Andrew Powell
In a unanimous vote on Thursday, the Florida House passed a measure to enhance substance abuse and mental health care services in the state.
Tampa Republican Rep. Karen Gonzalez Pittman presented the bill (HB 1091) and explained the legislation would improve access, update procedures for involuntary services, and refine training and qualifications for mental health professionals.
“We have identified the need to update the processes and regulations around the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, the medication-assisted needs assessment, and our forensic evaluators,” Gonzalez Pittman said.
The Department of Children and Families (DCF) would oversee 988 crisis lifeline centers, which were established by the federal government in 2022, to ensure they meet accreditation standards. DCF would further adopt rules to deliver the service and implement statewide interoperability with the 911 system.
The measure also expands the definition of crisis services to include 988 call centers, as well as other crisis facilities such as stabilization units, mobile response teams, and detox centers.
DCF would also be authorized to issue licenses to medication-assisted providers without conducting annual needs assessments.
Under current law, a patient who is the subject of a petition for continued involuntary care services is not required to have a public defender.
The legislation would establish clear roles for the courts and administrative law judges regarding continued involuntary services proceedings. Training requirements for court-appointed forensic evaluators would also be expanded to include annual training and coverage of a wide range of topics.
Clinical psychologists would further be required to have at least three years of clinical experience before they can be authorized to transfer a patient from voluntary to involuntary status.
In the bill’s analysis, it states the legislation would have no impact on the state budget.
A similar bill (SB 1240) has had its second reading by the Florida Senate and is sponsored by Miami Republican Sen. Alexis Calatayud. The bill is due to be heard on the Senate floor on April 29.
