TAMPA, Fla. — Governor Ron DeSantis signed two bills aimed at helping with mental health and substance abuse resources in Tampa.
On Wednesday, DeSantis signed SB 168, the "Tristan Murphy Act," which focuses on helping counties and municipalities establish mental health diversion programs to prevent people who are mentally ill from being put in prison.
ABC Action News anchor Wendy Ryan sat down with President and CEO of the Crisis Center Clara Reynolds to talk about the bills
The governor said the program will require mental health evaluations for people with a history of court rulings of mental incompetency before being placed on probation.
State Bill 168 is also intended to expand the Criminal Justice, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Reinvestment Grant Program.
DeSantis also signed SB 1620, which standardizes clinical mental health assessments used by providers and school mental health programs. The law is also intended to help improve discharge planning from treatment facilities, build specialized mobile crisis response services for seniors, and evaluate telehealth availability.
At the bill signing, the governor announced the name change of the Florida Mental Health Institute at the University of South Florida to the Senator Darryl E. Rouson Center for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Research.
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