization local to the community.
68	68	40 SECTION 3. To be eligible to receive a grant under this Act for a project, a partnership
69	69	41shall submit an application, to the Executive Office of Health and Human Services at such time,
70	70	42in such manner, and containing such information as the Executive Office of Health and Human
71	71	43Services may require, including—
72	72	44 (1) information that specifies in detail —
73	73	45 (A) the covered populations that the partnership will target for services under this Act;
74	74	46 (B) the experience of the members of the partnership in successfully working in the
75	75	47community to be served and partnering with the target populations.
76	76	48 (C) how the grant funds will be used;
77	77	49 (D) the expertise of the partnership, including its staff, in implementing the project to
78	78	50provide the proposed services;
79	79	51 (E) how the partnership will implement or develop evidence-informed best practices in
80	80	52carrying out the project, including references to applicable research; and 4 of 9
81	81	53 (F) the partnership’s plan for gathering regular feedback from service recipients about the
82	82	54quality of the services, including contacts and resources, provided through the project; and
83	83	55 (2) a memorandum of understanding that—
84	84	56 (A) identifies each partner, including each agency of the unit of local government or
85	85	57tribal organization, as applicable, involved, and is signed by a representative of each partner in
86	86	58the partnership carrying out the project; and
87	87	59 (B) outlines—
88	88	60 (i) the partnership’s engagement with the community, including members of the covered
89	89	61population, and the role the engagement played in developing the project;
90	90	62 (ii) the financial and programmatic commitment of each partner, and the specific role of a
91	91	63law enforcement agency, if involved in a backup role;
92	92	64 (iii) the responsibilities of partners, emergency dispatch operators, and dispatchers in the
93	93	65national 911 system, in properly identifying calls in the community to be served necessitating a
94	94	66community-based emergency and non-emergency response and directing those calls to
95	95	67appropriate responders;
96	96	68 (iv) the responsibilities of information and referral systems for essential community
97	97	69services, accessed in most localities by dialing 211, and the National Suicide Prevention Hotline
98	98	70for participating in efficiently routing direct callers to services;
99	99	71 (v) the responsibilities of each partner with respect to data collection and evaluation; 5 of 9
100	100	72 (vi) as of the date of submission of the application, how each partner’s existing vision,
101	101	73theory of change, theory of action, and activities align with those of the grant program set forth
102	102	74in this Act;
103	103	75 (viii) how the eligible partners’ governing boards or advisory boards, and emergency
104	104	76responders, are representative of the community to be served;
105	105	77 (ix) how a structure through which residents of the community and grassroots
106	106	78organizations will have an active role in the eligible partnership’s decision-making;
107	107	79 (x) how the partnership anticipates that the project involved will decrease the presence of
108	108	80local law enforcement in situations not warranting an emergency response;
109	109	81 (xi) any State or local laws that may be an impediment to implementation of the project;
110	110	82and
111	111	83 (xii) any other information the Executive Office of Health and Human Services
112	112	84reasonably determines to be necessary.
113	113	85 SECTION 4. An eligible partnership that receives a grant under this Act for a project may
114	114	86use the grant funds for —
115	115	87 (1) project planning and community engagement;
116	116	88 (2) project implementation;
117	117	89 (3) staffing and recruitment;
118	118	90 (4) facilities; 6 of 9
119	119	91 (5) operational costs, including costs of startup or expansion activities, marketing,
120	120	92language translation and interpretation, and transportation;
121	121	93 (6) engagement with technical assistance providers;
122	122	94 (7) consulting services;
123	123	95 (8) training;
124	124	96 (9) program and project evaluation, including evaluation of program and project efficacy,
125	125	97staff performance, and service delivery;
126	126	98 (10) programming and service interventions that include—
127	127	99 (A) activities that prioritize human service interventions, by entities other than law
128	128	100enforcement; or
129	129	101 (B) activities that include triaging emergencies, through emergency dispatch operators, in
130	130	102a manner that results in referral to entities other than law enforcement; and
131	131	103 (11) activities that include follow-up by human services organizations after contact by
132	132	104law enforcement, such as peer support or community mediation, social services, or behavioral
133	133	105health services;
134	134	106 (12) training for emergency dispatch operators; and
135	135	107 (13) training for community members, or family members of people requiring emergency
136	136	108or non-emergency response, to facilitate comprehensive and clear communication with
137	137	109emergency dispatch operators to ensure that necessary information is conveyed about when an
138	138	110intervention by a nonpolice human services organization is the most appropriate response. 7 of 9
139	139	111 SECTION 5. None of the grant funds shall be provided to State, tribal, or local law
140	140	112enforcement agencies.
141	141	113 SECTION 6. Not later than 4 fiscal quarters after the board begins dispensing grants in
142	142	114accordance with this subsection, the Commonwealth shall enter into a contract with an
143	143	115independent entity or organization – whose governing board or senior staff is comprised all or in
144	144	116part of community members who i) live in communities that experience a disproportionate
145	145	117police presence or that are disproportionately impacted by the criminal justice system or (ii) were
146	146	118formerly incarcerated to conduct an evaluation for the purposes of—
147	147	119 (a) determining the effect of the provision of such services on—
148	148	120 (I) emergency room visits;
149	149	121 (II) use of ambulatory services;
150	150	122 (III) hospitalizations;
151	151	123 (IV) the involvement of law enforcement in mental health or substance use disorder crisis
152	152	124events;
153	153	125 i). Including but not limited to:
154	154	126 a.Data to be made available by the Department of Public Health pertaining to law
155	155	127enforcement-related injury or death
156	156	128 b.Data to be made available by the entity responsible for the identification and
157	157	129dispatching of 911 or emergency services relative to a covered population’s needs 8 of 9
158	158	130 (VI) other relevant outcomes identified by the Executive Office of Health and Human
159	159	131Services
160	160	132 SECTION 7. Each recipient of a grant for a project under this section is required to
161	161	133submit an annual report to the Executive Office of Health and Human Services that details—
162	162	134 (1) the specific uses of the grant funds;
163	163	135 (2) the number of individuals contacted through the project;
164	164	136 (3) the number of individuals connected with ongoing services or resources through the
165	165	137project, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability
166	166	138status, religious affiliations, and other characteristics;
167	167	139 (4) any evidence of positive outcomes following the contacts or connections;
168	168	140 (5) any evidence of negative outcomes that may have occurred following the contacts or
169	169	141connections;
170	170	142 (6) the percentage of total emergency calls diverted from law enforcement to the grant
171	171	143recipient;
172	172	144 (7) the percentage of emergency calls diverted to the grant recipient that have been
173	173	145addressed;
174	174	146 (8) the extent to which the grant recipient is hiring or training individuals from within the
175	175	147covered population, and the recruitment, hiring, training, and retention practices for such
176	176	148individuals; 9 of 9
177	177	149 (9) any related reduction in the number of calls to law enforcement over the period of the
178	178	150project;
179	179	151 (10) any changes in the types of calls made to the 911 system, to the extent that it is
180	180	152practicable to report information on such changes;
181	181	153 (11) any increases in the number of calls to the 211 (or equivalent) systems for essential
182	182	154non-emergency community services or calls to the 988 National Suicide Prevention Hotline over
183	183	155the period of the project;
184	184	156 (12) any State or local laws that were an impediment to implementation of the project;
185	185	157and
186	186	158 (13) any evidence of completed in-home, teletherapy, or in-community responses that
187	187	159included counseling, crisis response, family treatment, mediation, or other evidence-based
188	188	160interventions that addressed complex needs not able to be resolved by non-emergency calls
189	189	161alone.
190	190	162 SECTION 8. Not later than October 1, 2028, the Executive Office of Health and Human
191	191	163Services shall—
192	192	164 (1) complete an evaluation detailing the implementation of, outcomes of, and best
193	193	165practices from the grant program carried out under this Act, including program-wide information
194	194	166on the factors described in paragraphs (2) through (13) of section 6; and
195	195	167 (2) submit to the legislature a report containing the evaluation and recommended next
196	196	168steps for the program.