‘Resolve, To Provide the Legislature with Information on the Need for Mental Health Services in County Jails’

‘Sec. 1. Working group. Resolved: That the Consumer Council System of Maine, as established in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, section 12004-I, subsection 60-B, shall convene a working group to collect data to determine the unmet needs for mental health services in the county jails. Between September 1, 2015 and January 15, 2016, the Consumer Council System of Maine shall convene a series of meetings of the working group to determine the need for mental health services, the components and costs of current mental health service delivery and the estimated extent and costs of the unmet needs. The working group shall review the mental health services needs of short-term and long-term inmates in the county jails, including, but not limited to, needs associated with acute, chronic and severe and persistent mental illnesses and needs that are associated with post-traumatic stress disorder, alcohol and drug addiction, domestic violence and sexual assault. The Consumer Council System of Maine shall invite each of the following organizations to send a representative to participate in the working group meetings: the Maine District Attorneys Association, the National Alliance on Mental Illness-Maine, the Maine Sheriffs' Association, the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault, the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, the Maine County Commissioners Association, the office of substance abuse and mental health services in the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Corrections, the Maine Association of Substance Abuse Programs, the Behavioral Health Community Collaborative and the Maine Association of Mental Health Services. The Consumer Council System of Maine shall provide notice of the meetings of the working group to the members of the Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety; and be it further

Sec. 2. Report. Resolved: That, by February 1, 2016, the Consumer Council of Maine shall report to the Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety on the need for mental health services in the county jails, the components and costs of current mental health service delivery and the estimated extent and costs of the unmet needs. The report may contain recommendations and suggest possible sources of funding. After reviewing the report the joint standing committee is authorized to submit legislation to the Second Regular Session of the 127th Legislature.’