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2008 Session

Budget Amendments - HB30 (Floor Approved)

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Allocation of Funding for Mental Health Services (language only)

Item 316 #2h

Item 316 #2h

Health And Human Resources
Grants To Localities

Language
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, $13,300,000 the first year and $20,600,000 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, 2008 Session of the General Assembly.  Funding provided in this item shall be used to offset the fiscal impact of (i) establishing and providing mandatory outpatient treatment, pursuant to House Bill 499, 2008 Session of the General Assembly; (ii) attendance at involuntary commitment hearings by the independent evaluator designated by the community services board and community services board staff who have completed the prescreening report, pursuant to House Bill 560, 2008 Session of the General Assembly; and (iii) court-appointed counsel for indigent petitioners in involuntary commitment proceedings, pursuant to House Bill 267, 2008 Session of the General Assembly. The Commissioner of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services, in cooperation with the Virginia Association of Community Services Boards, the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court, the Department of Medical Assistance Services, 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 agencies and services to address the mental health treatment needs of consumers with mental illness, funding needed to support the involuntary commitment process at the Supreme Court, 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 deletes language in the introduced budget which allocates specific amounts of new funding for community mental health services between services for grants to localities. 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 the funding is appropriately allocated among services and agencies to address the emergency mental health needs for individuals projected to utilize services and for those who meet the criteria for mental health treatment pursuant to House Bill 559, 2008 Session of the General Assembly, as well as to ensure the funding addresses the fiscal impact of new mental health legislation passed by the 2008 General Assembly. The Commissioner of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services is required to work with interested parties in implementing the 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.)