Bill Summary for Bill Number Bill 1

Date: 10/16/2007

Final
Bill 1

TREATMENT OF PERSONS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Motion to create a final draft of Bill 1 (Attachme	PASS

02:38 PM -- BILL 1

Representative Stafford explained that all of the bills have been previously presented to the committee and not much explanation of the provisions of the bills will be given at this meeting, however questions are welcome.

02:39 PM -- Michael Dohr, OLLS, explained that Bill 1 (Attachment A), concerning juvenile justice procedures for juveniles who may benefit from mental health services, will start in the House with Representative Solano and move to the Senate with Senator Boyd. Representative Kerr asked if the bill would mandate the process or if it is just a recommendation. Mr. Dohr explained that the bill attempts to allow the court to address issues with juveniles who have mental health needs. A judge will be required under the bill to order an assessment for such a juvenile. Representative Stafford pointed out that there is a danger of self-incrimination during the screening or assessment process and the committee agreed to look at that issue. Senator Renfroe asked what percentage of screenings result in a assessment that juvenile needs mental health services. Representative Stafford mentioned that research would need to be done in order to answer that question. Representative Solano discussed a similar bill that she sponsored in 2007, but was not passed due to the large fiscal note.

02:46 PM

Representative Stafford stressed the need for the proper mental health services for juveniles and how it is a cost-savings measure to deal with the problems early.

02:47 PM -- Jeanne Smith, Division of Criminal Justice, clarified that the bill already contains protection against self-incrimination for juveniles. Ms. Smith stated that unless the juvenile raises mental state as a defense, the language in the bill is clearly protective against self-incrimination. Representative Kerr asked if patient-client privilege would be affected by the bill. Ms. Smith replied that the bill guarantees patient-client privilege. Representative Stafford explained that during the therapy process, there is usually a chain of release of information.

02:51 PM

Senator Renfroe asked about the distinction between mental health screenings, mental health assessments, and mental health services. Mr. Dohr replied that it is a linear process that begins with the screening, moves to the assessment, and ends up with a juvenile receiving mental health services. The committee discussed the definitions of the terms "screening" and "assessment." The question was raised as to whether a screening is such a common term that it doesn't need to be defined. Representative Kerr asked if there is a best practices definition of a screening.

02:54 PM -- Doyle Forrestal, Colorado Behavioral Healthcare Council, explained that a screening is a simply a tool to determine whether an individual needs to move along in the process.

02:55 PM

Senator Renfroe stated that he believes the term needs to be defined in the bill. Senator Windels suggested that perhaps members of the task force could brief new members of the committee regarding different clinical terms.


BILL:	Bill 1
TIME:	02:57:28 PM
MOVED:	Solano
MOTION:	Motion to create a final draft of Bill 1 (Attachment A) for presentation to the Legislative Council. The motion passed 4-1, with one excused.
SECONDED:	Windels
		VOTE
	Boyd	Excused
	Kerr J.	Yes
	Renfroe	No
	Solano	Yes
	Windels	Yes
	(None), (None)
	Stafford	Yes
Final YES: 4 NO: 1 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS