Establishes a state crisis intervention demonstration program and a crisis intervention team training fund.
This bill establishes a state crisis intervention demonstration program within the Office of Mental Health to help law enforcement respond to crisis situations involving people with mental illness and/or substance use disorder. It creates a crisis intervention team training program coordinator, an advisory committee, and a crisis intervention team training fund to support training, community coordination, and related implementation costs. The coordinator would work with municipal police departments and other law enforcement agencies that request assistance, help build partnerships among state agencies and community stakeholders, and distribute available grant funding for training and support services.
The bill also directs the Division of Criminal Justice Services, in consultation with mental health, addiction, and developmental disability agencies, to establish criteria for crisis intervention teams and implement ongoing training for participating local police departments and other enforcement agencies. The training curriculum must include at least 40 hours of mandatory mental health instruction. The program is designed to improve crisis response, reduce arrests and detention, increase referrals to treatment, and create therapeutic alternatives to jail or law enforcement facilities. The demonstration program would sunset five years after its effective date.
The bill would amend the mental hygiene law, state finance law, and general municipal law by creating new statutory sections governing crisis intervention training and team development. It would authorize the Office of Mental Health and the Division of Criminal Justice Services to coordinate statewide crisis intervention standards, establish a dedicated fund for federal and private grant moneys, and require annual reporting on training participation, implementation, and funding. Local police departments and other law enforcement agencies that choose to participate would be affected by new training and program criteria, while state agencies serving mental health, addiction, and developmental disability populations would be required to collaborate in implementation.
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes, the overall sentiment appears supportive and policy-oriented, with the bill framed as a public safety and behavioral health reform measure. Its structure emphasizes collaboration among law enforcement, mental health providers, disability advocates, and addiction services, suggesting an intent to build broad consensus around crisis response improvements. No contrary positions are documented in the provided materials.
The main potential points of contention are likely to be the scope of mandatory training, the role of law enforcement in behavioral health crises, and the administrative and funding burdens on participating agencies. The bill requires at least 40 hours of mental health training and ongoing coordination, which may raise concerns about cost, staffing, and implementation capacity for local departments. It also implicitly raises policy questions about whether crisis response should be led by police, by clinicians, or through hybrid models, though no specific objections are recorded in the provided context.