SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2314        FILED ON: 2/19/2021

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1315

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Walter F. Timilty

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act establishing a pilot program to improve behavioral health access through collaboration of municipal law enforcement and behavioral health specialists.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2314        FILED ON: 2/19/2021

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1315

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

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An Act establishing a pilot program to improve behavioral health access through collaboration of municipal law enforcement and behavioral health specialists.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary and subject to appropriation, the department of public health shall establish a 2-year pilot program in a town selected from the following Avon, Braintree, Canton, Milton, Randolph, Sharon, Stoughton, Easton, East Bridgewater, or West Bridgewater, to embed behavioral health specialists based at community health centers in surrounding communities, including but not limited to Manet Community Health Center and Brockton Neighborhood Health Center, in the municipal law enforcement department. The town selected by the department of public health shall sign a memorandum of understanding with the department of public health prior to the commencement of said pilot program. The memorandum of understanding shall be approved by the participating municipality, the department of public health, and the participating community health center.

The pilot program shall include but not be limited to, behavioral health specialists assisting municipal law enforcement officers with responding to emergency calls from the public, and behavioral health specialists collaborating with the municipal law enforcement department to develop protocols for responding to emergency calls from persons requiring immediate behavioral health care.

The pilot program shall expand access to behavioral health care and greater long-term referrals to care via behavioral health specialists providing assistance to municipal law enforcement officers in response to emergency calls from the public involving persons experiencing a behavioral health crisis. Behavioral health specialists shall not respond to an emergency call without a municipal law enforcement officer.

The pilot program shall establish educational programing for municipal law enforcement officers in the areas of mental health, community policing and serving individuals with disabilities. The pilot program shall include a team-based approach in development of the pilot program and establishing protocols and training in relation to responding to emergency calls from persons requiring immediate behavioral health care.

The department of public health shall report not later than 12 months after the effective date of this act and annually thereafter to the house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on public health, and the joint committee on public safety and homeland security, the results of the pilot program and any identified barriers and challenges to establishing said program and response measures to promote public safety.