SF 141

1st Engrossment - 89th Legislature (2015 - 2016) Posted on 02/20/2015 01:49pm

A bill for an act
relating to judiciary; diverting certain persons under arrest or subject to arrest
from incarceration to comprehensive behavioral health diversion centers;
establishing a grant program to fund comprehensive behavioral health diversion
centers; appropriating money; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota
Statutes, chapters 245; 628.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [245.4685] GRANTS FOR COMPREHENSIVE BEHAVIORAL
HEALTH DIVERSION CENTERS.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Establishment; use of grant funds. new text end

new text begin The commissioner of human
services shall establish a grant program to provide grants to counties or groups of
counties to develop and establish comprehensive behavioral health diversion centers. A
comprehensive behavioral health diversion center must be designed to meet the needs of
individuals who are under arrest or subject to arrest and who have a mental illness or a
co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorder. Grants distributed under this
section may be used to fund the start-up costs and ongoing operating costs of the centers.
At least 50 percent of the grant funds must be awarded to counties in greater Minnesota
with a high rate of poverty and limited mental health services. The commissioner may
make grant awards of up to $2,000,000 for a county or group of counties.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Eligibility for grants. new text end

new text begin To be eligible for grant funds under this section,
a county or group of counties must demonstrate that the county's or group of counties'
center will connect with and build upon existing resources, and that the center includes
the following components:
new text end

new text begin (1) a plan for rapid, safe handoffs of individuals with mental illness or individuals
with co-occurring disorders from law enforcement to center staff;
new text end

new text begin (2) an initial mental health crisis assessment and chemical dependency screening;
new text end

new text begin (3) mental health crisis intervention and stabilization services;
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new text begin (4) nonhospital crisis stabilization residential beds;
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new text begin (5) rapid access to a psychiatric evaluation, initial treatment, and psychiatric services;
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new text begin (6) detoxification services;
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new text begin (7) case management services;
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new text begin (8) medication management services;
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new text begin (9) health navigator services that include but are not limited to assisting uninsured
individuals in obtaining health care coverage;
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new text begin (10) benefits assistance as defined in section 245.4712, subdivision 3;
new text end

new text begin (11) services to connect individuals to resources to meet their basic needs;
new text end

new text begin (12) services to find, secure, and support individuals in short-term or long-term
housing or in their own housing;
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new text begin (13) assisting with job applications and finding and maintaining employment;
new text end

new text begin (14) fostering social support, including support groups, mentoring, peer support, and
other efforts to prevent isolation and promote recovery;
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new text begin (15) providing direct connections to ongoing mental health, chemical health, and
other needed services;
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new text begin (16) assisting county jails in working with offenders with mental health issues;
new text end

new text begin (17) a plan for services to be developed collaboratively between local criminal
justice systems, local health and human services systems, and other counties; and
new text end

new text begin (18) a plan to maximize medical assistance funds and other state and federal funding.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Collaboration with local partners. new text end

new text begin A county or group of counties that
receives a grant under this section is encouraged to include local partners in the private
and nonprofit sectors in the planning and establishment of the center.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Grant applications. new text end

new text begin In applying for a grant under this section, a county or
group of counties must include in its application:
new text end

new text begin (1) the estimated start-up cost of the center;
new text end

new text begin (2) the estimated operating cost of the center;
new text end

new text begin (3) other financial resources the county or group of counties expects to receive to
fund the center's start-up and operating costs from local units of government, private
entities, nonprofit organizations, and individuals; and
new text end

new text begin (4) how funding for the center will be sustained after these grants have expired.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Evaluation of center. new text end

new text begin A center funded under this section must maintain
data on the extent to which the center reduces incarceration rates in the center's county or
counties of operation for individuals with mental illness or individuals with co-occurring
disorders, and the extent to which the center reduces recidivism rates for these individuals.
The center must report these outcomes to the commissioner, at a time and in a manner
determined by the commissioner.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Interagency collaboration. new text end

new text begin The commissioner is encouraged to work
with the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, the Department of Corrections, and the
Department of Health to provide technical assistance and support to counties receiving
grants and to prevent the incarceration of individuals with mental illness or individuals
with co-occurring disorders. The Department of Health is encouraged to license additional
beds for these centers.
new text end

Sec. 2.

new text begin [628.70] REFERRAL TO DIVERSION CENTER FOR PERSONS WITH
MENTAL ILLNESS OR CO-OCCURRING DISORDERS.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Definitions. new text end

new text begin As used in this section:
new text end

new text begin (1) "diversion center" means a comprehensive behavioral health diversion center
established by a county or group of counties participating in the grant program under
section 245.4685; and
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new text begin (2) "peace officer" has the meaning given in section 626.84, subdivision 1, paragraph
(c).
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Diversion. new text end

new text begin (a) A peace officer may refer a person with mental illness or
co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorders for whom probable cause exists to
arrest or charge with a misdemeanor to a diversion center on condition that the person shall
not be charged with the misdemeanor upon satisfactory completion of the program at the
diversion center. The referral to the diversion center shall be based on criteria established
by the diversion center in collaboration with other diversion centers and applicable local
prosecutors. A person's satisfactory completion of the diversion center's program shall
be based on established evidence-based best practices and methodologies for effectively
assessing, diagnosing, and treating persons with mental illness or co-occurring mental
illness and substance use disorders.
new text end

new text begin (b) In addition to a peace officer, a court or prosecutor may refer a person eligible
under paragraph (a) to a diversion center.
new text end

new text begin (c) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), a prosecutor may charge a person referred to a
diversion program with a crime when the prosecutor determines doing so is appropriate
and in the interest of justice.
new text end

Sec. 3. new text begin APPROPRIATION; COMPREHENSIVE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
DIVERSION CENTERS.
new text end

new text begin $8,000,000 is appropriated for the 2016-2017 biennium from the general fund to
the commissioner of human services for a grant program to establish comprehensive
behavioral health diversion centers under Minnesota Statutes, section 245.4685.
new text end