No. HB 155
Filed under Healthcare.
Mental Health Programs for Gun Violence Prevention; Requires IMPACT GVN of City of Gainesville, in collaboration with others, to develop & implement Gun Violence Prevention Pilot Program; provides eligibility & program requirements; provides alternatives to incarceration for specified youth; provides for referrals to specified programs; requires City of Gainesville, in collaboration with Alachua County, to annually submit specified report to IMPACT GVN of City of Gainesville by specified date; requires IMPACT GVN of City of Gainesville to report specified information to Governor & Legislature by specified date; provides for future repeal of pilot program. APPROPRIATION: $500,000
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDA new four-year pilot program in Gainesville will offer mental health services - individual, group, and family therapy, trauma treatment, and mediation training - to young people age 10 to 21 who are at risk of gun violence as either a victim or an offender.
Family members of an eligible young person can also join the program, and participants already in the juvenile delinquency system or on probation get added help toward a GED, job training, or steady employment.
The pilot also creates three referral tracks - to a dependency program, a diversion program, and a firearm-offender class - steering some participants toward these alternative tracks instead of standard delinquency processing.
Gainesville and Alachua County must report participation and outcome data every year starting in 2027, and the entire program - along with its $500,000 in one-time state funding - is set to expire on June 30, 2030.
AIAnyone age 10 to 21 at moderate or high risk of being a gun violence victim, an offender who caused bodily harm or death, or a person returning from juvenile detention can enroll in the pilot program, along with their family members.
AIParticipants get access to a defined menu of services: individual, group, and family therapy, trauma-focused treatment, art and music therapy, substance abuse treatment, mediation training, and resilience training, plus GED, job training, or employment help for those in the delinquency system.
AIThe pilot creates three specific referral paths: to a dependency program through the public defender's office, to a chapter 985 diversion program through the state attorney's office, and to a firearm-offender class through the Department of Juvenile Justice.
AIGainesville and Alachua County must report participation and outcome data annually starting October 31, 2027, and IMPACT GNV must report to the Governor and legislative leaders by December 31 each year, but the entire section expires on June 30, 2030.
AIThe one-time $500,000 for this act is appropriated to the Department of Children and Families, an agency not otherwise named anywhere in the pilot program's creation, eligibility, service, or reporting provisions.