Bill Text: HI SR67 | 2016 | Regular Session | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Post-Doctoral Forensic Training Programs; Forensic Mental Health; Psychologists; Psychiatrists

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-03-16 - Referred to CPH/HEA, WAM. [SR67 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2016-SR67-Introduced.html

---

THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	67
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

Requesting the Department of Health to convene a task force to evaluate and make recommendations for the design, establishment, and implementation of accredited post-doctoral forensic training programs for psychiatrists and psychologists.

 

 

     WHEREAS, this body finds that the forensic mental health system provides essential and critically important services to the Judiciary, public mental health system, legal community, and general public; and

 

     WHEREAS, as outlined in chapter 704, Hawaii Revised Statutes, forensic mental health evaluators perform evaluations on defendants charged with criminal conduct in order to determine if defendants are competent to stand trial, bear criminal responsibility, or can be considered for post-acquittal conditional release; and

 

     WHEREAS, forensic mental health evaluators conduct evaluations in the state hospitals, jails and prisons, and the community which are utilized by the courts in the administration and disposition of individuals with mental illness involved with the judicial system; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii needs ongoing availability of educated and specially trained licensed forensic mental health professionals in psychology and psychiatry to remain consistent with state statutes including chapter 704, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

 

     WHEREAS, education and training of forensic mental health evaluators is necessary to ensure the quality and professionalism of those who conduct forensic mental health evaluations; and

 

     WHEREAS, the needs of the forensic mental health system and defendants with mental health issues require the ongoing availability of educated and specially trained licensed forensic mental health professionals in psychology and psychiatry; and

 

     WHEREAS, this body finds it essential to establish accredited post-doctoral forensic training programs for psychologists and psychiatrists, with training and service components in various mental health and public safety agencies and educational institutions in the community; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2016, that the Department of Health is requested to convene a task force composed of government agencies and other stakeholders to evaluate and make recommendations for designing, establishing, and implementing accredited post-doctoral forensic training programs for psychiatrists and psychologists, with training and service components in various mental health and public safety agencies and educational institutions in the community; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force consider but not be limited to the following issues:

 

     (1)  The training, education, professional experience, and direct supervision to be delivered in post-doctoral forensic training programs that will meet certain requirements for licensure in psychology and the requirements for board certification by the American Board of Forensic Psychology and the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology certification in Forensic Psychiatry;

 

     (2)  The accreditation requirements of the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education and Association for Psychology Postdoctoral and Internships Centers that the post-doctoral forensic training programs should meet;

 

     (3)  Collaborative engagements that the post-doctoral forensic training programs will have with the Department of Health, Department of Public Safety, and the Judiciary to provide supervised training experiences for post-doctoral psychiatry and psychology fellows; and

 

     (4)  Recommending the most effective model for achieving educational, training, and workforce development goals including where the programs will be based and how the programs will be administered; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force members be selected by the head of the following state departments or agencies and be composed of representatives from:

 

     (1)  Department of Health;

 

     (2)  Department of the Attorney General;

 

     (3)  Department of Public Safety;

 

     (4)  Judiciary;

 

     (5)  William S. Richardson School of Law;

 

     (6)  John A. Burns School of Medicine - Department of Psychiatry;

 

     (7)  University of Hawaii at Manoa - Department of Psychology;

 

     (8)  A community forensic psychologist, selected by the Director of Health, who serves as an independent community-based examiner for the Judiciary; and

 

     (9)  A forensic psychiatrist, selected by the Director of Health, who serves as an independent community-based examiner for the Judiciary; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Director of Health or the Director's designee, chair the task force; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to assist the task force in drafting its final report and any proposed legislation; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to meet at least monthly from July 2016 through December 2016, and is requested to submit a final report with any recommendations regarding the issues reviewed, including any proposed legislation and requests for funding no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2017; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health, Attorney General, Director of Public Safety, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hawaii, President of the University of Hawaii, Dean of the William S. Richardson School of Law, Dean of the John A. Burns School of Medicine, and Chair of the Department of Psychology of the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Post-Doctoral Forensic Training Programs; Forensic Mental Health; Psychologists; Psychiatrists