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2008 Session

Budget Amendments - HB30 (Conference Report)

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Allocation of Funding for Mental Health Services

Item 316 #2c

Item 316 #2c

First Year - FY2009 Second Year - FY2010
Health And Human Resources
Grants To Localities FY2009 $0 FY2010 $406,164 GF

Language
Page 299, line 40, strike "$316,936,879" and insert "$317,343,043".
Page 305, strike lines 13 through 31.
Page 305, line 32, strike "MM." and insert "II."
Page 305, after line 46, insert:
"JJ. Out of this appropriation, $10,300,000 the first year and $18,006,164 the second year from the general fund shall be used to provide emergency services, crisis stabilization services, case management, and inpatient and outpatient mental health services for individuals who are in need of emergency mental health services or who meet the criteria for mental health treatment set forth pursuant to House Bill 559 and Senate Bill 246, 2008 Session of the General Assembly.  Funding provided in this item also shall be used to offset the fiscal impact of (i) establishing and providing mandatory outpatient treatment, pursuant to House Bill 499 and Senate Bill 246, 2008 Session of the General Assembly; and (ii) attendance at involuntary commitment hearings by community services board staff who have completed the prescreening report, pursuant to House Bill 560 and Senate Bill 246, 2008 Session of the General Assembly.  The Commissioner of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services, in consultation with the Virginia Association of Community Services Boards, the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court, the Department of Medical Assistance Services, the Virginia Sheriff’s Association, the Medical Society of Virginia and the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association, shall implement a process for determining the allocation of funding in this item. The allocation process shall include an estimate of the number of consumers expected to utilize services, a method for distributing the funding across services to address the mental health treatment needs of consumers with mental illness, funding needed to support the involuntary commitment process, and an estimate of the impact of treatment costs on the Involuntary Mental Commitment fund at the Department of Medical Assistance Services.  The Commissioner shall report on the assumptions and process used to allocate funding in this item across agencies and service categories, as well as the amount of the allocations, to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees by September 1, 2008."


Explanation
(This amendment adds $406,164 from the general fund the second year for emergency mental health services that was reduced from licensing and central office staff included in the introduced budget. The amendment also deletes language from the introduced budget that allocated specific amounts of new funding for community mental health services. Language is added pooling the new funding for mental health services and directing the Commissioner of the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services to ensure that funding is appropriately allocated among services to address the emergency mental health needs for individuals projected to utilize services and to address the fiscal impact of new mental health legislation passed by the 2008 General Assembly. The Commissioner is required to consult with interested parties to implement a process for determining the allocation of funding for mental health service categories. The Commissioner is required to report on the assumptions and process guiding the funding allocation and the amounts allocated for these services to the Governor and General Assembly by September 1, 2008.)