HF 2575

1st Engrossment - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to human services; limiting child mental 
  1.3             health screening to available appropriation; amending 
  1.4             Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, section 245.4874. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, section 
  1.7   245.4874, is amended to read: 
  1.8      245.4874 [DUTIES OF COUNTY BOARD.] 
  1.9      The county board in each county shall use its share of 
  1.10  mental health and Community Social Services Act funds allocated 
  1.11  by the commissioner according to a biennial children's mental 
  1.12  health component of the community social services plan that is 
  1.13  approved by the commissioner.  The county board must: 
  1.14     (1) develop a system of affordable and locally available 
  1.15  children's mental health services according to sections 245.487 
  1.16  to 245.4887; 
  1.17     (2) establish a mechanism providing for interagency 
  1.18  coordination as specified in section 245.4875, subdivision 6; 
  1.19     (3) develop a biennial children's mental health component 
  1.20  of the community social services plan which considers the 
  1.21  assessment of unmet needs in the county as reported by the local 
  1.22  children's mental health advisory council under section 
  1.23  245.4875, subdivision 5, paragraph (b), clause (3).  The county 
  1.24  shall provide, upon request of the local children's mental 
  1.25  health advisory council, readily available data to assist in the 
  2.1   determination of unmet needs; 
  2.2      (4) assure that parents and providers in the county receive 
  2.3   information about how to gain access to services provided 
  2.4   according to sections 245.487 to 245.4887; 
  2.5      (5) coordinate the delivery of children's mental health 
  2.6   services with services provided by social services, education, 
  2.7   corrections, health, and vocational agencies to improve the 
  2.8   availability of mental health services to children and the 
  2.9   cost-effectiveness of their delivery; 
  2.10     (6) assure that mental health services delivered according 
  2.11  to sections 245.487 to 245.4887 are delivered expeditiously and 
  2.12  are appropriate to the child's diagnostic assessment and 
  2.13  individual treatment plan; 
  2.14     (7) provide the community with information about predictors 
  2.15  and symptoms of emotional disturbances and how to access 
  2.16  children's mental health services according to sections 245.4877 
  2.17  and 245.4878; 
  2.18     (8) provide for case management services to each child with 
  2.19  severe emotional disturbance according to sections 245.486; 
  2.20  245.4871, subdivisions 3 and 4; and 245.4881, subdivisions 1, 3, 
  2.21  and 5; 
  2.22     (9) provide for screening of each child under section 
  2.23  245.4885 upon admission to a residential treatment facility, 
  2.24  acute care hospital inpatient treatment, or informal admission 
  2.25  to a regional treatment center; 
  2.26     (10) prudently administer grants and purchase-of-service 
  2.27  contracts that the county board determines are necessary to 
  2.28  fulfill its responsibilities under sections 245.487 to 245.4887; 
  2.29     (11) assure that mental health professionals, mental health 
  2.30  practitioners, and case managers employed by or under contract 
  2.31  to the county to provide mental health services are qualified 
  2.32  under section 245.4871; 
  2.33     (12) assure that children's mental health services are 
  2.34  coordinated with adult mental health services specified in 
  2.35  sections 245.461 to 245.486 so that a continuum of mental health 
  2.36  services is available to serve persons with mental illness, 
  3.1   regardless of the person's age; 
  3.2      (13) assure that culturally informed mental health 
  3.3   consultants are used as necessary to assist the county board in 
  3.4   assessing and providing appropriate treatment for children of 
  3.5   cultural or racial minority heritage; and 
  3.6      (14) consistent with section 245.486, arrange for or 
  3.7   provide a children's mental health screening to a child 
  3.8   receiving child protective services or a child in out-of-home 
  3.9   placement, a child for whom parental rights have been 
  3.10  terminated, a child found to be delinquent, and a child found to 
  3.11  have committed a juvenile petty offense for the third or 
  3.12  subsequent time, unless a screening has been performed within 
  3.13  the previous 180 days, or the child is currently under the care 
  3.14  of a mental health professional.  The court or county agency 
  3.15  must notify a parent or guardian whose parental rights have not 
  3.16  been terminated of the potential mental health screening and the 
  3.17  option to prevent the screening by notifying the court or county 
  3.18  agency in writing.  The screening shall be conducted with a 
  3.19  screening instrument approved by the commissioner of human 
  3.20  services according to criteria that are updated and issued 
  3.21  annually to ensure that approved screening instruments are valid 
  3.22  and useful for child welfare and juvenile justice populations, 
  3.23  and shall be conducted by a mental health practitioner as 
  3.24  defined in section 245.4871, subdivision 26, or a probation 
  3.25  officer or local social services agency staff person who is 
  3.26  trained in the use of the screening instrument.  Training in the 
  3.27  use of the instrument shall include training in the 
  3.28  administration of the instrument, the interpretation of its 
  3.29  validity given the child's current circumstances, the state and 
  3.30  federal data practices laws and confidentiality standards, the 
  3.31  parental consent requirement, and providing respect for families 
  3.32  and cultural values.  If the screen indicates a need for 
  3.33  assessment, the child's family, or if the family lacks mental 
  3.34  health insurance, the local social services agency, in 
  3.35  consultation with the child's family, shall have conducted a 
  3.36  diagnostic assessment, including a functional assessment, as 
  4.1   defined in section 245.4871.  The administration of the 
  4.2   screening shall safeguard the privacy of children receiving the 
  4.3   screening and their families and shall comply with the Minnesota 
  4.4   Government Data Practices Act, chapter 13, and the federal 
  4.5   Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, 
  4.6   Public Law 104-191.  Screening results shall be considered 
  4.7   private data and the commissioner shall not collect individual 
  4.8   screening results.