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| 2 | 2 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2028 FILED ON: 1/17/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1407 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Edward J. Kennedy |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying |
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| 12 | 12 | | resolve: |
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| 13 | 13 | | Resolve to ensure delivery of mental health services to adults with acute mental illness. |
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| 14 | 14 | | _______________ |
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| 15 | 15 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 16 | 16 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Edward J. KennedyFirst Middlesex 1 of 2 |
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| 17 | 17 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2028 FILED ON: 1/17/2025 |
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| 18 | 18 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1407 |
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| 19 | 19 | | By Mr. Kennedy, a petition (accompanied by resolve, Senate, No. 1407) of Edward J. Kennedy |
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| 20 | 20 | | that provisions be made for an investigation and study by a special commission (including |
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| 21 | 21 | | members of the General Court) to ensure delivery of mental health services to adults with acute |
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| 22 | 22 | | mental illness. Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery. |
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| 23 | 23 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
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| 24 | 24 | | SEE SENATE, NO. 1256 OF 2023-2024.] |
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| 25 | 25 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 26 | 26 | | _______________ |
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| 27 | 27 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 28 | 28 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 29 | 29 | | _______________ |
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| 30 | 30 | | Resolve to ensure delivery of mental health services to adults with acute mental illness. |
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| 31 | 31 | | 1 Resolved, there shall be a special commission to study the staffing levels and delivery of |
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| 32 | 32 | | 2services for case managers at the Department of Mental Health tasked with serving adults with |
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| 33 | 33 | | 3acute mental illness. The commission shall examine individual sites in terms of number of |
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| 34 | 34 | | 4Department of Mental Health case managers working at each site and their respective average |
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| 35 | 35 | | 5caseload as well as examining the number of adults with acute mental illness who were refused |
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| 36 | 36 | | 6service and the reasons that service was denied. The commission shall examine options for |
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| 37 | 37 | | 7ensuring services for all adults with acute mental illness, and the ability to manage a caseload |
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| 38 | 38 | | 8effectively for each case manager employed by the Department of Mental Health. The |
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| 39 | 39 | | 9commission will also examine the feasibility of reestablishing outpatient clinics as a means of |
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| 40 | 40 | | 10achieving these goals and as a means of reducing the waitlists at community clinics and private |
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| 41 | 41 | | 11practices. The commission shall also examine language accessibility issues and linguistic 2 of 2 |
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| 42 | 42 | | 12capacity in the realm of mental health work. One of the goals of the commission will be to study |
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| 43 | 43 | | 13recruitment strategies and develop incentives for people to pursue careers in the mental health |
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| 44 | 44 | | 14field and case work in particular. |
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| 45 | 45 | | 15 The commission shall consist of the Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of |
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| 46 | 46 | | 16Mental Health, or his/her designee, who shall serve as chair of the special commission; 2 |
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| 47 | 47 | | 17members of the Senate, 1 of whom shall be appointed by the President of the Senate and 1 by the |
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| 48 | 48 | | 18Minority Leader; 2 members of the House, 1 of whom shall be appointed by the Speaker and 1 |
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| 49 | 49 | | 19by the Minority Leader; 2 persons to be appointed by the Governor, 1 of whom should be a |
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| 50 | 50 | | 20former commissioner of the Department of Mental Health or a former senior level staff member |
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| 51 | 51 | | 21of the Department of Mental Health who has at least five years of service; a representative of |
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| 52 | 52 | | 22licensed social workers; a representative of the National Association on Mental Illness; and a |
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| 53 | 53 | | 23representative of an organization specializing in suicide prevention, a university faculty member |
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| 54 | 54 | | 24specializing in clinical psychology. The commission shall convene its first meeting not later than |
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| 55 | 55 | | 25July 1, 2025 and shall file a report along with any recommendations for legislative reform not |
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| 56 | 56 | | 26later than January 31, 2026 with the Clerks of the Senate and House of Representatives, the |
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| 57 | 57 | | 27chairs of the Senate and House committees on Ways and Means, and the chairs of the joint |
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| 58 | 58 | | 28committee on Mental Health. |
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