Amendment #276 to H4100

Jail Diversion Community Safety Initiative

Representatives O'Day of West Boylston, Coakley-Rivera of Springfield, DiNatale of Fitchburg, Golden of Lowell, Mahoney of Worcester, Malia of Boston, Provost of Somerville and Swan of Springfield move to amend the bill in section 2 by inserting after item 8100-1001 the following item "8100-0251 For a grant program to be known as the Jail Diversion Community Safety Initiative, to be administered by the executive office of public safety and security in collaboration with the department of mental health, to reduce arrests of people in mental health crisis by improving police response and fostering access to Emergency Service Programs; provided that said initiative shall assist municipal police departments in developing skilled personnel with intensive training in de-escalation techniques; provided that said initiative shall: (a) support regional, multidisciplinary approaches to promote access to mental health treatment rather than arrest or jail, (b) provide resources to communities to develop programs for prevention and intervention and technical assistance and information to support local planning and training efforts; provided that the secretary of public safety and security, in collaboration with the department of mental health shall distribute grant funds through a competitive grant program that requires all applicants to incorporate proven techniques for approaching emotional disturbance calls and working with ESPs that combines the best practices from community policing and tested mental health training programs such as Crisis Intervention Teams, Mental Health First Aid, and the Massachusetts Mental Health Diversion & Integration Program; provided further,  clusters of municipalities, in partnership with nonprofit organizations and other agencies, may apply for such funds; provided further, that such funds shall be considered one-time grants awarded to public agencies and shall not annualize into fiscal year 2013 or subsequent years; provided further, that administrative costs for successful grant applications shall not exceed 3 per cent of the value of the grant; provided further, that no grants shall be awarded to the department of state police; provided further, that no grant funds shall be expended on food or beverages; provided further, that the executive office of public safety and security collaboration with the department of public health shall publish guidelines and an application for the competitive portion of the grant program not later than September 1, 2012; provided further, that awards shall be made to applicants not later than January 15, 2013; and provided further, that the executive office of public safety and security may expend not more than $100,000 of the sum appropriated in this item for its costs in administering the program,

……………………………………………………………………………$3,000,000".