SB 371: Mental Health and Penal Institutions; grant program to create peer support programs in hospitals; establish

Senate Bill 371

By: Senator Strickland of the 42nd

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

To amend Title 37 and Title 42 of the Official Code of Georgia, relating to mental health and penal institutions, respectively, so as to establish a grant program to create peer support programs in hospitals; to create peer support programs for individuals in penal institutions; to provide for quarterly and annual reports; to provide for consultation and cooperation with agencies, courts, organizations, and any entity which interacts with individuals who are incarcerated, on parole, or on probation to establish peer mentor programs; to provide for rules and regulations; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1.

Title 37 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to mental health, is amended in Chapter 1, relating to governing and regulation of mental health, by revising paragraph (6) of Code Section 37-1-20, relating to obligations of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, as follows:

"(6) Establish and support programs for the training of professional and technical personnel and certified peer specialists, as well as regional advisory councils and community service boards. Certified peer specialists may be designated by area of focus, such as mental health or addictive disease, or by personnel, such as youth or parent, and shall include a designation for maternal mental health;"

SECTION 2.

Said title is further amended by revising Chapter 8, which is reserved, as follows: "CHAPTER 8

37-8-1.

As used in this chapter, the term:

(1) 'Addiction recovery support center' means a peer-led community based program offering nonclinical support and activities for individuals and families of individuals who are in recovery from substance use disorders as defined by department policy.

(2) 'Certification training body' means an entity approved by the department to provide training and testing for certified peer specialists in accordance with department policies.

(3) 'Certified peer specialist' means an individual who is trained and certified to provide ongoing support to individuals and families of individuals who are receiving mental health or substance use recovery supports and services. A certified peer specialist works from the perspective of his or her lived experience to help build environments conducive to recovery. Certified peer specialists promote hope, personal responsibility, empowerment, education, and self-determination in the communities served. Such term includes the following certified peer specialist designations recognized by the department:

(A) Certified Peer Specialist-Mental Health or CPS-MH;

(B) Certified Peer Specialist-Addictive Disease or CPS-AD;

(C) Certified Peer Specialist-Youth or CPS-Y;

(D) Certified Peer Specialist-Parent or CPS-P; and

(E) Other ancillary peer credentials, such as forensic peer mentors, which may be added by the department designated training entity.

(4) 'Department' means the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities and includes its duly authorized agents and designees.

(5) 'Peer support program' means services rendered to individuals in need of support that are provided by a certified peer specialist. Such term includes, but is not limited to, individual peer recovery coaching, group peer check-ins, advocacy, mutual aid support groups, connection to treatment services, harm reduction services, connection to medication for substance use disorder or alcohol use disorder, housing support, transportation support, food insecurity support, acquiring identification, job placement, or connections to other resources within the community. Reserved.

37-8-2.

(a) Peer specialists working in department services are required to be certified by the department.

(b) Only the department shall certify individuals who complete training and testing provided by certification training bodies. In addition to the training standards set by the department, certified peer specialists shall be required to complete continuing education on working in hospital settings and job readiness and workforce reentry.

37-8-3.

(a) In order to encourage and ensure the establishment of peer support programs for individuals presenting with substance use disorders in hospitals throughout this state, the department shall award grants, subject to appropriations from the General Assembly, to hospitals or local addiction recovery support centers that seek to implement such programs and that demonstrate a need for financial assistance to develop the necessary infrastructure, including personnel and equipment.

(b) A hospital or addiction recovery support center seeking to implement a peer support program for individuals presenting to hospitals with substance use disorders pursuant to this Code section may apply to the department for a grant, in a manner and on a form required by the department, and shall provide such information as the department deems necessary to determine if the hospital or addiction recovery support center is eligible for the grant.

(c) The department may provide grants to as many hospitals or addiction recovery support centers as it deems appropriate, subject to appropriations, taking into consideration adequate geographic diversity with respect to locations.

(d) The department shall annually prepare and submit a report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the chairpersons of the House Committee on Public and Community Health and the Senate Health and Human Services Committee for distribution to their committee members indicating the total number of hospitals and addiction recovery support centers that applied for grants pursuant to this Code section, the number of applicants that were determined by the department to be eligible for such grants, the total number of grants awarded, the name and address of each grantee hospital or addiction recovery support center, the amount of the award to each grantee hospital or addiction recovery support center, and the amount of each award disbursed to the grantee hospital or addiction recovery support center.

37-8-4.

The department shall contract on an annual basis with an independent organization, entity, or consultant possessing expertise in the practice of peer support programs led by certified peer specialists for individuals presenting with substance use disorders to serve as a technical assistance provider for the grantees. The department, in consultation with the grantees, shall review the performance of such technical assistance provider annually and determine whether it is appropriate to seek a different technical assistance provider or contract with the same technical assistance provider for the following year.

37-8-5.

(a) Prior to the commencement of funding for the peer support programs under Code Section 37-8-3, the department shall contract with an independent organization, entity, or consultant possessing expertise in the evaluation and quality improvement of peer support programs and policies to evaluate and make quality improvement recommendations on:

(1) The effectiveness of such peer support programs in reducing criminal justice interactions among vulnerable individuals with substance use disorders;

(2) The cost-effectiveness of such peer support programs, including the impact on spending within the public behavioral health care system on the individuals receiving peer support and spending within the criminal justice system on the arrest, incarceration, and prosecution of such individuals;

(3) Differences in implementation of such peer support programs among the grantees and the impact of such differences on program outcomes;

(4) The impact of such peer support programs on the behavioral health care system at large, including any unintended impacts; and

(5) The perceptions of such peer support programs and their effectiveness among participating individuals, behavioral health care providers, and program staff.

(b) As a condition for participation in the grant program, the department shall require each grantee to agree to share program information data with the contracted organization, entity, or consultant as the department may require and to make reasonable accommodation for such organization, entity, or consultant to have access to the grantee's site and the individuals served. The department shall further ensure that the contracted organization, entity, or consultant is able to perform its functions consistent with all state and federal restrictions on the privacy of personal health information.

(c) In contracting with the organization, entity, or consultant, the department shall require such organization, entity, or consultant to submit a quarterly report on the effectiveness of the peer support programs for individuals presenting with behavioral health conditions to the Governor, the chairpersons of the House Committee on Public and Community Health and the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, and the Office of Health Strategy and Coordination.

37-8-6.

(a) The department shall adopt and prescribe rules and regulations necessary or appropriate to administer and carry out the grant program provided for in this chapter.

(b) The department shall adopt and prescribe rules and regulations necessary or appropriate to establish a forensic peer mentor training program as provided in Article 7 of Chapter 3 of Title 42."

SECTION 3.

Title 42 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to penal institutions, is amended in Chapter 3, relating to community supervision and transition, by adding a new article to read as follows:

"ARTICLE 7

42-3-120.

(a) The Department of Corrections and DCS shall establish forensic peer mentor programs in every state prison, county jail, and municipal jail.

(b) Such forensic peer mentor programs shall be led by individuals who are certified peer specialists pursuant to Chapter 8 of Title 37.

(c) The Department of Corrections and DCS shall adopt rules and regulations necessary to establish such programs in every state prison, county jail, and municipal jail.

42-3-121.

The Department of Corrections and DCS shall consult and coordinate with agencies, departments, organizations, courts, and any entity which interacts with individuals who are incarcerated, on parole, or on probation to establish forensic peer mentor programs led by certified peer specialists, including, but not limited to, individuals in probation programs, accountability courts, day reporting centers, recovery housing or residences, and other mental health or drug diversion programs."

SECTION 4.

All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.