SENATE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

January 29, 2003 Hearing Room 343

9:00 a.m. Tapes 9 - 10

MEMBERS PRESENT: Sen. John Minnis, Chair

Sen. Ginny Burdick, Vice-Chair

Sen. Ted Ferrioli

Sen. Charlie Ringo

Sen. Charles Starr

Sen. Vicki Walker

GUEST MEMBERS: Rep. Billy Dalto

Rep. Jeff Kruse

Rep. Carolyn Tomei

Rep. Monnes Anderson

Rep. Ben Westlund

STAFF PRESENT: Bill Taylor, Counsel

Jane Bodenweiser, Committee Assistant

MEASURE/ISSUES HEARD: Informational Meeting

“People with Mental Illness in our Criminal Justice System”

These minutes are in compliance with Senate and House Rules. Only text enclosed in quotation marks reports a speaker’s exact words. For complete contents, please refer to the tapes.

TAPE/#	Speaker	Comments
TAPE 9, A
005	Chair Minnis	Calls the meeting to order at 9:15 am and introduces the guest members of the committee on Health and Human Services.
010	Daniel Souweine	Council of State Governments, New York. Introduces the three presenters: Dr. Fred Osher, Captain John Caceci and Dr. David Wertheimer.
055	Dr. Fred Osher	Center for Behavioral Health, Justice & Public Safety. Shares how other communities are dealing with mental health in the criminal justice system. Gives a power point presentation (EXHIBIT A).
135	Rep. Kruse	Asks for clarification of “ETOH”.
136	Osher	Says it is alcohol.
139	Osher	Continues his presentation.
151	Sen. Ringo	Asks about the violence issue.
159	Osher	Says violence mainly comes from seeking funds to support a habit.
174	Osher	Continues his presentation. Says people with mental illness have a higher rate of repeat incarceration.
274	Rep. Dalto	Asks for success stories.
284	Osher	Says there are some and will be some discussed.
333	Capt. John Caceci	Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Monroe County, New York. Discusses the criminal justice perspective. Gives examples of the Monroe County Jail’s mentally ill population.
TAPE 10, A
003	Caceci	Continues his presentation. Discusses release planning.
067	Osher	Introduces some solutions to the mental health crisis through the “Consensus Project”.
111	Osher	Discusses the fiscal implications to the mental health budget.
130	Dr. David Wertheimer	Principal, Kelly Point Partners, Seattle, WA. Talks about the “price tags” when people with mental illness become involved in the criminal justice system. Discusses the “Dan Van Ho” case.
297	Rep. Tomei	Asks how Dan Van Ho could have been kept incarcerated.
300	Wertheimer	Explains the evaluation process.
365	Wertheimer	Discusses programs started in Washington State to help the mentally ill offender.
TAPE 9, B
015	Chair Minnis	Talks about the failure of the criminal justice system in helping the mentally ill.
028	Vice Chair Burdick	Asks about diverting funds from other programs to assist the mentally ill.
035	Wertheimer	Gives an example of a program in Washington State.
087	Chair Minnis	Thanks the presenters for their time. Adjourns the meeting at 10: 20 a.m.

EXHIBIT SUMMARY

A – Printed material presented by Fred Osher, MD, Captain John Caceci, and David

Wertheimer, 44 pp