SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 63

47th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2006

INTRODUCED BY

Steve Komadina

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO CONVENE A MANDATORY TREATMENT TASK FORCE TO REEXAMINE NEW MEXICO'S SYSTEM OF MANDATORY TREATMENT FOR THOSE WITH SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS.

     WHEREAS, the second session of the forty-seventh legislature has not reached consensus on a law to improve New Mexico's system of mandatory treatment for those with serious mental illness; and

     WHEREAS, families whose loved ones were killed by persons with serious mental illness advocate legislative examination of the current law, which in some cases has been inadequate to treat those who have crossed the line from serious mental illness into outright dangerousness; and

     WHEREAS, financial constraints are reported to contribute to persons with serious mental illness being untreated even when they and others recognize a deterioration in mental health that may endanger the community; and

     WHEREAS, convening a group with a variety of backgrounds offers the promise of finding a means of amending current New Mexico law in a way that does not pit the individual dignity of persons with serious mental illness against the safety needs of the community; and

     WHEREAS, a comprehensive change to the competency, commitment and treatment law is likely to require comprehensive planning rather than a quick fix in an overwhelmed and inefficient health care system; and

     WHEREAS, differing perspectives are required to consider the needs of patients, the factors that contribute to potential violence and the current gap in resources in order to develop an effective but humane law; and

     WHEREAS, a responsive, responsible and rational law would be a fitting remembrance to the victims of this tragedy;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the secretary of health be requested to convene a mandatory treatment task force to study recent competency cases in order to define current problems; to review New Mexico mental health law to identify gaps; to evaluate the success of other states' mandatory treatment laws, particularly those categorized as "Kendra's laws", and recommend whether other approaches would improve New Mexico law; to define optimal professional diagnostic evaluation and to define clinical interventions appropriate for the needs of those New Mexicans with serious mental illness; to propose mechanisms for locating and communicating with those diagnosed with serious mental illness and providers and case managers; to explore funding for individual cases and state monitoring strategies; to define medical liability issues; to propose adequate levels of state support for a workable system; to draft consensus legislation for 2007; and to propose other legislation to improve community-based services for the seriously mentally ill; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the mandatory treatment task force be composed of fifteen persons, including the secretaries of health and children, youth and families or their designees; a representative of the university of New Mexico mental health center staff; a psychiatrist in private practice; a mental health professional from a field other than psychiatry, such as psychology; a mental health law specialist who works at a nonprofit organization dedicated to persons with disabilities; a law enforcement professional; a public defender who works in the mental health division of the public defender office; a district attorney who is competent in commitment proceedings; a person who serves as a treatment guardian for a person with mental illness; a representative from the mental health court in the second judicial district; a legislative analyst; a representative from the insurance division of the public regulation commission; a social worker; and a representative of a group that works on behalf of homeless clients; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the mandatory treatment task force report its findings and recommendations to the legislative health and human services committee no later than its November 2006 meeting; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of health.

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