An Act relative to a humane response to a mental health crisis
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Progress
Where this bill stands in the legislative process.
- Introduced
- Passed Senate
- Passed House
- To Governor
- Became Law
Overview
This bill seeks to change the current law regarding how individuals experiencing a mental health crisis are initially handled by the state. Currently, a person experiencing a mental health crisis can be involuntarily committed to a facility for up to three days. This bill proposes removing this three-day commitment period, aiming for a more humane and less restrictive approach to initial mental health interventions.
Key provisions
- Eliminates the current three-day involuntary commitment period.
- Focuses on alternative approaches to responding to mental health crises.
- Preserves the ability to initiate a formal commitment process if necessary.
- Likely encourages greater use of mobile crisis teams and other community-based support services.
Who is affected
- Individuals experiencing mental health crises
- Mental health professionals
- Emergency responders
- Families of individuals experiencing mental health crises
- The mental health system in Massachusetts
Notable changes
- Removes a specific time limit for involuntary commitment.
- Potentially shifts responsibility for initial crisis response to community-based services.
Bill text
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Sponsors
Official sponsors from legislative records.
4 on record
Primary sponsor
Cosponsors
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