SB 1140 Summary

• Creates the Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Treatment and Crime Reduction Act to provide community-based forensic mental health services as alternatives to state facility commitment for individuals with mental illness involved in the criminal or juvenile justice systems

• Establishes a continuum of community forensic services including competency restoration, intensive care management, supported housing and employment, crisis services, and treatment for co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders, initially limited to adults charged with third-degree felonies or non-violent second-degree felonies

• Adds home and community-based mental health services as optional Medicaid services and exempts persons receiving services under the Act from MediPass and managed care plans, capped at 1,000 individuals unless approved by legislature

• Requires forensic evaluator training programs for mental health professionals conducting competency and sanity evaluations, with experts maintaining certification through training completed within the previous 5 years and registries maintained by the Department of Children and Family Services

• Mandates community residential facility placement for competency restoration unless bed space, funding is unavailable, or the court explicitly finds the defendant cannot be safely managed in the community, and establishes 30-day timeframes for competency and commitment hearings