Ch. 303                                    2004 LAWS OF MARYLAND

committees of the General Assembly on a certain matter on or before a certain
date; and generally relating to the Mental Hygiene Administration and the
Community Based Services Fund community-based services.

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments,
Article - Health - General
Section 7-206(b) and 10-208
Annotated Code of Maryland
(2000 Replacement Volume and 2003 Supplement)

Preamble

WHEREAS, The mission of the Mental Hygiene Administration is to create
and manage a coordinated, comprehensive, accessible, culturally sensitive, and age
appropriate system of publicly-funded services and supports for individuals who are
diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder; and

WHEREAS, One of the stated values of the Mental Hygiene Administration is
that, "services should be provided in the least restrictive, most normative, and most
appropriate setting"; and

WHEREAS, The Supreme Court held in the 1999 Olmstead v. L.C. decision
that, "under Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act, States are required to
provide community-based treatment for persons with mental disabilities in
community settings when the State's treatment professionals have determined that
such placement is appropriate, the affected persons do not oppose such treatment,
and the placement can be reasonably accommodated, taking into account the
resources available to the State"; and

WHEREAS, The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's October 2003
Report to the Joint Chairmen on Maryland's Public Mental Health System on
Restructuring the System of Hospital Care concluded that the State may consolidate
its three existing regional psychiatric hospitals in central Maryland to two hospitals
while continuing to meet the needs of individuals diagnosed with a psychiatric
disorder; and

WHEREAS, To ensure that Maryland meets its obligation to provide
treatment for persons with mental disabilities in community settings where
appropriate, the savings associated with consolidation and closure need to be
allocated to the Mental Hygiene Administration's Community-Based Services Fund
to provide community services to individuals who are ready for discharge from a State
psychiatric hospital, and to expand the access to community services to prevent the
unnecessary use of costly hospital care and to promote independence and recovery;
now, therefore,

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
MARYLAND, That the Laws of Maryland read as follows:

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