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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh Legislature, First Regular Session
mental health transition program; extension
Purpose
Extends the Mental Health Transition Pilot Program (Pilot Program) for five years.
Background
Laws 2021, Chapter 403 required the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry (ADCRR) to establish and administer the Pilot Program for up to 500 eligible inmates each fiscal year. ADCRR must contract with private or nonprofit entities to provide the eligible inmates with mental health transition services. ADCRR may refer an inmate who has a mental health condition to be placed in the Pilot Program. For an inmate to be eligible, at a minimum, the inmate must agree to provide specific information, be diagnosed as seriously mentally ill and, on release, be eligible for Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) benefits. The Director of ADCRR must adopt rules regulating the Pilot Program that include: 1) the eligibility criteria for an inmate; 2) requiring that an eligible inmate be offered services including health care assistance to obtain AHCCCS-funded services, case management, housing and psychiatric management; and 3) requiring that each eligible inmate receive services in the Pilot Program for at least 90 days. An inmate who is in the Pilot Program may not be released before the inmate's earliest release date. The Mental Health Program is repealed on July 1, 2026.
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Extends the Mental Health Program for five years.
2. Repeals the Mental Health Program on July 1, 2031, rather than July 1, 2026.
3. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Research
February 17, 2025
KJA/sdr