House Bill 249 would amend state law regarding court-ordered involuntary treatment of the mentally ill.
TOLEDO, Ohio – An Ohio bill in its early stages is getting mixed reviews across the state.
House Bill 249 would amend current laws related to mental health treatment, as it would make changes to the law regarding “pink slip” individuals enforcing the Involuntary Treatment of Persons with Mental Illness Act, by order of the court.
“To me, their response is a band-aid approach to solving real issues,” said Scott Sylak, executive director of the Lucas County Board of Mental Health and Recovery Services.
The bill, sponsored by Brett Hudson Hillyer (R-Uhrichsville) and former Rep. State Rep. Tavia Galonski proposes creating a new category under which a person can be considered in need of mental health treatment.
As it currently stands, the main categories for law enforcement to consider when responding to a crisis include whether an individual:
- Refuses and/or does not adhere to treatment
- Represents significant harm to self or others
The proposed addition of HB 249 would be for psychiatric impairment.
“The solution they’re proposing is not going to help,” said Kerstin Sjoberg, executive director of Disability Rights Ohio. “In fact, it can make problems worse by forcing people into an inadequate system where they can end up languishing in prisons and other places because they can’t get treatment.”
In the past, law enforcement could place individuals in jail after receiving calls for mental health crises and individuals who fit the aforementioned categories.
The bill has a new way of handling these cases.
“Instead of arresting them for whatever their actions are, they can strip them and take them to the hospital,” Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn said.
This depends on the availability of hospital beds, a concern the police understand is real.
“This is a national issue,” Wasylyshyn said. “It’s not a Wood County issue, it’s not a northwest Ohio issue or an Ohio issue. This is a national issue that we don’t have the mental health beds that we need for people and that’s why they’re sitting in jail in instead of getting the treatments they need”.
However, not everyone is against the bill. Luke Russell, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Ohio, told WTOL 11 in a statement that one of the reasons for supporting the bill is “If hospitalization is necessary, the amount of time it takes to stabilize the person in the hospital is significantly less than if the person were in a full-blown psychiatric crisis, thereby freeing up psychiatric hospital beds for more acute patients.”
However, Katrina Kapp, a substance abuse survivor who has experienced pink slips before, says this bill will do more harm than good.
“We need to put the heart back into our communities and really tap into that compassion and care,” Kapp said. “This bill isn’t showing that. It’s causing an even greater divide, and the inequality will just be glaring.”
HB 249 is moving through House committees, which plan to be in session in Columbus on May 30, June 4 and June 5.
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