SB22-196 Summary

• Establishes an Early Intervention, Deflection, and Redirection from the Criminal Justice System Grant Program within the Behavioral Health Administration to fund programs that divert individuals with behavioral health needs from criminal justice involvement or redirect them to community-based treatment.

• Appropriates $50,700,000 from the Behavioral and Mental Health Cash Fund (derived from federal COVID-19 relief funds) for grants to eligible entities including nonprofits, local governments, Native tribes, law enforcement, and health centers to support crisis services, treatment programs, court diversion, and community response initiatives.

• Requires grant recipients to contribute monetary or in-kind resources, submit applications describing programs and measurable outcomes, and report on numbers of individuals diverted or redirected from the criminal justice system; grants must be obligated by December 31, 2024 and spent by December 31, 2026.

• Makes additional appropriations totaling $11,581,164 for pretrial diversion programs, medication-assisted treatment in prisons, behavioral health data-sharing systems in jails, and studies on federal authorization for health services to justice-involved populations.

• Creates a review committee with representatives from behavioral health, criminal justice, researchers, persons impacted by the justice system, law enforcement, defense attorneys, and prosecutors to evaluate grant applications and recommend awards based on identified service gaps and evidence-based practices.