1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to mental health; establishing a children's 
  1.3             mental health screening, diagnosis, and treatment 
  1.4             demonstration project administered by the commissioner 
  1.5             of health; requiring a report to the legislature; 
  1.6             appropriating money. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  [CHILDREN'S MENTAL HEALTH SCREENING, DIAGNOSIS, 
  1.9   AND TREATMENT DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.] 
  1.10     Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT.] The commissioner of health 
  1.11  shall administer a demonstration project that provides grants to 
  1.12  fund children's mental health screening, diagnosis, and 
  1.13  treatment activities in selected areas of the state.  The 
  1.14  purposes of this project are to identify children at risk for 
  1.15  developing a mental health disorder and provide timely 
  1.16  intervention services before the disorder becomes a significant 
  1.17  disability for those children and to ensure that children with 
  1.18  evidence of a mental health disorder are accurately diagnosed 
  1.19  and provided with mental health treatment.  A grant recipient 
  1.20  must use the grant funds to conduct all of the following 
  1.21  activities: 
  1.22     (1) screen children in a designated geographic area for 
  1.23  evidence of a mental health disorder or evidence of risk 
  1.24  indicators, including but not limited to substance abuse 
  1.25  problems, for developing a mental health disorder; 
  1.26     (2) conduct diagnostic evaluations of children who exhibit 
  2.1   evidence of a mental health disorder and children who are at 
  2.2   risk for developing a mental health disorder; 
  2.3      (3) identify children who have previously been diagnosed 
  2.4   with a mental health disorder but who are not receiving mental 
  2.5   health treatment; 
  2.6      (4) provide intervention services to children who are at 
  2.7   risk for developing a mental health disorder; and 
  2.8      (5) provide appropriate mental health treatment to children 
  2.9   diagnosed with a mental health disorder. 
  2.10     Subd. 2.  [ENTITIES ELIGIBLE FOR GRANTS.] To be eligible 
  2.11  for a grant, an entity must have experience in addressing 
  2.12  children's mental health issues and must ensure that children 
  2.13  will receive intervention services and mental health treatment 
  2.14  by providing such services and treatment, contracting for 
  2.15  services and treatment, or otherwise paying for services and 
  2.16  treatment to be provided.  Any public or private entity may be 
  2.17  eligible for a grant, including but not limited to school 
  2.18  districts, local children's mental health collaboratives, 
  2.19  community health boards, county boards, nonprofit organizations, 
  2.20  and private for-profit organizations. 
  2.21     Subd. 3.  [ALLOCATION OF GRANTS.] The commissioner of 
  2.22  health shall award grants using a request for proposal system 
  2.23  and shall consult with the commissioner of human services and 
  2.24  the state advisory council on mental health when designing the 
  2.25  request for proposals and when awarding grants.  The 
  2.26  commissioner shall disburse grants to at least two entities.  At 
  2.27  least one grant recipient must provide services within the 
  2.28  metropolitan counties listed in Minnesota Statutes, section 
  2.29  473.121, subdivision 4, and at least one grant recipient must 
  2.30  provide services outside the metropolitan counties.  To apply 
  2.31  for a grant, an entity must submit to the commissioner a 
  2.32  proposed budget for the program and information on the estimated 
  2.33  number of children to be screened; the screening tools to be 
  2.34  used; where the screening will be conducted; the costs of 
  2.35  screening, diagnosis, intervention services, and treatment; and 
  2.36  any other information required by the commissioner. 
  3.1      Subd. 4.  [PARENTAL CONSENT REQUIRED.] A child's 
  3.2   participation in a screening, diagnosis, or treatment program is 
  3.3   voluntary.  No child may be screened, evaluated, or treated for 
  3.4   a mental health disorder or provided with intervention services 
  3.5   under this section unless the grant recipient obtains the 
  3.6   express written consent of the child's parent or legal guardian 
  3.7   for the activity. 
  3.8      Subd. 5.  [DATA COLLECTION.] Each grant recipient must 
  3.9   collect and maintain data on the grant recipient's screening, 
  3.10  identification, diagnosis, and treatment activities in a form 
  3.11  determined by the commissioner.  The data collected must include 
  3.12  the number of children screened; the methods used in the 
  3.13  screenings to identify children who needed further evaluation; 
  3.14  based on the screenings, the number of children evaluated and 
  3.15  diagnosed with mental health disorders; based on the diagnoses 
  3.16  made, the number of children provided with treatment and the 
  3.17  types of treatment; participation rates and attrition rates for 
  3.18  each component of the program; rates of parent satisfaction with 
  3.19  the program; and any other information requested by the 
  3.20  commissioner.  
  3.21     Subd. 6.  [EVALUATION.] Using the data collected according 
  3.22  to subdivision 5, the commissioner of health, grant recipients, 
  3.23  and the state advisory council on mental health shall 
  3.24  collaboratively evaluate the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of 
  3.25  each program in screening, identification, diagnosis, and 
  3.26  treatment and measure the amounts saved by health care, social 
  3.27  services, corrections, and educational systems as a result of 
  3.28  each program's activities.  Using the evaluation, the 
  3.29  commissioner shall establish recommendations on whether the 
  3.30  programs should continue to receive state funding, the 
  3.31  feasibility and cost of expanding the demonstration project 
  3.32  statewide, and ways to increase the efficacy and 
  3.33  cost-effectiveness of future programs.  The commissioner shall 
  3.34  report the results of the evaluation and the recommendations to 
  3.35  the legislature by December 15, 2004. 
  3.36     Subd. 7.  [FUNDING FROM OTHER SOURCES.] Grant recipients 
  4.1   shall obtain payment from all public and private sources 
  4.2   obligated to pay for mental health screening, diagnosis, 
  4.3   intervention, and treatment services for children.  Program 
  4.4   funding may be used only to supplement, not to replace, existing 
  4.5   funds being used for mental health screening, diagnosis, 
  4.6   intervention, and treatment services. 
  4.7      Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  4.8      $....... is appropriated for the 2002-2003 biennium from 
  4.9   the general fund to the commissioner of health for the 
  4.10  children's mental health screening, diagnosis, and treatment 
  4.11  demonstration project under section 1.  Of this amount, $....... 
  4.12  is for the commissioner to administer the demonstration project 
  4.13  and conduct an evaluation of the project and $....... is for 
  4.14  grants.  These funds are available until expended.