ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Phoenix, Arizona
state hospital; capacity;
allocation formula
Transfers the responsibility
of establishing civil and forensic census bed capacities at the Arizona State
Hospital (ASH) from the Legislature to the Department of Health Services (DHS).
According to DHS, a single
occurrence of over-census in a single treatment unit can jeopardize the
certification and/or accreditation of ASH.
In order to maintain certification and accreditation, ASH must comply
with federal and state standards of various regulatory agencies such as the
federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Joint Commission on the
Accreditation of Health Care Organizations and the DHS division of assurance
and licensure services.
In an attempt to reduce the
reoccurrence of overcrowding and avoid violations of licensing standards that
can lead to the loss of ASH’s certification, the Legislature established a
temporary census cap for the adult restoration to competency and juvenile
treatment programs (Laws 1999, Chapter 255).
Last year, the Legislature continued the census caps on those two
populations, established census caps for the civil commitment treatment program
and established a process allowing ASH to temporarily defer admission to the
guilty except insane treatment program (Laws 2001, Chapter 244).
For part of 2001, ASH did
not have census caps because the Legislature did not identify the caps for
these programs in the general appropriations act as required by statute. Census caps were included in the FY
2001-2002 budget revisions legislation that passed during the 2001 Second
Special Session. S.B. 1149 attempts to
prevent a future lapse in census caps by eliminating the responsibility of the
Legislature to identify these caps in the general appropriations act and
requiring DHS to establish an allocation formula for the civil and forensic
treatment programs based on census data collected by ASH.
According to DHS, the
provisions of this bill have a minimal cost, which can be absorbed by the
agency’s existing budget.
1. Requires ASH to collect census data for the restoration to competency, juvenile and guilty except insane treatment programs to establish the maximum capacity for each program.
2. Eliminates the requirement of the Legislature to identify the maximum capacity of the restoration to competency and juvenile treatment programs in the general appropriations act.
3. Requires the deputy director of the Division of Behavioral Health Services to establish a maximum funded capacity and an allocation formula for the forensic and civil populations at ASH.
4. Requires, by August 1 each year, the deputy director to notify the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the chairman of each county board of supervisors of the funded capacity and allocation formula for the fiscal year.
5. Extends, until July 1, 2004, the conditions on capacities at ASH for the restoration to competency and the juvenile treatment programs.
6. Delays the repeal of the conditions on the admission to the civil commitment and guilty except insane treatment programs from July 1, 2002 to July 1, 2004.
7. Makes conforming and technical changes.
8. Contains a retroactivity clause of July 1, 2002.
9. Provides for a general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Staff
February 1, 2002