The Children and Families Committee will hear the final report on its contracted mental health study during an Oct. 14 meeting. DMA Health Strategies of Massachusetts will present the report, while state agency staff and the public will have a chance to comment on the findings and recommendations. After hearing from agencies and the public, the committee will decide how to proceed with the report's recommendations.
During its six-month study, DMA has gathered information from consumers and other stakeholders through the use of interviews, surveys, and focus groups. It also has analyzed data on the use of mental health services in Montana.
The 2007 Legislature approved the study during its May 2007 special session, when it authorized a line-item appropriation of $200,000 in House Bill 2 for "an interim study of mental health." A study resolution initially related to the appropriation was introduced as Senate Joint Resolution 27 in the regular session. The Legislative Council in September 2007 approved a study plan calling for the hiring of a consulting firm to conduct the study, which was assigned to the Children, Families, Health, and Human Services Interim Committee. The committee had agreed in June 2007 to ask that the Council assign the study to the committee.
