RD195 - Report on the Implications of Distributing Funds in Item 316.KK of the 2009 Appropriation Act on a Per Capita Basis


Executive Summary:
The 2009 Session of the General Assembly added subparagraph 2 to Item 316.KK of the 2009 Appropriation Act. This addition requires the Commissioner to report on the implications of distributing the funding appropriated in paragraph KK to Community Services Boards (CSBs) based on the per capita population served by each CSB. This report presents information about distributing those funds on a per capita basis and discusses the implications of redistributing the funds on that basis.

The 2008 Session of the General Assembly appropriated $10.3 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 and $18.0 million in FY 2010 in Item 316.KK of Grants to Localities from the General Fund to provide emergency services, crisis stabilization services, case management, and inpatient and outpatient mental health services for individuals who are in need of emergency mental health services or who meet the criteria for mental health treatment set forth pursuant to House Bill 559 and Senate Bill 246 (2008). The item also states that funding provided in it also shall be used to offset the fiscal impact of (i) establishing and providing mandatory outpatient treatment, pursuant to House Bill 499 and Senate Bill 246 (2008); and (ii) attendance at involuntary commitment hearings by community services board staff who have completed the preadmission screening report, pursuant to House Bill 560 and Senate Bill 246 (2008). In this report, those funds will be referred to as 'mental health law reform' funds.

Finally, Item 316.KK in the 2008 Appropriation Act required the Commissioner to report on the assumptions and process used to allocate funding in it across agencies and service categories, as well as the amount of the allocations, to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees. The Commissioner provided that report on September 1, 2008 (Report Document No. 216). That report contains information, some of which is reproduced here, on the implications of a per capita distribution of the mental health law funds.