CS/HB 7119 Summary

• Establishes legislative intent for early mental health and substance abuse treatment in Florida's child welfare system, with goals to ensure child safety, prevent disorders, and expedite permanency.

• Authorizes family members and interested parties to petition for guardian advocate appointments and prohibits courts from ordering involuntary placement of individuals with traumatic brain injury or dementia who lack co-occurring mental illness in state treatment facilities.

• Revises definitions of "adolescent" and children with serious emotional disturbance under the Comprehensive Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services Act, changing age threshold from 21 to 18 years old.

• Restructures the Criminal Justice, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse grant program by renaming the review committee to "Policy Committee" and expanding membership to include various stakeholder representatives.

• Requires coordinated care organizations and managing entities to implement performance-based contracts, establish data collection standards for crisis stabilization services, and transition to coordinated care models within 3 years; also repeals numerous obsolete statutory provisions.