H1013 creates a new section of Florida law establishing Crisis Care Coordination Pilot Programs in Polk and Volusia Counties, subject to a specific appropriation. The stated purpose is to reduce repeat involuntary examinations initiated by law enforcement, give people experiencing an acute mental health crisis an alternative to police-led intervention, reduce post-crisis contact with law enforcement, and improve connection to behavioral health care.
The bill directs the Department of Children and Families to implement the pilots through nationally accredited community mental health centers working in partnership with local law enforcement. Crisis counselors would be placed within law enforcement agencies to help respond to crisis calls, de-escalate situations, conduct assessments, provide referrals, and follow up after an involuntary examination or other crisis event. Follow-up services are voluntary and may include safety planning, supportive counseling, help accessing mental health and substance abuse treatment, assistance with discharge plans, and care coordination.
The bill also requires formal referral agreements and information-sharing procedures with mental health providers, substance abuse providers, hospitals, and nonprofit or other community organizations so that people served by the pilots can be connected quickly to community-based behavioral health services and supports. The Department of Children and Families must contract for an independent evaluation of the pilots’ effectiveness and return on investment and submit a report to the Governor and Legislature by January 15, 2029. The pilot program authority expires June 30, 2029, and the department is authorized to adopt rules to implement the section.
The overall sentiment reflected in the voting history is strongly supportive and noncontroversial: the bill passed every recorded House committee and the House floor unanimously or nearly unanimously, with no recorded opposition. That suggests broad bipartisan agreement around crisis response reform, mental health coordination, and reducing the burden on law enforcement.
The main policy issue is not whether to create the pilots, but how they will be funded, implemented, and evaluated. Because the program is contingent on a specific appropriation and limited to two counties, any debate would likely focus on resource allocation, the role of law enforcement versus behavioral health professionals, data-sharing and privacy procedures, and whether the model should be expanded statewide if the evaluation shows positive results.
H1013 adds s. 394.6581 to the Florida Statutes and creates a temporary, county-specific crisis response model in Polk and Volusia Counties. It expands the Department of Children and Families’ role in coordinating behavioral health crisis intervention by requiring partnerships between law enforcement and community mental health providers, and it establishes new reporting, evaluation, and rulemaking responsibilities. The bill affects law enforcement agencies, mental health and substance abuse providers, hospitals, nonprofit service organizations, and people experiencing acute mental health crises, while also creating a sunset date for the pilot authority.
The bill appears to have very favorable support across the House process. It received unanimous or near-unanimous votes in subcommittee, committee, and on third reading, with no recorded nays. The lack of opposition in the available record suggests the proposal was viewed as a practical, bipartisan effort to improve crisis response and behavioral health coordination rather than a controversial policy change.
No major opposition is reflected in the available transcripts or votes. Any likely points of discussion would center on implementation details: whether the Department of Children and Families has sufficient funding and administrative capacity, how information exchange between agencies will be handled, whether crisis counselors should be embedded in law enforcement settings, and whether the pilot should remain limited to Polk and Volusia Counties or be expanded if successful. The bill also raises the broader policy question of balancing law enforcement involvement with voluntary behavioral health follow-up and community-based care.