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Committee advances bill to require biennial performance audits of community mental health centers
Summary
Senate Bill 2445 would direct the Department of Mental Health to develop performance standards and carry out biennial audits of community mental health centers; failure to meet standards could trigger six-month probation and temporary replacement of leadership. The bill was reported out with a motion to add a reverse repealer to continue work on implementation details.
Senate Bill 2445, presented by Senator Boyd and explained by Wendy Bailey of the Department of Mental Health (DMH), would establish a formal performance audit process for community mental health centers (CMHCs).
"My name is Wendy Bailey. I'm the executive director of the Department of Mental Health," Bailey said. She said DMH would develop performance standards by June 30, 2027, and begin conducting formal audits in FY28 at least once every two years. The audits would examine compliance with operational standards, fidelity reviews of core services, fiscal audits and key performance measures such as caseloads, crisis stabilization and diversion numbers.
Bailey told the committee that roughly a third of CMHCs are very strong, a third are in the middle, and a third have issues that need work; several centers are struggling financially. She said DMH provides roughly 75% of grant funds to CMHCs (about $100 million in grant funds across the state, of which approximately $57–60 million is state general funds and the remainder federal), and county contributions total about $9–10 million.
Under the bill, a CMHC that fails an audit would be placed on six months’ probation; failure to improve could lead DMH to bring in contractors to replace executive leadership temporarily. Bailey and senators emphasized the measure is intended to preserve local governance while giving the state a path to intervene in cases of sustained failure.
Senators asked about appeals and due process; Bailey said CMHCs already submit plans of correction under existing operational standards and may appeal first to the DMH executive director and then to the full state Board of Mental Health. To allow additional time for technical refinement, the committee adopted a motion to insert a reverse repealer and deferred final language work, then reported the bill out of committee.
The committee recorded the motion to add a reverse repealer and then approved the bill for reporting; no roll-call vote was recorded in the transcript.
