CHAPTER 601
An Act to direct the Behavioral Health Commission to study how to effectively align current civil admissions laws and processes with new behavioral health and crisis response services and resources in the Commonwealth; report.
[S 574]
Approved April 5, 2024
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. § 1. That the Behavioral Health Commission shall study how to effectively align current civil admissions laws and processes, including those processes related to licensing, regulations, training, and reimbursement that may need to change to better achieve alignment, with new behavioral health and crisis response services and resources in the Commonwealth. In conducting its work, the Behavioral Health Commission shall convene a work group including (i) mental health consumers; (ii) representatives from (a) public and private behavioral health providers; (b) law-enforcement agencies, including the Virginia Sheriffs' Association and the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police; (c) advocacy groups such as the disAbility Law Center of Virginia; (d) academic centers such as the Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy at the University of Virginia; (e) community services boards; (f) executive branch agencies such as the Department of Medical Assistance Services and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; and (g) the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia; and (iii) the Governor of Virginia or his designee. The Behavioral Health Commission shall make recommendations for any statutory, regulatory, licensing, training, and reimbursement changes related to Virginia's current civil admissions process that may be needed to fully leverage crisis services and shall report such recommendations to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee for Courts of Justice, the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services, and the House Committee for Courts of Justice by July 1, 2025.