H.B. No. 1232
AN ACT
relating to establishing a local behavioral health intervention
pilot project.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. (a) The Department of State Health Services
shall establish a local behavioral health intervention pilot
project for children in Bexar County.
(b) In implementing the pilot project, the department shall
require a local mental health authority serving Bexar County to:
(1) enter into a memorandum of understanding or other
agreement with state and local agencies that work directly with
children, including the Department of State Health Services, the
Department of Family and Protective Services, the Texas Youth
Commission, and the Texas Education Agency, to:
(A) permit collaboration in the provision of
uniform early intervention behavioral health services to children;
(B) identify children, with written consent from
parents or guardians, who are at risk of placement in an alternative
setting for behavior management, in accordance with behavioral
standards established by the Texas Education Agency and local
school district policy, or intervention by the juvenile justice or
child protective services systems; and
(C) with written consent from parents or
guardians, divert children identified under Paragraph (B) to a
system of care services to reduce gaps or inefficiencies in the
provision of care;
(2) develop, in collaboration with the state and local
agencies, a best practices plan regarding:
(A) informed consent and confidentiality
practices;
(B) a consent form:
(i) by which parents may give or refuse
consent to share information with a specific agency or provider
that collaborates in the provision of treatment or service to a
child;
(ii) that informs a parent that the parent
has the right to withhold consent and may withdraw consent at any
time; and
(iii) that informs the parent of the type of
information that an agency or provider may share if the parent
consents;
(C) uniform referral processes between systems
and agencies related to behavioral health services;
(D) the delivery of early intervention and
treatment services;
(E) an information exchange process between
agencies to facilitate faster identification and assessment of
behavioral health problems and integrate service delivery; and
(F) an information exchange process between each
parent of a child participating in the pilot project and the
agencies and providers involved in the project to assist the parent
in remaining informed regarding the evaluations performed in
relation to the child and any conclusions or recommended treatment
options resulting from those evaluations or decisions that need to
be made by the parent as a result of an evaluation;
(3) identify outcome measures that may be used to
measure the efficiency of coordination;
(4) ensure that an extensive listing of providers is
available for children and their families, including information
regarding the services offered and the behavioral health issues
addressed by the provider; and
(5) ensure that parents, agencies, and providers
participating in the pilot project are informed that a parent or
child may not be penalized for refusing to consent to the
information sharing or services under the pilot project.
(c) In order to facilitate the pilot project and identify
children in accordance with Subsection (b)(1)(B), a local mental
health authority serving Bexar County, the Department of State
Health Services, the Department of Family and Protective Services,
the Texas Youth Commission, the Texas Education Agency, and local
school districts may, with the consent of the child's parents or
guardians:
(1) disclose information relating to a child,
including information concerning the child's identity, needs,
treatment, social, criminal, and educational history, probation or
supervision status and compliance with the conditions of the
child's probation or supervision, and medical or mental health
history, if the disclosure serves a purpose of the pilot project;
(2) accept information relating to a child that serves
a purpose of the pilot project, regardless of whether other state
law makes that information confidential; and
(3) before sharing information under this section,
enter into a memorandum of understanding with another local or
state governmental entity to specify:
(A) the types of information that may be
exchanged among agencies under this section without violating any
applicable provisions of federal law, including any federal funding
requirements; and
(B) the protocols for information sharing,
including methods for ensuring the continued protection of
confidential information by the recipient of the information.
(d) This section does not affect the confidential status of
the information being shared.
(e) The department may use funds for crisis prevention
programs in collaboration with funds from local authorities,
including school districts and criminal justice agencies, to
implement the pilot project.
(f) Not later than December 1, 2010, the local mental health
authority involved in the pilot project shall submit a report to the
department regarding the local behavioral health intervention
pilot project, including:
(1) a comprehensive analysis of the efficacy of the
project; and
(2) the local authority's findings and
recommendations.
(g) In implementing the pilot project, the Department of
State Health Services shall ensure that a parent of a child involved
in the project is provided with reasonable, standardized complaint
procedures for making complaints regarding the pilot project or an
agency or provider involved in the pilot project.
(h) The Department of State Health Services shall ensure
that the pilot project:
(1) is operated without regard to the race, color,
disability, sex, age, national origin, or religion of the
individuals involved in the pilot project; and
(2) does not disproportionately target or negatively
impact minorities.
(i) This section does not authorize the implementation of
school-based mental health screening.
(j) This Act expires September 1, 2011.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1232 was passed by the House on April
9, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 148, Nays 0, 1 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 1232 on May 21, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 138, Nays 2,
2 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1232 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 18, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays
1.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor