A bill to address some gaps and bring more funding to the state’s mental health system is headed to Governor Kay Ivey’s desk after passing in the state legislature last week.

The legislation allows counties to access some opioid settlement funds for mental health treatment by creating a co-occurring diagnosis of substance abuse and mental health problems, said sponsor Rep. Russell Bedsole, R-Alabaster.

“A lot of people who are suffering from some sort of mental health diagnosis tend to self-medicate in an attempt to cope,” he said.

The legislation also improves the state’s commitment process by increasing probate judges’ flexibility and reach in helping people with mental health problems navigate the criminal justice system.

Probate judges would make joint decisions with judges overseeing defendants’ criminal cases under the bill. This way, judges have the flexibility to pause criminal proceedings to allow defendants to get mental health treatment.

Sonny Brasfield, executive director of the Association of County Commissions of Alabama, said his organization helped steer the legislation.

“In most communities, you have a commitment hearing and the family’s crying out for help for one of their family members,” he said.

“I think that what we’re trying to do is give probate judges some additional tools to try to help those who are in mental health crisis.”

A survey of all 67 probate judges in Alabama revealed that all but two or three said their greatest challenge was interacting with the mentally ill during the commitment process, according to Brasfield.

Under the bill, probate judges would have jurisdiction over the cases of mentally ill people even if they subsequently leave the county, and it permits hearings to occur without a mentally ill person present if that person is not able to attend, due to hospitalization or another reason.

Holly McCorkle, Executive Director of the Alabama Council for Behavioral Healthcare, said the legislation is a step in the right direction. Yet she noted that while the state has created six new mental health crisis centers in recent years, a significant need remains for funding for more institutional beds for the mentally ill.

“I believe the conversation has started this year,” she said, adding that the question of funding more beds came up, “I hope that maybe that would be something they would look to in future years.”