Legislation and Public Policy
April 25, 2008

Jail Diversion: Put Jail Diversion back in the DMH Budget: Grants awarded last year were for 3 years to Lawrence, Waltham, Watertown and Norfolk County. The 2009 DMH budget just released did not include Jail Diversion. Rep. Balser is filing an amendment to put JD back in. We need your help: Please call your representative and ask him/her to support Rep. Balser's amendment and call Speaker DiMasi and ask him to put Jail Diversion back in the budget.

Your support is needed for Affordable Housing: The MA House of Representatives budget released last week under funded Affordable Housing. Amendments #554, Rep. Kane, #802 Rep. Fennel, and #1449 would raise the public housing subsidy to $70 million to benefit 47,000 homes in the Commonwealth. Amendment #691. Rep. Richardson increases funding for the Mass MRVP program from 31.9 million to 35.9 million to give low income households assistance in paying their rent and help build affordable housing. Please call your representative and ask her/him to support these amendments.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness rallied the Massachusetts State House on 16 April 2008 to highlight their priorities before the Governor's Office and the Legislature.. We encourage you to call your legislators and ask them to support the prioritized bills.
They are: Children's mental health emergency. Senate Bill 2518

Mental Health Parity: House Bill 4423
Treatment of Prisoners with Mental Illness: House Bill 1313
Pay rates for Human and Social Services: Senate Bill 65

Children's Mental Health Bill 2518, An Act Relative to Children's Mental Health in the
Commonwealth is sponsored by Representatives Ruth Balser and Steve Tolman. This bill would create a coherent system of care for children with mental health needs. It would ensure that families that seek access to care would face fewer restrictions around eligibility and insurance

Mental Health Parity, House Bill 4423 sponsored by Rep Ruth Balser builds on the Mental Health Act of 2000. This parity bill eliminates the distinction between biologically based disorders and other mental health and substance abuse disorders so that all individuals would have insurance coverage for treatment of mental health and substance abuse disorders. It removes arbitrary limits on mental health and substance abuse services as well as arbitrary annual limits on non-biologically based mental disorders.

Treatment of Prisoners with Mental Illness, House Bill 1313 requires that inmates that meet criteria for mental illness be transferred into residential treatment units or provided with necessary treatment in the general population. Inmates placed in a segregation unit must have a mental health evaluation within 24 hours. The bill also sets requirements for the annual training of the corrections staff.

Pay Rates for Human and Social Services; Senate Bill 65 sponsored by Senator Gale Candaras. Under this bill human service contract rates would be based on the fair market value of the services. The human service providers have not had a raise in over 20 years, leading to high turnover rates devastating to the recovery process. It will designate the Division of Health Care Finance Policy within EOHHS to set rates, establish a regular system of rate review as well as a process for agencies to appeal the rates.

Archived Legislative Issues