Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 3; Title 9; Title 33 and Title 41.

This bill requires the department of mental health and substance abuse services to create a behavioral health jail diversion grant program and a community crisis response grant program, subject to appropriation to the jail diversion fund. This bill creates the jail diversion fund as a separate account in the general fund. This bill defines "behavioral health jail diversion program" as a program under which an individual with a behavioral health disorder who otherwise would have been arrested or processed through the traditional criminal justice system is instead rerouted away from the criminal justice system, pre-arrest or post-arrest and before jail incarceration or conviction. This bill defines "community crisis response" as a program in which appropriate calls to a 911 service and other existing crisis lines are responded to by one or more community crisis responder clinicians or community crisis responder peers, alone or, when public safety needs require, with law enforcement, for the purposes of stabilization, de-escalation, harm reduction, screening and assessment, and connection to mental health.<br /> <br /> This bill sets out in detail requirements of the department in establishing the grant programs and requirements for local governments that receive grants.<br /> <br /> Under this bill, the department, using half of appropriated funds, gifts, grants, and other donations, will create the behavioral health jail diversion program to provide competitive grants to assist local units of government that apply according to the criteria outlined in this bill. Within available resources, the department will form a mental health diversion council within the department or task an appropriate division or office within the department with the responsibilities identified in this bill to such division or office. The department will distribute grants to local units of government to establish or expand behavioral health jail diversion programs in coordination between community agencies and law enforcement agencies. This bill requires the department to give priority to local units of government in counties without an urbanized area of at least 50,000 residents and to programs that adhere to best practices as identified by the council.<br /> <br /> Subject to appropriation to the jail diversion fund, the department will create the community crisis response grant program, in accordance with the recommendations of the council, using half of appropriated funds, gifts, grants, and other donations, to provide competitive grants to assist local units of government that apply according to the criteria outlined in this bill. <br /> <br /> No later than September 30, 2023, and annually after that, the department must compile and submit an annual report for each of the programs to the chief clerks of the senate and house for distribution to the finance, ways and means committees, judiciary committees, and health committees of each house. The department must also publish a copy of the report on the department's website. This bill sets out in detail the information to be included in the report.<br />