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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 3, 2023 01:09 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Stephen Kinsey and Rep. Morgan Cephas |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Behavioral Health Response Units and Crisis Call Centers |
| Over the years, police have become the default first responders for individuals who are suffering from mental health crises, experiencing homelessness, or living with substance use disorders. Tragically, this has all too often led to incidents that result in officers – who often do not have the skills or training required to handle these situations – killing or injuring a person who just needed help in a time of crisis. According to the Vera Institute of Justice, in 2021 alone there were 104 people killed by police responding to reports of a person “behaving erratically or having a mental health crisis.” To address this, we will be introducing legislation that would remove law enforcement from these situations. Our bill will authorize the Department of Human Services to administer county and regionally operated Crisis Call Centers and Behavioral Health Response Units to respond to calls regarding crises that arise due to mental health disorders, substance use disorders, and homelessness. These units would be staffed by Emergency Medical Service personnel, crisis counselors, and peer specialists, who would provide individuals with immediate stabilization in cases of urgent medical need or psychological crisis, referrals to treatment when appropriate, and information on what resources are available to the person so they can access the help they need. The Treatment Advocacy Center reported in 2015 that people with untreated mental illness are 16 times more likely to be killed by police than other civilians stopped by law enforcement. Even when these individuals are not injured or killed, they are all too often incarcerated; Americans with severe mental illness account for one in five prison and jail beds in the U.S. It should not fall on law enforcement officers to address the consequences of the lack of a social safety net. We need to leave mental health and substance abuse to the experts, and we need to take action to provide support to our residents when they have nowhere else to go. We look forward to your support for this legislation to make our communities safer and healthier, and provide people some much needed hope in their darkest hours |
Introduced as HB585