Bill Text: WV HCR107 | 2016 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requesting the Joint Committee on Government and Finance to study the civil commitment laws within West Virginia
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 6-1)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2016-03-12 - Communicated to Senate [HCR107 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2016-HCR107-Introduced.html
HOUSE RESOLUTION 107
(By Delegates Ellington, Summers, Atkinson, Householder, Stansbury, B. White and Campbell)
[Originating in the Committee on Health and Human Resources; Reported on March 8, 2016]
Requesting the Joint Committee on Government and Finance to study the civil commitment laws within West Virginia.
WHEREAS, Mental health is a state of emotional and psychological well-being in which an individual is able to use his or her cognitive and emotional capabilities, function in society, and meet the ordinary demands of everyday life, and
WHEREAS, A person struggling with his or her mental health may experience stress, depression, anxiety, relationship problems, grief, addiction, learning disabilities, mood disorders, or other mental illnesses of varying degrees often having to seek professional treatment, and
WHEREAS, Of West Virginia’s 1.5 million adult residents, 16,000 individuals have schizophrenia, and 32,000 individuals with severe bipolar disorder; and
WHEREAS, West Virginia had the 14th highest percentage of depression among adults in the nation, significantly higher than the U.S average; and
WHEREAS, Like every state, West Virginia has civil commitment laws that establish criteria for determining when involuntary treatment is appropriate for individuals with severe mental illness who cannot seek care voluntarily; and
WHEREAS, A minimum of 50 mental health beds per 100,000 people is considered necessary to provide minimally adequate treatment for individuals with severe mental illness. West Virginia fails to meet this minimum standard with only 14 beds per 100,000 people, and
WHEREAS, West Virginia incarcerates more individuals with severe mental illness than it hospitalizes, and
WHEREAS, West Virginia should make active use of the state’s civil commitment laws and other available options to provide more timely treatment to individuals in need of treatment for symptoms of psychiatric crisis and reduce the consequences of non-treatment on them, their families and their communities; and
WHEREAS, Assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) is a court-ordered, community based intervention for individuals with severe mental illness who cannot, on their own, recognize their need for treatment has emerged in the era of disappearing psychiatric hospitals as a less restrictive alternative to hospitalization for individuals with severe mental illness; and
WHEREAS, The Legislature needs to look at the availability of licensed psychiatrists and therapists within the State who specialize in the treatment of individuals with mental health issues in order to develop and sustain strong in-home, community mental health care and assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) in West Virginia; Therefore be it
Resolved by the House of Delegates:
That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance is hereby requested to study the state of mental health in West Virginia and the impact that it has on its citizens and their ability to be productive and sustainable members of this state thus improving their quality of life; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance report to the regular session of the Legislature, 2017, on findings, conclusions and recommendations, together with drafts of any necessary legislation necessary to effectuate its recommendations; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the expenses necessary to conduct this study, to prepare a report and to draft necessary legislation to be paid from legislative appropriations to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance.
