SENATE MEMORIAL 38

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

INTRODUCED BY

Steve Komadina

A MEMORIAL

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

     WHEREAS, the senate public affairs committee discussions of Senate Bill 355 brought advocates from many perspectives during the second session of the forty-seventh legislature to a shared agreement on the need for improvements in New Mexico's system of assisted outpatient treatment services for those with serious mental illness; and

     WHEREAS, families with loved ones who were killed by persons with serious mental illness advocate for legislative examination of current laws, which, in some cases, have been inadequate to provide treatment for those who have crossed the line from being mentally ill to being violent and an outright danger to others; and

     WHEREAS, existing mental health law has required programming, such as treatment guardianships for severely mentally ill persons, without providing realistic funding and providing for development of community resources; and

     WHEREAS, convening a task force whose members have a variety of backgrounds offers the promise of striking a balance between individual rights and the communal good, between mandated treatment and invasion of privacy and between safety and freedom, all the while confronting the societal responsibility of addressing the unmet needs of the mentally ill; and

     WHEREAS, changes to competency, commitment and treatment laws are going to require comprehensive planning and coordination among many health care groups, not just a quick fix to 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 ways to address the current gap in resources in order to develop effective but humane laws; and

     WHEREAS, creation of responsive, responsible and rational laws would be a fitting memorial to innocent victims;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the secretary of health be requested to convene an assisted outpatient treatment services task force to study recent cases of violent behavior in persons with severe mental disorders; to review New Mexico mental health laws to identify current problems; to evaluate the relative success or failure of other states' assisted outpatient treatment laws, particularly those categorized as "Kendra's laws", to form a basis for their recommendations to improve New Mexico laws; to review New Mexico health laws to identify programs and resources already mandated but not funded; to define clinical guidelines for comprehensive diagnostic evaluation as the planning base for psychiatric treatment and rehabilitation; to define clinical interventions appropriate for New Mexico's needs; to detail guidelines on who does what to whom in what settings and circumstances; to define continuing care needs and funding for nonvoluntary treatment; to define criteria for terminating mandated treatment; to propose mechanisms for locating and improving communications with those presenting with serious mental illness and their treatment guardians, care providers and case managers and with law enforcement officials and judicial officials; to define funding needs for court-ordered evaluation and treatment and state-mandated strategies; to define medical liability issues; and to bring new consensus legislation for assisted outpatient treatment services, including funding requirements, to the first session of the forty-eighth legislature; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the assisted outpatient treatment services task force be composed of twelve members, including the secretary of health, the secretary of children, youth and families and the superintendent of insurance or their designees; a representative of the psychiatric medical association of New Mexico; a representative of the department of psychiatry in the school of medicine at the university of New Mexico; a psychiatrist from a public health program, such as the veterans' administration; a mental health professional from a field other than psychiatry, such as psychology; a mental health law specialist from the university of New Mexico law school; a representative of a nonprofit organization dedicated to persons with disabilities; a law enforcement professional; a person who serves as a treatment guardian for a person with mental illness; and a case manager for a person with mental illness. The task force will call on experts from areas such as clinical services, rights, enforcement and advocacy to review and revise proposed legislation; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the 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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