SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 4

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2015

INTRODUCED BY

Sander Rue

FOR THE COURTS, CORRECTIONS AND JUSTICE COMMITTEE

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE NEW MEXICO ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES TO STUDY HOUSING AND CLINICAL SERVICE OPTIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS WHO ARE IN CUSTODY AWAITING TRIAL.

     WHEREAS, the state's county detention facilities have become de facto mental health facilities; and

     WHEREAS, according to a 2012 study conducted by the New Mexico sentencing commission, individuals receiving mental health services while in detention have a median length of stay that is twenty-five percent longer than the length of stay for all pretrial inmates; and

     WHEREAS, individuals diagnosed with the most serious mental illness, such as psychotic disorders, have a median length of stay that is eighty-two percent longer than individuals of the same gender and age who have been charged with the same crime; and

     WHEREAS, individuals whose competency to stand trial is in question have a median length of stay that is two hundred seventy-eight percent longer than other pretrial inmates; and

     WHEREAS, few detention centers are equipped to deal adequately with this population; and

     WHEREAS, the condition of individuals with serious mental health disorders can deteriorate when they are incarcerated; and

     WHEREAS, the current situation exposes the state and local governments to substantial liability; and

     WHEREAS, individual agencies and counties cannot provide the solution to this problem alone because it is a systemic problem that requires collaboration and the development of alternatives among state, county and municipal governments as well as health care providers and advocacy organizations;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the New Mexico association of counties be requested to convene stakeholders to study and make recommendations for clinically appropriate housing options for individuals with serious mental illness who are in custody in county detention facilities; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that stakeholders include but not be limited to representatives from the New Mexico municipal league; the department of health; the aging and long-term services department; the corrections department; the administrative office of the district attorneys; the administrative office of the courts; the public defender department; the New Mexico sheriffs and police association; the New Mexico behavioral health institute at Las Vegas; the New Mexico hospital association; disability rights New Mexico; the national alliance on mental illness; and two individuals living with serious mental illness identified by the interagency behavioral health purchasing collaborative; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the New Mexico association of counties be requested to report its findings to the appropriate interim legislative committees by December 1, 2015; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the executive director of the New Mexico association of counties, the executive director of the New Mexico municipal league, the director of the New Mexico behavioral health institute at Las Vegas, the director of the administrative office of the district attorneys, the director of the administrative office of the courts, the chief public defender, the New Mexico hospital association, the director of the interagency behavioral health purchasing collaborative, the executive director of disability rights New Mexico, the executive director of the national alliance on mental illness and the secretaries of health, public safety, aging and long-term services and corrections.