The Task Force Report has been reviewed by a number of legislative committees in the opening weeks of the session.  The Task Force was created by the Kansas Legislature in 2017 and 2018.  The 2018 budget proviso directs the Task Force to create a strategic plan that addresses the recommendations of the 2018 Mental Health Task Force Report and also to ascertain the total number of psychiatric beds needed in Kansas to most effectively deliver mental health services and the location where such services would be best provided.  The Report includes the results of a statewide bed study commissioned by the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services that asserts Kansas needs up to 221 additional inpatient beds to serve its population.  The Report recommends adding 36 to 60 inpatient beds to the system in the next 24 months in order to end the moratorium on admissions at Osawatomie State Hospital, along with investments in the current state hospitals to provide quality treatment and stabilize staffing.  Task Force members envisioned beds that could be available regionally and in underserved areas.

The 2019 Report includes a strategic plan detailing 23 recommendations that build on the 2018 Report – including action steps, timing considerations, implementation timeline, budget estimates, and the agencies and organizations likely to be responsible for implementation.

Several members of the Task Force are members of the Kansas Mental Health Coalition.  Amy Campbell, KMHC Lobbyist, was asked to help present an overview of the report to several legislative committees, including Senate Ways and Means, Senate Public Health and Welfare, and the House Social Services Budget Committee.   Read the Mental Health Task Force Overview,  Kansas Health Institute overview of the process  2019 Mental Health Task Force Report