By:  Moncrief                                         S.B. No. 1470
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the creation of a pilot program for certain juveniles
 1-3     with mental illness and placed on probation by a juvenile court.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Chapter 614, Health and Safety Code, is amended
 1-6     by adding Section 614.019 to read as follows:
 1-7           Sec. 614.019.  YOUTH ASSERTIVE COMMUNITY TREATMENT PILOT
 1-8     PROGRAM.  (a)  The council may establish in Tarrant County an
 1-9     assertive community treatment pilot program to provide treatment,
1-10     rehabilitation, and support services to individuals in that county
1-11     who:
1-12                 (1)  are under 18 years of age;
1-13                 (2)  have severe and persistent mental illness;
1-14                 (3)  have a history of:
1-15                       (A)  multiple hospitalizations;
1-16                       (B)  poor performance in school;
1-17                       (C)  placement in emergency shelters or
1-18     residential treatment facilities; or
1-19                       (D)  chemical dependency or abuse; and
1-20                 (4)  have been placed on probation by a juvenile court.
1-21           (b)  The pilot program must be modeled after other assertive
1-22     community treatment programs established by the Texas Department of
1-23     Mental Health and Mental Retardation.  The program is limited to
1-24     serving not more than 30 program participants at any time.
1-25           (c)  If the council creates a pilot program under this
 2-1     section, the council shall provide for the program a team of
 2-2     licensed or degreed professionals in the clinical treatment or
 2-3     rehabilitation field to administer the pilot program.  A team
 2-4     created under this subsection must include:
 2-5                 (1)  a registered nurse to provide full-time direct
 2-6     services to the program participants; and
 2-7                 (2)  a psychiatrist available to the program for 10 or
 2-8     more hours each week.
 2-9           (d)  In administering the pilot program, the program's
2-10     professional team shall:
2-11                 (1)  provide psychiatric, substance abuse, and
2-12     employment services to program participants;
2-13                 (2)  maintain a ratio of one or more team members for
2-14     each 10 program participants to the extent practicable;
2-15                 (3)  be available to program participants during
2-16     evening and weekend hours;
2-17                 (4)  meet the needs of special populations;
2-18                 (5)  maintain at all times availability for addressing
2-19     and managing a psychiatric crisis of any program participant; and
2-20                 (6)  cover the geographic areas served by the program.
2-21           (e)  The council and the pilot program shall cooperate with
2-22     or contract with local agencies to avoid duplication of services
2-23     and to maximize federal Medicaid funding.
2-24           SECTION 2.  (a)  The Criminal Justice Policy Council shall
2-25     conduct a study to evaluate the effectiveness of a pilot program
2-26     established under Section 614.019, Health and Safety Code, as added
 3-1     by this Act.  The study shall, at a minimum, provide information
 3-2     regarding:
 3-3                 (1)  the number of urinalysis tests of program
 3-4     participants that show the presence of controlled substances or
 3-5     other substances as determined by the Texas Council on Offenders
 3-6     with Mental Impairments;
 3-7                 (2)  the number of arrests of program participants; and
 3-8                 (3)  the number of hospitalizations of program
 3-9     participants.
3-10           (b)  The Criminal Justice Policy Council shall report the
3-11     results of the study to the governor, lieutenant governor, and
3-12     speaker of the house of representatives on or before December 31,
3-13     2002.
3-14           SECTION 3.  Section 614.019, Health and Safety Code, as added
3-15     by this Act, is effective only during a state fiscal biennium in
3-16     which the legislature has appropriated money to the Texas Council
3-17     on Offenders with Mental Impairments for the purposes of that
3-18     section.  If the legislature has not appropriated money for those
3-19     purposes in a fiscal biennium, the Texas Council on Offenders with
3-20     Mental Impairments, with appropriated money or other available
3-21     resources, shall attempt to provide services during that biennium
3-22     that are comparable to the services the council may provide under
3-23     that section.
3-24           SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.