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89(R) SB 2487 - House Committee Report version - Bill Text
By: Parker, et al.
S.B. No. 2487
(King)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to procedures for and certain facilities providing crisis
and mental health services.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 573, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 573.020 to read as follows:
Sec.
573.020.
INITIAL EXAMINATION. (a) A non-physician
mental health professional shall examine a person who arrives at a
facility providing crisis and mental health services as part of a
crisis service model established under Chapter 580 within 30
minutes of the person's arrival if:
(1)
an application for detention has been filed for
the person; or
(2)
a peace officer, or emergency medical services
personnel of an emergency medical services provider transporting
the person in accordance with a memorandum of understanding
executed under Section 573.005, files a notification of detention
completed by the peace officer under Section 573.002(a).
(b)
A facility providing crisis and mental health services
as part of a crisis service model established under Chapter 580 may
detain the person if:
(1)
the person has rejected voluntary mental health
services; and
(2)
as a result of the initial examination conducted
under this section and materials provided for the application for
detention or notification of detention under Subsection (a)(1) or
(2), as applicable, the non-physician mental health professional
has a reasonable cause to believe and does believe that:
(A)
the person is a person with mental illness;
and
(B)
because of that mental illness there is a
substantial risk of serious harm to the person or to others unless
the person is immediately detained.
SECTION 2. Section 573.021, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (a-1) and amending Subsection (c) to
read as follows:
(a-1)
A facility providing crisis and mental health
services as part of a crisis service model established under
Chapter 580 may temporarily accept a person under Subsection (a)
only after an initial examination has been conducted under Section
573.020.
(c) A physician shall examine the person
accepted for a
preliminary examination
as soon as possible within 12 hours after
the time the person is apprehended by the peace officer or
transported for emergency detention by the person's guardian.
SECTION 3. Section 573.023, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to
read as follows:
(a) A person apprehended by a peace officer or transported
for emergency detention under Subchapter A or detained under
Subchapter B shall be released on completion of
:
(1)
the initial examination, unless the person is
detained under Section 573.020(b); or
(2)
the preliminary examination
,
unless the person is
admitted to a facility under Section 573.022.
(a-1)
Upon a person's release from a facility under
Subsection (a), the person must receive a formal referral to
outpatient or community-based mental health treatment services.
SECTION 4. Subtitle C, Title 7, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 580 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 580. CRISIS SERVICE MODELS
Sec. 580.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1)
"Commission" means the Health and Human Services
Commission.
(2)
"Continuum of care program" means a program
administered by the United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development to assist individuals experiencing homelessness and
provide the services needed to help those individuals move into
transitional and permanent housing, with the goal of long-term
stability.
Sec.
580.002.
APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies only to
a county with a population of more than 1.2 million.
Sec.
580.003.
ESTABLISHMENT OF CRISIS SERVICE MODELS. (a)
A county to which this chapter applies may establish a crisis
service model to provide comprehensive crisis and mental health
services, including:
(1)
crisis intervention and stabilization services 24
hours a day, seven days a week;
(2) short-term residential care;
(3) medical detoxification;
(4)
care coordination services for individuals who
would benefit from ongoing treatment, housing, or other community
resources after being released from a crisis service center;
(5)
specialized services for individuals experiencing
homelessness, consistent with an integrated continuum of care
program, including coordination with appropriate emergency
shelters, coordinated entry systems, rapid rehousing programs, and
permanent supportive housing units; and
(6)
as described by Subsection (d), crisis follow-up
services.
(a-1)
A crisis service model may encompass one or more
facilities in the county to provide services as described by
Subsection (a).
(a-2)
Any facility established under this chapter may not be
located in the central business district of a municipality.
(b) A county utilizing a crisis service model may:
(1)
employ non-physician mental health professionals,
including individuals authorized to provide mental health services
to individuals transported to the center for involuntary commitment
under Chapters 573 and 574; or
(2)
contract with a qualified third-party vendor to
provide those services.
(c)
Law enforcement agencies and emergency medical services
providers shall ensure coordination with a county's crisis service
model to prioritize transporting individuals experiencing a crisis
to a designated facility established under this section that
provides crisis services instead of to a more restrictive setting,
as appropriate.
(d)
Not later than 48 hours after the initial intervention,
an individual must be provided with crisis follow-up services,
which must include a reassessment of risk, safety planning, and
connecting the individual to mental health and housing services
through the crisis service model or a third-party vendor contracted
by the county.
Sec.
580.004.
HOMELESSNESS SERVICES COORDINATION. A county
that establishes a crisis service model under this chapter shall
ensure that an individual who contacts or receives treatment from a
crisis service center is provided access to ongoing care through
collaboration with homelessness service providers, municipalities
within the county, and a continuum of care program. The
collaboration must include:
(1)
coordination with available housing services for
individuals after leaving the crisis service center's care;
(2)
providing or facilitating a coordinated intake
into a continuum of care program, enabling individuals experiencing
homelessness to access homelessness services and housing support
through the crisis service model; and
(3)
case management and housing navigation assistance
services to connect and refer individuals experiencing
homelessness to available long-term support services.
Sec.
580.005.
FUNDING. A county may solicit and accept
gifts, grants, and donations from any source to support the county
in establishing and operating a crisis service model under this
chapter.
Sec.
580.006.
REPORT. Not later than October 1 of each
even-numbered year, a county that establishes a crisis service
model under this chapter shall prepare and submit to the commission
and the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs a report:
(1)
covering the outcomes of individuals who received
services from a crisis service center in the county;
(2)
providing information related to the results of
operating a crisis service model in the county, including any
reductions in homelessness, homelessness services program
enrollments, mental health program enrollments, behavioral health
program enrollments, exits to housing, crime reduction, harm
reduction, number of re-entries into the crisis service center, or
other county-wide effects;
(3)
evaluating the provision of related services in
the county, including the stability of available housing services;
and
(4)
detailing any recommendations for legislative or
other action.
Sec.
580.007.
CRISIS SERVICE CENTER ADVISORY BOARD. (a)
Each crisis service model shall have an advisory board.
(b)
The advisory board is composed of the following
individuals:
(1)
four individuals residing in the county of the
crisis service model appointed by the governor;
(2)
a representative appointed by the county
commissioners court;
(3)
a representative appointed by the most populous
municipality in the county; and
(4)
a representative of a continuum of care program
appointed by the county commissioners court.
SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act to Chapter
573, Health and Safety Code, apply to an emergency detention that
begins on or after the effective date of this Act. An emergency
detention that begins before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law as it existed immediately before that date, and
that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 6. The Health and Human Services Commission is
required to implement a provision of this Act only if the
legislature appropriates money specifically for that purpose. If
the legislature does not appropriate money specifically for that
purpose, the commission may, but is not required to, implement a
provision of this Act using other money available for that purpose.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.