House adds $1.4m for mental health

The amendment, which passed 155 to 0, adds tens of thousands of dollars for the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, acute mental health services, independent living assistance services, and services for the deaf and hard of hearing.

The consolidated amendment authorized the Department of Mental Health to access $5.6 million in “one time trust fund monies’’ — which Dempsey said had been identified as House members reviewed the budget — to “expand community services,’’ including about $558,000 for clubhouses. Those funds would only become accessible after the department issues a report on the number of residents at inpatient facilities expected to be discharged in the upcoming fiscal year. The amendment also adds $500,000 for contracted autism services and requires at least $3 million of funds in that item be spent on a “Children’s Autism Spectrum Disorder Waiver.’’

In addition, the amendment includes a policy change that would require the Patrick administration to detail its plans for closing any of its major developmental disability inpatient facilities, the Fernald Center in Waltham, the Glavin Regional Center in Shrewsbury, the Monson Developmental Center in Palmer, and the Templeton Developmental Center in Baldwinville.

Lawmakers excluded from the proposal an amendment filed by state Representative Ann Gobi, Democrat of Spencer, that would have required independent study before Glavin, Monson, and Templeton could be closed. During a discussion of the amendment, Gobi said she looked forward to a hearing later in the year on whether to delay the closure of the facilities.

The Association of Development Disabilities Providers had argued against the amendment, saying that the large institutions that serve developmentally disabled patients — there are six institutions across the state — have become “expensive and inefficient to operate.’’