Ed Hooper has his eye on behavioral health improvement, and he wants the money to back it up

Ed Hooper brings it for VISIT FLORIDA.

Sen. Ed Hooper has asked the legislature to include more than $32 million in the budget for projects important to his community and beyond, and a lot of it focuses on mental and behavioral health. 

While Hooper’s top asks aren’t related — he’s requested $6 million for two pedestrian overpasses in Pasco County and $2.5 million for an expansion project at the Dali Museum — his third highest appropriations request filed, out of 24 of them, is $2.2 million to designate the Pinellas County Behavioral Health Receiving System as a coordinated system through Personal Enrichment through Mental Health Services, Inc. (PEMHS). 

The project would better coordinate mental health systems to provide better access to immediate crisis intervention, assessment and care 24/7.

The appropriations request notes that the coordination would “expedite processing and treatment of individuals in need of behavioral health care and substance use services,” which would reduce “inappropriate use of hospital emergency rooms and jails” while also increasing “diversion from higher levels of care when possible” and reducing “drop off times for law enforcement and Emergency Medical Services personnel” by directing “individuals to appropriation levels of care.” 

The funds would be used for a variety of expenses, including salary and benefits for top administration; general operating expenses; and trained medical and mental health staff.

Hooper also requested $2 million for capital renovations to the Pasco County coordinated behavioral health receiving system. It would fund infrastructure renovations to Pasco County’s public receiving system to “optimize patient intake and triage.” 

“The project will provide a clinical environment that functions as a more comfortable and efficient workspace to increase capacity and throughput. The facility will be able to meet any shift in demand and adapt in real time,” the request notes. 

The remodel would include “a comfortable waiting area, expanded triage area/admission offices, clear paths of movement between intake and stabilization unit, and secure egress.” 

Like the PEMHS request, Hooper is also asking for $2 million to designate the Pasco system as a coordinated receiving system.  

Another request seeks $950,000 for crisis stabilization beds for PEMHS, which would maintain funding for existing capacity serving those “with severe mental illness, or who may be a danger to themselves or others due to a mental illness.” Such persons require access to inpatient care. 

Hooper is seeking $750,000 for Empowered to Change International, Inc., a safe housing program that provides a 7-12 month program to provide support “through trauma counseling, employment, and education services while living in a home free from all narcotics, alcohol, or abuse.” The organization has for nine years served those suffering from the human trafficking sex trade, those aging out of foster care or the formerly incarcerated or homeless. 

For youth, Hooper is asking for $580,588 for Integrated Care and Coordination for Youth to integrate services with the Department of Juvenile Justice throughout the state. 

The integration would include a master’s degree-level clinician and a case manager to work with juvenile probation officers. The integration would provide better opportunities to assess juveniles for any mental health needs and engage in treatment, while linking those youth clients to other needed services and providing training to support juvenile probation officers. 

Another $550,000 would go toward the Davis-Bradley Community Involvement Center to better integrate mental health services into existing residential substance use disorder treatment programs. 

Hooper’s other appropriation requests include: 

— $2 million for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast for a teen activity and learning center in Tarpon Springs.

— $2 million for the Embarc Collective to increase access for Florida-based startups. 

— $1.9 million for educational services for correctional officers and their families. 

— $1.4 million for the Selah Freedom Anti-Sex Trafficking Awareness, Prevention and Victim Restoration program. 

— $1.25 million for Phase II of the Dunedin Emergency Operations Center and North County Fire Training Center. As a retired firefighter, this is an area on which Hooper has been a frequent advocate. 

— $1.11 million for a scholar education pilot program. 

— $820,000 for hurricane response and preparedness at Ruth Eckerd Hall.

— $800,000 for elevated storage tank improvements in New Port Richey.  

— $750,000 for a stormwater facility replacement in Dunedin. 

— $500,000 for the University of South Florida Center for Neuromusculoskeletal Research. 

— $500,000 for a program at the Dali Museum to expand education, innovation and community outreach. 

— $450,000 for transplant and organ donation education curriculum and outreach. 

— $395,000 for a high school manufacturing academy and pre-apprenticeship expansion.

— $350,000 for the CodeBoxx Technology Academy’s A Pathway to a Better Future program. 

— $300,000 for the 1 Voice Pediatric Cancer Foundation.