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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Legislatu re (2023)
HOUSE BILL 1997 By: Goodwin
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to a pilot program establishing a
facility for treating individuals experiencing mental
health symptoms; creating a pilot program implemente d
by the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and
Substance Abuse Services; providing the purpose of
the pilot program; making appropriations to the
Department; providing amount; identifying source;
providing for codification ; providing an effective
date; and declaring an emergency .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PE OPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOM A:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 2-170 of Title 43A, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. The Oklahoma Department o f Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Services shall design and implement a pilot program to provide
greater access to an underserved, lower-income community with the
funds appropriated speci fically for a county in Oklahoma with a
population at no more than seven hundred thousand (700,000) people
and also shall conduct a surve y to determine the need between mental
health patients and the availability of me ntal health beds to better
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align resources and ensure mental health services are efficiently
provided to improve the mental heal th of the population mo st in
need.
B. The purpose of the program is to provide a facility that is
available twenty-four (24) hours a day and seven (7) days a week to
provide treatment for those individuals exp eriencing symptoms of
mental illness. The pilot program's purpose is to provid e
assessments, psychiatric evaluations, therapy medication m onitoring,
individual and group counseling, and case management. The goal for
the pilot program is to provide immediate support for individuals
with symptoms of mental health illness and to avoid psychiatric
hospitalization. The pilot program shall include a support team,
including, but not limited to, a psychiatric nurse practitioner,
registered nurse, licensed therapist, substan ce abuse counselor, and
a case manager. The pilot program shall be in partnership with a
psychiatrist to provide supervision. The facility the program
establishes for its us e is to be furnished as a therapeut ic living
room environment, and shall accept Medicaid insurance and provide
walk-in services. The pilot program will provide wraparound
services including, but not limited to, substance abuse counseling,
twenty-five (25) beds on-site, and transportation a s appropriate and
needed. The facility will be designed structurally to provide
separate, dual, and safe accommodations, for both adolescent and
adult populations. There shall be soundproofing for more private
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conversations, flexible walls, and portable beds may be utilized.
Individuals experiencing symptoms of mental health illness shall be
provided with care including, but not limited to, an assess ment with
a psychiatric nurse practitioner under psychiatric supervisio n and a
plan for recovery. The pilot program will offer e ducation related
to brain function, a healthy diet, effects of light, exercise,
vitamins, nutrition, mediation, yoga, and positive thinking. The
pilot program will establish partnerships with famil y, faith-based
organizations, and schools to foster education , outreach, advocacy
and the de-stigmatization of emotional and mental disorders in the
larger community.
1. The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Services shall be author ized to construct, lease, renovate, or
repurpose such real property and acquire personal property as may be
necessary to create, implement, and operate a program to reduce the
number of individuals who are experiencing exacerbated symptoms of
mental illness and to provide support and treatment; or
2. The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse
may enter into contract with any lawfully recognized business entity
for the construction, lease, renovation, or repurpose of required
facilities and for the acquisition of personal property as may be
necessary to create, implement, and operate a pro gram to reduce the
number of individuals who are experiencing exacerbated symptoms of
mental illness and to provide support and treatment .
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SECTION 2. There is hereby appropriated to the Oklahoma
Department of Mental H ealth and Substance Abuse Services from any
monies not otherwise appropriated from the General Revenue Fund of
the State Treasury for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, the sum
of Twenty-five Million Dollars ($25,000,000.00) or so much thereof
as may be necessary to perform the duties imposed upon the Oklahoma
Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services by law.
SECTION 3. This act shall become effective July 1, 2023.
SECTION 4. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby
declared to exist, by reason whereof thi s act shall take effect and
be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
59-1-6824 TJ 01/18/23