Amendment ID: S2800-128

Amendment 128

Community policing and behavioral health advisory council

Ms. Friedman, Ms. Rausch, Messrs. Cyr and Eldridge move to amend the bill in Section 66, by deleting subsections (a) and (b) and replacing with the following subsections:-

"(a) The community policing and behavioral health advisory council, established in subsection (e) of section 25 of chapter 19 of the General Laws, shall study and make recommendations for creating a crisis response and continuity of care system that delivers alternative emergency services and programs across the commonwealth that reflect specific regional, racial, ethnic, and sexual orientation needs and differences in delivering such services. The study shall include, but not be limited to: (i) comprehensive review and evaluation of existing crisis intervention, alternative emergency response, and jail diversion models, services and programs within the commonwealth at the state, county and municipal level and models used effectively in other jurisdictions; (ii) a method for evaluating the effectiveness of existing crisis intervention, alternative emergency response, and jail diversion models, services, and programs in diverting individuals from the criminal justice system and emergency departments to appropriate care; (iii) recommendations for expanding effective crisis intervention and jail diversion models, services, and programs identified in clause (ii) across the commonwealth; (iv) identification of crisis response training programs and protocols for law enforcement officers and 911 telecommunicators that reflect best practices, and a plan for standardizing systems and aligning such programs and protocols across the commonwealth; (v) identification of outcome measurements and data collection procedures to be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the crisis response system and its components; and (vi) an analysis of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration national guidelines for behavioral health crisis care, including regional crisis call centers and mobile crisis teams; and (vii) an estimate of the additional costs or cost savings of implementing the council’s recommendations under this section and possible sources of funding for delivering the crisis response and continuity of care system at the state, county and municipal level. In developing recommendations for a crisis response and jail diversion system, the council, where appropriate, shall prioritize non-police community-based programs.

(b)The council may commission an independent research or academic organization with expertise in clinical social work, criminal justice, behavioral health jail diversion modalities, and accessible analysis of quantitative and qualitative data and communication of study results, to conduct the study. The council shall facilitate the collection of data needed to complete the study pursuant to memoranda of understanding with the department of mental health, the executive office of public safety and security, the executive office of health and human services and relevant social service agencies."

and further amended by adding after the word "including" , in line 1474, the words:- ", but not limited to,"