Lawmakers approve mental health bill
By SHANNON DININNY - Associated Press
Friday, March 23, 2007 12:11 PM PDT
BOISE — Idaho’s treatment of its mentally ill residents and those who suffer from drug or alcohol addiction has been a subject of harsh criticism for years.
Lawmakers believe they’ve made great strides this session in addressing some of those concerns, but at the same time, they’re taking steps to ensure Idaho isn’t subject to another lawsuit over how it houses and treats people with severe mental illnesses.
‘‘It’s patch, patch, patch,’’ said Sen. Patti Anne Lodge, R-Huston, chairwoman of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee. ‘‘Especially when we’re coming from so far behind to catch up.’’
Much of the legislation appears to stem from a case that began more than a quarter-century ago, when a boy known only as Jeff D. sued the state for institutionalizing mentally ill children instead of providing care for them. Jeff D. won, and several years ago the court settled on 250 tasks the state must complete to be in compliance with the ruling.
However, a federal judge recently ruled that Idaho had failed to complete many of those tasks, and gave the state 120 days to reply. That deadline is fast approaching, even as lawmakers have been studying problems with the state’s treatment programs and working to address them through legislation.
Last year, an interim committee held four meetings around the state to gather information on the issue. Those meetings resulted in five measures aimed at improving opportunities for treatment, both at the state and local level, and better understanding of the problem. The House on Thursday approved two of those bills, which were approved earlier by the Senate. One would allow judges to order substance abuse assessments and treatment for juvenile offenders, and a similar bill would allow judges greater latitude to order adult defendants into treatment. A third bill would expand a grant program for mental health treatment so it also would include substance abuse services. It passed both chambers earlier, as did measures to recommend an independent review of Idaho’s treatment programs, and a statewide standard assessment for substance abuse and mental illness.
The House on Thursday also approved a separate bill, which wasn’t recommended by the committee, to put four clinically trained counselors in rural Idaho schools to intervene with students deemed at risk of developing mental health or substance abuse problems.
Overall, lawmakers have approved spending more than $11.5 million for new substance abuse and mental health treatment programs.
In a change from previous sessions, budget writers this year asked what was needed for substance abuse and mental health treatment, rather than for a specific dollar amount, said Quane Kenyon, chairman of the state Board of Health and Welfare.
‘‘This is the first time in my memory that the Legislature has volunteered to spend more for these kinds of programs,’’ he said.
The measures now await action by Gov. C.L. ‘‘Butch’’ Otter, but whether he will support them remains unknown.
Otter’s communications chief, Mark Warbis, said Thursday the governor was withholding judgment on any legislation until it reaches his desk.
‘‘We have limited resources, and he wants to make sure that our resources are used most effectively,’’ Warbis said. ‘‘Based on that criteria, he will assess any funding legislation that comes before him and make the right decision.’’
Already, Otter opted not to include money in his proposed budget to build a secure facility for housing mentally ill adults, who are currently held at the state prison.
The Senate also has approved language that would tweak state law to require only that those people be offered programs — rather than a separate facility — in order to avoid a lawsuit over housing them at the prison. The bill is pending in the House.
‘‘We know we’re going to have to build the secure bed facility for our prison,’’ Sen. Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, said during a budget-writing hearing Thursday, in which lawmakers discussed $60 million they set aside for emergencies, part of which could go toward housing those with severe mental illnesses.
Rep. Margaret Henbest, D-Boise, also said lawmakers are heading down the road toward building a secure facility.
‘‘Next year, we’ll probably be biting off a big chunk to get started. It’s going to happen,’’ she said.
In the meantime, both Henbest and Lodge called passage of the interim committee’s recommendations a success, largely because the focus has been on getting state agencies to work together.
‘‘A lot of states are dealing with these issues,’’ Henbest said. ‘‘We still have a long ways to go, but it’s a start.’’
