THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	135
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

URGING THE GOVERNOR'S SENIOR ADVISOR FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND THE JUSTICE SYSTEM TO DEFINE THEIR ROLE AND TO PROVIDE AN ANNUAL REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE ON THE PROGRESS THE STATE HAS MADE TOWARDS JAIL DIVERSION.

 

 

     WHEREAS, the Governor's Senior Advisor for Mental Health and the Justice System has an undefined role; and

 

     WHEREAS, the uniqueness and importance of having a position in the Office of the Governor that is dedicated to mental health and the justice system makes the Senior Advisor for Mental Health and the Justice System a de facto lead on mental health and the justice system initiatives for the State; and

 

     WHEREAS, on February 5, 2024, at a joint informational briefing where participants were requested to bring data in support of their presentation, the Governor's Senior Advisor for Mental Health and the Justice System provided the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) model on jail diversion, but provided no other data; and

 

     WHEREAS, on February 5, 2024, the Department of Health presented that, for a one-year period, only one percent of post-booking jail diversion referrals were accepted; and

 

     WHEREAS, pursuant to Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 117, S.D. 1, H.D 1 (2007), as former co-chair of the established task force, Governor Green recommended community-based services to avoid readmission to the Hawaii State Hospital and a community secure residential program operated by CARE Hawaii, Inc. as a form of jail diversion; and

 

     WHEREAS, by letter dated February 8, 2024, and at the latest informational briefing, the Chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Health and Human Services and the Chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection requested:  "As such, please provide to us the following:

 

     (1)  A comprehensive chart, as promised in the informational hearing on February 5, presenting the various projects and programs that fit into your overall continuum;

 

     (2)  The State's capacity in each service area, by agency, and the current state of those unmet needs; and

 

     (3)  The Governor's plans to address that unmet need, including specific budgetary requirements;

 

Please include in such comprehensive chart, the jail diversion programs in the Judiciary and the triage centers financed by OHHS such as that run by IHS.  Please also include within the Governor's plans, his plan to reduce the population in the Hawaii State Hospital"; and

 

     WHEREAS, on February 23, 2024, the Governor's Senior Advisor for Mental Health and the Justice System presented in response to the Senators' requests the Judiciary's report, which provided data on seven hundred and four mental assessments conducted, but otherwise provided no additional data on the various community programs funded since the 2008 report to the Legislature pursuant to Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 117, S.D. 1, H.D 1 (2007) and whether any of those programs fit into the SAMHSA intercept model; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Governor's Senior Advisor for the Mental Health and the Justice System is urged to define their role and to provide an annual report to the Legislature on the progress the State has made towards jail diversion; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor's Senior Advisor for Mental Health and the Justice System is requested to:

 

     (1)  Gather data on the various community programs funded by the Department of Human Services, Department of Health, and the Judiciary, that provide various services in the SAMHSA intercept model;

 

     (2)  Provide an annual report to the Legislature to include:

 

          (A)  The identified programs, their capacities, and detailed reasons for the high failure rate and unmet needs;

 

          (B)  Any proposed legislation; and

 

          (C)  A review of all federal and state court cases and constitutional, statutory, and rule changes impacting the Hawaii Revised Statutes that relate to mental health and involuntary transport, examination, hospitalization, and treatment, including assisted community treatment, as proposed in Senate Bill No. 2992, S.D. 1, H.D. 1 (2024); and

 

     (3)  Submit regular reports to the Chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Health and Human Services on the progress the State has made towards jail diversion; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senior Advisor for Mental Health and the Justice System's annual reports to the legislature are requested to be made publicly available; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor and the Governor's Senior Advisor for Mental Health and the Justice System.

Report Title: 

Senior Advisor for Mental Health and the Justice System; Jail Diversion; Report