An Act To Improve Conditions for Inmates with Mental Illness
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 0475
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: GERZOFSKY, DAGGETT, BLANCHETTE, BRANNIGAN, CANA VAN, DUDLEY, GREELEY, O'BRIEN, RINES, TWOMEY
Amends: 34-A MRSA §3002

12lst MAINE LEGISLATURE 
Legislative Document 
No. 475 
H.P.367 
House of Representatives, February 4,2003 
An Act To Improve Conditions for Inmates with Mental Illness 
Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered 
printed. 
Presented by Representative GERZOFSKY of Brunswick. 
Cosponsored by President DAGGETT of Kennebec and 
111~ 
/J7.1l}tc~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: BLANCHETTE of Bangor, BRANNIGAN of Portland, CANA VAN of 
Waterville, DUDLEY of Portland, GREELEY of Levant, O'BRIEN of Lewiston, RINES of 
Wiscasset, TWOMEY of Biddeford. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
PART A 
Sec. A-I. Additional beds. 
The Department of Behavioral and 
Developmental 
Services 
shall 
construct 
the 
new 
Riverview 
Psychiatric Center according to the expanded footprint design. 
adding no more than 20 beds to the hospital's capacity. 
These 
beds must be used as swing beds to accommodate the forensic and 
civil commitment needs of the State. 
Forensic beds must be made 
available to county j ail inmates who have been determined to be 
in 
need 
of 
inpatient 
psychiatric 
treatment. 
Jail 
inmates 
determined to be in need of psychiatric treatment may not be 
transferred to the Maine State Prison. 
PARTB 
Sec. 
B-1. 
Appropriations 
and 
allocations. 
appropriations and allocations are made. 
The 
following 
BEHAVIORAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL 
SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF 
Mental Health Services -
Community 
Initiative: 
Provides 
funds 
for 
county jail mental 
illness 
treatment pilot programs 
to 
fund jail diversion. 
discharge 
planning and mental health services to persons with mental 
illness in 3 county correctional facilities. 
The funds will be 
issued via a request for proposal allocating $100,000 for each 
pilot. 
General Fund 
All Other 
PARTe 
2003-04 
$300.000 
Sec. C-I. Forensic training for mental health workers and corrections 
officers. 
The Department of Corrections shall establish a training 
program designed to provide specialized forensic training to case 
management 
and 
community 
support 
providers 
and 
providers 
of 
crisis and outpatient mental health services in order to increase 
awareness of the criminal justice issues associated with the 
treatment of persons with mental illness who are incarcerated. 
The department shall provide, no later than January 30. 2004, a 
report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having 
jurisdiction over criminal justice matters on the development and 
implementation of the training program. 
The department shall 
ensure that all corrections officers, including those working in 
county jails, receive at least 8 hours of training about mental 
illness and substance abuse, including information about suicide 
prevention and techniques for calming inmates with mental health 
disorders. 
Sec. C-2. Discharge planning training for corrections officers. 
The 
Department of Corrections shall establish a 
training program 
designed 
to 
teach 
corrections 
officers 
assigned 
to 
inmate 
discharge planning about the services and supports available in 
the 
State 
for 
inmates 
with 
diagnoses 
of 
mental 
illness 
or 
substance 
abuse, 
or both, 
and 
how 
to 
develop 
and 
implement 
appropr iate discharge plans. 
The department shall provide, 
no 
later than January 30, 
2004, 
a 
report to the joint standing 
committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over criminal 
justice matters 
on the development 
and implementation of the 
training program. 
PARTD 
Sec. D-l. 34-A MRSA §3002, as amended by PL 1989, c. 503, 
Pt. B, §159, is further amended to read: 
§3002. Boards of visitors 
1. 
Appointment. The Governor shall appoint a board of 
visitors for each correctional facility under the department, as 
authorized by Title 5, section 12004-I, subsection 5. 
A. 
The terms of the members of the boards of visitors are 
for one year. 
B. 
Members 
of the boards of visitors are eligible for 
reappointment at the expiration of their terms. 
The boards 
of visitors must be 
representative of 
a 
broad range of 
professionals, family members and citizens interested in the 
well-being 
of 
prisoners, 
including 
representatives 
of 
advocacy groups 
for 
human 
and civil rights, medical 
and 
psychiatric 
professionals, 
persons 
who 
have 
served 
in 
corrections settings and other interested citizens. 
c. 
Ne A member of the Legislature may not serve on any 
board of visitors. 
D. 
Each member of the boards of visitors 
6Ra±± 
compensated according to the provisions of Title 5, 
379. 
must be 
chapter 
2. 
Powers. 
Each 
board 
of 
visitors 
may 
inspect 
the 
correctional facility to which it is assigned, may interview any 
prisoner and may make recommendations on the management of the 
facility or any other matter it considers appropriate to the 
commissioner. 
Each board shall report its findings under 
thi~; 
subsection 
to 
the 
commissioner, 
the 
Governor 
and 
the 
joint 
standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over 
criminal justice matters by January 5th of each year. 
All use o[ 
administrative segregation that lasts beyond 72 hours for inmates 
with histories of mental illness or substance abuse disorders, or 
both, must be reported to the board of visitors, and the board 
shall examine the need for the inmate's continued administrative 
segregation and make recommendations regarding the administrative 
segregation's impact on the inmate's health and well-being. 
The 
annual report must include a 
summary of the frequency of such 
segregation and the board's evaluation of its impact on prisoners. 
3. 
Duties. Boards of visitors have the following duties. 
A. 
Boards 
of 
visitors 
shall 
send 
copies 
of 
all 
recommendations 
to 
the 
members 
of 
the 
joint 
standing 
committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over aealta 
aa9-iastit~tieaal-seFviees criminal justice matters. 
B. 
Each board of visitors shall appear before the joint 
standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction 
over aealta--an9--institytienal--seFviees 
criminal 
iustice 
matters upon request. 
PARTE 
Sec. E·1. 30·A MRSA §165L as enacted by PL 1987, c. 737, Ft. 
A, §2 and Pt. C, §106 and amended by PL 1989, c. 6, c. 9, §2 and 
c. 104, Pt. C, §§8 and 10, is repealed and the following enacted 
in its place: 
§1651. Examination of jails: boards of visitors 
1. 
Examination. 
At 
the 
commencement 
required by law, the county commissioners shall 
in their county and take necessary precautions 
of prisoners, for the prevention of infection 
for the accommodations of the prisoners. 
of 
each 
session 
examine the jail 
for the security 
and sickness and 
2. 
Appointment. 
The chair of the county commissioners for 
each 
county 
shall 
appoint 
a 
board 
of 
visitors 
for 
each 
correctional facility under their supervision. 
A. 
Members of boards of visitors serve for terms of one 
} 
B. 
Members 
of the boards of visitors are eligible for 
reappointment at the expiration of their terms. 
The boards 
of visitors must 
be 
representative of 
a 
broad 
range of 
professionals, family members and citizens interested in the 
well-being 
of 
prisoners, 
including 
representatives 
of 
advocacy groups for 
human 
and civil rights, 
medical 
and 
psychiatric 
professionals, 
persons 
who 
have 
served 
in 
corrections settings and other interested citizens. 
C. 
A member of the Legislature may not serve on a board of 
visitors. 
3. 
Powers. 
Each 
board 
of 
visitors 
may 
inspect 
the 
correctional facility to which it is assigned, 
interview any 
prisoner 
and 
make 
recommendations 
on 
the 
management 
of 
the 
facility or any other matter it considers appropriate to the 
county commissioners. 
Each board shall report to the county 
commissioners, 
the 
Commissioner 
of Corrections 
and 
the 
joint 
standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over 
criminal justice matters by January 5th of each year. 
All use of 
administrative segregation that lasts beyond 72 hours for inmates 
with histories of mental illness or substance abuse disorders, or 
both, must be reported to the board of visitors, and the board 
shall examine the need for the inmate's continued administrative 
segregation and make recommendations regarding the administrative 
segregation's impact on the inmate's health and well-being. 
The 
annual report must include 
d 
summary of the frequency of such 
segregation and the board's evaluation of its impact on prisoners. 
4. 
Duties. 
Boards of visitors have the following duties. 
A. 
Boards 
of 
visitors 
shall 
send 
copies 
of 
all 
recommendations 
to 
the 
members 
of 
the 
joint 
standing 
commi ttee 
of 
the 
Legislature 
having 
jurisdiction 
over 
criminal justice matters. 
B. 
Each board of visitors shall appear before the joint 
standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction 
over criminal justice matters upon request. 
PARTF 
Sec. F-l. 30·A MRSA §1557-A. sub-§6, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 
647, §5, is amended to read: 
6. 
Commissioner 
of 
Corrections 
to 
determine 
temporary 
housing assignments. 
If a county that does not have a jailor 
has a jail that is not fully certified is unable to locate space 
in any other county facility for 
an adult or 
juvenile, 
that 
county may contact the Commissioner of Corrections for approval 
to 
obtain 
temporary 
housing 
ln 
a 
correctional 
or 
detention 
facili ty operated by the Department of Corrections. 
The sending 
county shall contact each other county facility in a continuing 
effort to 
locate placement ln 
a 
county facility. 
When 
the 
sending county locates available space in a county facility, the 
sheriff of the sending county shall transfer the person from the 
department's correctional or detention facility and place the 
person in the county facility except that, if an inmate in a 
county jail has been determined by an appropriate medical 
mental health professional to need inpatient treatment because 
the inmate is a danger to self or others or at imminent risk of 
harm due to the inmate's inability to care for that inmate, the 
commissioner may not place this inmate in any setting other than 
a forensic hospital. 
SUMMARY 
This bill accomplishes the following. 
1. 
It 
directs 
the 
Department 
of 
Behavioral 
and 
Developmental 
Services 
to 
add 
no 
more 
than 
beds 
to 
the 
capacity of the Riverview Psychiatric Center, to be used as swing 
beds to accommodate the forensic and civil commitment needs of 
the State. 
2. 
It 
appropriates 
$300,000 
for 
county 
mental 
illness 
treatment pilot programs. 
3. 
It directs the Department of Corrections to establish 
;'1 
training 
program 
to 
provide 
specialized 
training 
to 
case 
management 
and 
community 
support 
providers 
and 
providers 
of 
mental health services. 
4. 
It directs the board of visitors for each 
facility to report annually to the Commissioner of 
the Governor and the Legislature. 
It requires that 
lengthy 
administrative 
segregation 
for 
certain 
reported to the appropriate board of visitors. 
5. 
It 
establishes 
boards 
of 
visitors 
correctional facilities. 
correctional 
Corrections, 
all uses of 
inmates 
bo 
for 
county 
6. 
It requires that an inmate in a county 
by a 
medical or mental health professional to 
treatment be placed in a forensic hospital bed. 
jail determined 
need inpatient 
!