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256B.0946 INTENSIVE TREATMENT IN FOSTER CARE.

Subdivision 1.Required covered service components.

(a) Effective May 23, 2013, and subject to federal approval, medical assistance covers medically necessary intensive treatment services described under paragraph (b) that are provided by a provider entity eligible under subdivision 3 to a client eligible under subdivision 2 who is placed in a foster home licensed under Minnesota Rules, parts 2960.3000 to 2960.3340.

(b) Intensive treatment services to children with mental illness residing in foster family settings that comprise specific required service components provided in clauses (1) to (5) are reimbursed by medical assistance when they meet the following standards:

(1) psychotherapy provided by a mental health professional as defined in Minnesota Rules, part 9505.0371, subpart 5, item A, or a clinical trainee, as defined in Minnesota Rules, part 9505.0371, subpart 5, item C;

(2) crisis assistance provided according to standards for children's therapeutic services and supports in section 256B.0943;

(3) individual, family, and group psychoeducation services, defined in subdivision 1a, paragraph (q), provided by a mental health professional or a clinical trainee;

(4) clinical care consultation, as defined in subdivision 1a, and provided by a mental health professional or a clinical trainee; and

(5) service delivery payment requirements as provided under subdivision 4.

Subd. 1a.Definitions.

For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the meanings given them.

(a) "Clinical care consultation" means communication from a treating clinician to other providers working with the same client to inform, inquire, and instruct regarding the client's symptoms, strategies for effective engagement, care and intervention needs, and treatment expectations across service settings, including but not limited to the client's school, social services, day care, probation, home, primary care, medication prescribers, disabilities services, and other mental health providers and to direct and coordinate clinical service components provided to the client and family.

(b) "Clinical supervision" means the documented time a clinical supervisor and supervisee spend together to discuss the supervisee's work, to review individual client cases, and for the supervisee's professional development. It includes the documented oversight and supervision responsibility for planning, implementation, and evaluation of services for a client's mental health treatment.

(c) "Clinical supervisor" means the mental health professional who is responsible for clinical supervision.

(d) "Clinical trainee" has the meaning given in Minnesota Rules, part 9505.0371, subpart 5, item C;

(e) "Crisis assistance" has the meaning given in section 245.4871, subdivision 9a, including the development of a plan that addresses prevention and intervention strategies to be used in a potential crisis, but does not include actual crisis intervention.

(f) "Culturally appropriate" means providing mental health services in a manner that incorporates the child's cultural influences, as defined in Minnesota Rules, part 9505.0370, subpart 9, into interventions as a way to maximize resiliency factors and utilize cultural strengths and resources to promote overall wellness.

(g) "Culture" means the distinct ways of living and understanding the world that are used by a group of people and are transmitted from one generation to another or adopted by an individual.

(h) "Diagnostic assessment" has the meaning given in Minnesota Rules, part 9505.0370, subpart 11.

(i) "Family" means a person who is identified by the client or the client's parent or guardian as being important to the client's mental health treatment. Family may include, but is not limited to, parents, foster parents, children, spouse, committed partners, former spouses, persons related by blood or adoption, persons who are a part of the client's permanency plan, or persons who are presently residing together as a family unit.

(j) "Foster care" has the meaning given in section 260C.007, subdivision 18.

(k) "Foster family setting" means the foster home in which the license holder resides.

(l) "Individual treatment plan" has the meaning given in Minnesota Rules, part 9505.0370, subpart 15.

(m) "Mental health practitioner" has the meaning given in Minnesota Rules, part 9505.0370, subpart 17.

(n) "Mental health professional" has the meaning given in Minnesota Rules, part 9505.0370, subpart 18.

(o) "Mental illness" has the meaning given in Minnesota Rules, part 9505.0370, subpart 20.

(p) "Parent" has the meaning given in section 260C.007, subdivision 25.

(q) "Psychoeducation services" means information or demonstration provided to an individual, family, or group to explain, educate, and support the individual, family, or group in understanding a child's symptoms of mental illness, the impact on the child's development, and needed components of treatment and skill development so that the individual, family, or group can help the child to prevent relapse, prevent the acquisition of comorbid disorders, and achieve optimal mental health and long-term resilience.

(r) "Psychotherapy" has the meaning given in Minnesota Rules, part 9505.0370, subpart 27.

(s) "Team consultation and treatment planning" means the coordination of treatment plans and consultation among providers in a group concerning the treatment needs of the child, including disseminating the child's treatment service schedule to all members of the service team. Team members must include all mental health professionals working with the child, a parent, the child unless the team lead or parent deem it clinically inappropriate, and at least two of the following: an individualized education program case manager; probation agent; children's mental health case manager; child welfare worker, including adoption or guardianship worker; primary care provider; foster parent; and any other member of the child's service team.

Subd. 2.Determination of client eligibility.

An eligible recipient is an individual, from birth through age 20, who is currently placed in a foster home licensed under Minnesota Rules, parts 2960.3000 to 2960.3340, and has received a diagnostic assessment and an evaluation of level of care needed, as defined in paragraphs (a) and (b).

(a) The diagnostic assessment must:

(1) meet criteria described in Minnesota Rules, part 9505.0372, subpart 1, and be conducted by a mental health professional or a clinical trainee;

(2) determine whether or not a child meets the criteria for mental illness, as defined in Minnesota Rules, part 9505.0370, subpart 20;

(3) document that intensive treatment services are medically necessary within a foster family setting to ameliorate identified symptoms and functional impairments;

(4) be performed within 180 days before the start of service; and

(5) be completed as either a standard or extended diagnostic assessment annually to determine continued eligibility for the service.

(b) The evaluation of level of care must be conducted by the placing county, tribe, or case manager in conjunction with the diagnostic assessment as described by Minnesota Rules, part 9505.0372, subpart 1, item B, using a validated tool approved by the commissioner of human services and not subject to the rulemaking process, consistent with section 245.4885, subdivision 1, paragraph (d), the result of which evaluation demonstrates that the child requires intensive intervention without 24-hour medical monitoring. The commissioner shall update the list of approved level of care tools annually and publish on the department's Web site.

Subd. 3.Eligible mental health services providers.

(a) Eligible providers for intensive children's mental health services in a foster family setting must be certified by the state and have a service provision contract with a county board or a reservation tribal council and must be able to demonstrate the ability to provide all of the services required in this section.

(b) For purposes of this section, a provider agency must be:

(1) a county-operated entity certified by the state;

(2) an Indian Health Services facility operated by a tribe or tribal organization under funding authorized by United States Code, title 25, sections 450f to 450n, or title 3 of the Indian Self-Determination Act, Public Law 93-638, section 638 (facilities or providers); or

(3) a noncounty entity.

(c) Certified providers that do not meet the service delivery standards required in this section shall be subject to a decertification process.

(d) For the purposes of this section, all services delivered to a client must be provided by a mental health professional or a clinical trainee.

Subd. 4.Service delivery payment requirements.

(a) To be eligible for payment under this section, a provider must develop and practice written policies and procedures for intensive treatment in foster care, consistent with subdivision 1, paragraph (b), and comply with the following requirements in paragraphs (b) to (n).

(b) A qualified clinical supervisor, as defined in and performing in compliance with Minnesota Rules, part 9505.0371, subpart 5, item D, must supervise the treatment and provision of services described in this section.

(c) Each client receiving treatment services must receive an extended diagnostic assessment, as described in Minnesota Rules, part 9505.0372, subpart 1, item C, within 30 days of enrollment in this service unless the client has a previous extended diagnostic assessment that the client, parent, and mental health professional agree still accurately describes the client's current mental health functioning.

(d) Each previous and current mental health, school, and physical health treatment provider must be contacted to request documentation of treatment and assessments that the eligible client has received. This information must be reviewed and incorporated into the diagnostic assessment and team consultation and treatment planning review process.

(e) Each client receiving treatment must be assessed for a trauma history, and the client's treatment plan must document how the results of the assessment will be incorporated into treatment.

(f) Each client receiving treatment services must have an individual treatment plan that is reviewed, evaluated, and signed every 90 days using the team consultation and treatment planning process, as defined in subdivision 1a, paragraph (s).

(g) Care consultation, as defined in subdivision 1a, paragraph (a), must be provided in accordance with the client's individual treatment plan.

(h) Each client must have a crisis assistance plan within ten days of initiating services and must have access to clinical phone support 24 hours per day, seven days per week, during the course of treatment. The crisis plan must demonstrate coordination with the local or regional mobile crisis intervention team.

(i) Services must be delivered and documented at least three days per week, equaling at least six hours of treatment per week, unless reduced units of service are specified on the treatment plan as part of transition or on a discharge plan to another service or level of care. Documentation must comply with Minnesota Rules, parts 9505.2175 and 9505.2197.

(j) Location of service delivery must be in the client's home, day care setting, school, or other community-based setting that is specified on the client's individualized treatment plan.

(k) Treatment must be developmentally and culturally appropriate for the client.

(l) Services must be delivered in continual collaboration and consultation with the client's medical providers and, in particular, with prescribers of psychotropic medications, including those prescribed on an off-label basis. Members of the service team must be aware of the medication regimen and potential side effects.

(m) Parents, siblings, foster parents, and members of the child's permanency plan must be involved in treatment and service delivery unless otherwise noted in the treatment plan.

(n) Transition planning for the child must be conducted starting with the first treatment plan and must be addressed throughout treatment to support the child's permanency plan and postdischarge mental health service needs.

Subd. 5.Service authorization.

The commissioner will administer authorizations for services under this section in compliance with section 256B.0625, subdivision 25.

Subd. 6.Excluded services.

(a) Services in clauses (1) to (7) are not covered under this section and are not eligible for medical assistance payment as components of intensive treatment in foster care services, but may be billed separately:

(1) inpatient psychiatric hospital treatment;

(2) mental health targeted case management;

(3) partial hospitalization;

(4) medication management;

(5) children's mental health day treatment services;

(6) crisis response services under section 256B.0944; and

(7) transportation.

(b) Children receiving intensive treatment in foster care services are not eligible for medical assistance reimbursement for the following services while receiving intensive treatment in foster care:

(1) psychotherapy and skills training components of children's therapeutic services and supports under section 256B.0625, subdivision 35b;

(2) mental health behavioral aide services as defined in section 256B.0943, subdivision 1, paragraph (m);

(3) home and community-based waiver services;

(4) mental health residential treatment; and

(5) room and board costs as defined in section 256I.03, subdivision 6.

Subd. 7.Medical assistance payment and rate setting.

The commissioner shall establish a single daily per-client encounter rate for intensive treatment in foster care services. The rate must be constructed to cover only eligible services delivered to an eligible recipient by an eligible provider, as prescribed in subdivision 1, paragraph (b).

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Revisor of Statutes