[atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to the implementation of recommendations of the joint legislative audit and review committee's performance audit of the public mental health system; amending RCW 71.24.015; creating new sections; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature affirms its support for those recommendations of the performance audit of the public mental health system conducted by the joint legislative audit and review committee relating to: Improving the coordination of services for clients with multiple needs; improving the consistency of client, service, and fiscal data collected by the mental health division; replacing process-oriented accountability activities with a uniform statewide outcome measurement system; and using outcome information to identify and provide incentives for best practices in the provision of public mental health services.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The legislature supports recommendations 1 through 10 and 12 through 14 of the mental health system performance audit conducted by the joint legislative audit and review committee. The legislature expects the department of social and health services to work diligently to implement these recommendations.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. In addition to any follow-up requirements prescribed by the joint legislative audit and review committee, the department of social and health services shall submit reports to the legislature on the status of the implementation of recommendations 1 through 10 and 12 through 14 of the performance audit report. The implementation status reports must be submitted to appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the legislature by June 1, 2001, and each year thereafter through 2004.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The initial implementation status reports must discuss the status of implementing recommendations 1 through 8, which are due to be implemented by June 2001, and must also include a plan for implementing recommendations 9, 10, and 12 through 14, which are due to be implemented subsequent to June 2001. The initial implementation status report must also discuss what actions the department of social and health services has taken and will take in the future in response to recommendation 11 of the performance audit report.

Sec. 5. RCW 71.24.015 and 1999 c 214 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:

It is the intent of the legislature to establish a community mental health program which shall help people experiencing mental illness to retain a respected and productive position in the community. This will be accomplished through programs which provide for:

(1) Access to mental health services for adults of the state who are acutely mentally ill, chronically mentally ill, or seriously disturbed and children of the state who are acutely mentally ill, severely emotionally disturbed, or seriously disturbed, which services recognize the special needs of underserved populations, including minorities, children, the elderly, disabled, and low-income persons. Access to mental health services shall not be limited by a person's history of confinement in a state, federal, or local correctional facility. It is also the purpose of this chapter to promote the early identification of mentally ill children and to ensure that they receive the mental health care and treatment which is appropriate to their developmental level. This care should improve home, school, and community functioning, maintain children in a safe and nurturing home environment, and should enable treatment decisions to be made in response to clinical needs in accordance with sound professional judgment while also recognizing parents' rights to participate in treatment decisions for their children;

(2) Accountability of efficient and effective services through statewide standards for monitoring and reporting of client and system outcome information;

(3) Minimum service delivery standards;

(4) Priorities for the use of available resources for the care of the mentally ill;

(5) Coordination of services within the department, including those divisions within the department that provide services to children, between the department and the office of the superintendent of public instruction, and among state mental hospitals, county authorities, community mental health services, and other support services, which shall to the maximum extent feasible also include the families of the mentally ill, and other service providers; and

(6) Coordination of services aimed at reducing duplication in service delivery and promoting complementary services among all entities that provide mental health services to adults and children.

It is the policy of the state to encourage the provision of a full range of treatment and rehabilitation services in the state for mental disorders. The legislature intends to encourage the development of county-based and county-managed mental health services with adequate local flexibility to assure eligible people in need of care access to the least-restrictive treatment alternative appropriate to their needs, and the availability of treatment components to assure continuity of care. To this end, counties are encouraged to enter into joint operating agreements with other counties to form regional systems of care which integrate planning, administration, and service delivery duties assigned to counties under chapters 71.05 and 71.24 RCW to consolidate administration, reduce administrative layering, and reduce administrative costs.

It is further the intent of the legislature to integrate the provision of services to provide continuity of care through all phases of treatment. To this end the legislature intends to promote active engagement with mentally ill persons and collaboration between families and service providers.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.