Georgia House Speaker David Ralston filed House Bill 1013 to reform the state’s mental health care delivery system.
“Mental health issues touch almost every family in this state,” he said. “For much too long, our mental health care delivery system has been inadequate. The accessibility and availability of treatment has been woefully limited. For a state that is rated number one in the nation in which to do business, this is not acceptable.”
Gilmer County Sheriff Stacy Nicholson is in agreement. His deputies deal with people in mental health crisis almost every day.
“My officers receive a lot of mental health training in crisis intervention,” Nicholson said. “I feel like we deal with it very well.”
Deputies are trained in deescalating situations, but then what. Nicholson said his officers then have a choice of leaving the person in a situation, which is unacceptable, taking them to jail. The choice they don’t have is taking them to a mental health facility for the person to be helped over time.
Most facilities which are available allow the person to sign out within hours, Nicholson said.
“Unless a person has insurance, there is really no place to take them,” he said. “There is no crisis stabilization unit.”
Jail becomes the choice by default. Nicholson said in jail the person can be monitored, and the jail has contracts with mental health professionals to help with the crisis.
“We need more choices in taking these people to a mental health facility,” he said. “In reality, the only resources that exist is county jails and state prisons.”
Nicholson estimates 20 to 25 percent of his jail population are people who would be better served in a mental health facility.
“We, in law enforcement, recognize that it’s not the best, but it’s all we have,” he said. “It’s just where we are now.”
These problems are not just in Georgia but the entire nation, Nicholson said.
“The blame can’t be pinned on any one group of people,” he said.
Dealing with the issue is not a matter of training but a matter of resources and options, he said.
“There is no issue more important to me this session,” Speaker Ralston said. “Georgia is a great state. Passage of this landmark bill will mean we are also a good state.”
House Bill 1013 is a bipartisan effort sponsored by Speaker Ralston and signed by members of leadership from both political parties including Majority Leader Jon Burns (R-Newington) and Minority Leader James Beverly (D-Macon), according to a release from Ralston’s office. House Bill 1013 will be carried by cosponsors Rep. Todd Jones (R-Cumming) and Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur).
“I am excited to work on a comprehensive bill of reform for Georgia families,” said Rep. Oliver. “Too many Georgians suffer from mental illness, which can be deadly, and cannot find treatment. We need to improve ways to help people find treatment.”
House Bill 1013 increases client access to care, ensures mental health parity for providers and clients, strengthens workforce development initiatives, expands transparency and accountability for consumers and enhances resources and tools for front-line responders and communities, according to a release from Ralston’s office.
Speaker Ralston will assign House Bill 1013 to the House Health and Human Services Committee for consideration, the release said.