Relating to mental health support for corrections officers, and making appropriations

This bill relates to mental health support for corrections officers. The bill requires the department of corrections (department) to hire a mental health liaison staff member for each institution under its jurisdiction. One mental health liaison staff member may cover multiple institutions. The bill provides that the mental health liaison staff member shall be responsible for all of the following: coordinating efforts between the correctional facility and mental health providers in the local region to help corrections officers; coordinating with department leadership to ensure that the program is operating in accordance with the bill; and overseeing and coordinating the activities of the outreach team. The bill provides that the department shall develop and administer a brief annual mental health screening survey composed of 5 to 10 questions that seek to identify severe mental illnesses, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression; develop any technology necessary for a correctional facility to provide the annual mental health screening survey; hire staff necessary for a correctional facility to provide the annual mental health screening survey; establish an outreach team to refer a corrections officer whose responses to the survey indicate severe mental illness to a local mental health care provider for further assessment; provide reasonable reimbursement for costs incurred by professionals of the outreach team; and provide at least one mandatory, employer-funded, paid confidential counseling session annually for each staff member with a licensed mental health professional to ensure corrections officers have access to the support they need to reduce officer turnover, improve productivity, and foster a healthier work environment. The bill provides that an outreach team shall be composed of mental health care professionals or clinicians from mental health care centers local to the correctional facility, staff from the correctional facility when applicable, and a mental health liaison staff member who shall oversee the outreach team. If a correctional officer has been determined to need a referral to a mental health care provider, the department shall immediately notify the outreach team. The bill appropriates $400,000 to the department to carry out the requirements of the bill.