Amendment #6 to H4517

Mental Health Counseling

Mr. Boldyga of Southwick moves to amend the bill by adding the following section:

"SECTION  XXXX.  After the court issuance of an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO), The court shall within 24 hours assign a state provided mental health counselor to evaluate the individual, assess counseling needs, and establish a counseling outline and program pursuant to mental health standards and practices. An initial mental health assessment conducted by the Department of Mental Health shall take place within 48 hours. The Department of Mental Health, if deemed necessary, will establish a mental health counseling program for the individual and report this back to the court that issued the Extreme Risk Protection Order. Any mental health counseling programs that an individual participates in, whether voluntarily or mandated, will be provided by and funded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts through the newly created 'ERPO Mental Health Counseling Fund’ ”.