Back to Massachusetts

S1398 • 2025

An Act to create intensive stabilization and treatment units within the Department of Mental Health

An Act to create intensive stabilization and treatment units within the Department of Mental Health

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Dylan A. Fernandes
Last action
2026-02-26
Official status
Accompanied a study order, see S2972
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

An Act to create intensive stabilization and treatment units within the Department of Mental Health

An Act to create intensive stabilization and treatment units within the Department of Mental Health By Mr.

What This Bill Does

  • An Act to create intensive stabilization and treatment units within the Department of Mental Health By Mr.
  • Fernandes, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No.
  • 1398) of Dylan A.
  • Fernandes for legislation to create intensive stabilization and treatment units within the Department of Mental Health.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-26 Senate

    Accompanied a study order, see S2972

  2. 2026-01-08 Senate

    Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on Health Care Financing

  3. 2025-10-31 Joint

    Hearing scheduled for 11/10/2025 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in A-2

  4. 2025-02-27 Senate

    Referred to the committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery

  5. 2025-02-27 House

    House concurred

Official Summary Text

An Act to create intensive stabilization and treatment units within the Department of Mental Health
By Mr. Fernandes, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1398) of Dylan A. Fernandes for legislation to create intensive stabilization and treatment units within the Department of Mental Health. Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
×

Bill S.1398

Chapter 19 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following section at the end thereof: -

Section 25. There shall be, within the department of mental health, at least two intensive stabilization and treatment units for patients who exhibit persistently aggressive or self-destructive behavior or exhibit atypically, intensively violent behavior that requires specialized care. One unit shall be designated for men and one unit shall be designated for women. Said units shall be located at a specific and central location and be secured and physically separate from other units. These units shall provide comprehensive evaluation, stabilization and psychiatric treatment which shall include, but not be limited to: violence assessments, behavioral management consultation, interpersonal conflict resolution strategies, critical incident debriefings and transfer evaluations. These units shall include appropriate staffing levels to address the needs of the patient population with an interdisciplinary staff, including but not limited to registered nurses, clinical social workers, mental health workers, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists and rehabilitation specialists, who have undergone specialized training to work effectively with this patient population. Upon behavior stabilization, the staff on the unit shall develop a plan for the safe and timely transfer of the patient out of the intensive stabilization and treatment unit.

The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The General Court provides this information as a public service and while we endeavor to keep the data accurate and current to the best of our ability, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.

Close