§ 7256. Reporting requirements

Notwithstanding 2 V.S.A. § 20(d), the Department of Mental Health shall report annually on or before January 15 to the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare and the House Committee on Human Services regarding the extent to which individuals with a mental health condition or psychiatric disability receive care in the most integrated and least restrictive setting available. The Department shall consider measures from a variety of sources, including the Joint Commission, the National Quality Forum, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The report shall address:

(1) use of services across the continuum of mental health services;

(2) adequacy of the capacity at each level of care across the continuum of mental health services;

(3) individual experience of care and satisfaction;

(4) individual recovery in terms of clinical, social, and legal results;

(5) performance of the State's mental health system of care as compared to nationally recognized standards of excellence;

(6) ways in which patient autonomy and self-determination are maximized within the context of involuntary treatment and medication;

(7) performance measures that demonstrate results and other data on individuals for whom petitions for involuntary medication are filed; and

(8) progress on alternative treatment options across the system of care for individuals seeking to avoid or reduce reliance on medications, including supported withdrawal from medications. (Added 2011, No. 79 (Adj. Sess.), § 1a, eff. April 4, 2012; amended 2013, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 101; 2013, No. 192 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 2015, No. 11, § 19.)