Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB1232 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	H.B. No. 1232
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to establishing a local behavioral health intervention
6	6	pilot project.
7	7	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
8	8	SECTION 1. (a) The Department of State Health Services
9	9	shall establish a local behavioral health intervention pilot
10	10	project for children in Bexar County.
11	11	(b) In implementing the pilot project, the department shall
12	12	require a local mental health authority serving Bexar County to:
13	13	(1) enter into a memorandum of understanding or other
14	14	agreement with state and local agencies that work directly with
15	15	children, including the Department of State Health Services, the
16	16	Department of Family and Protective Services, the Texas Youth
17	17	Commission, and the Texas Education Agency, to:
18	18	(A) permit collaboration in the provision of
19	19	uniform early intervention behavioral health services to children;
20	20	(B) identify children, with written consent from
21	21	parents or guardians, who are at risk of placement in an alternative
22	22	setting for behavior management, in accordance with behavioral
23	23	standards established by the Texas Education Agency and local
24	24	school district policy, or intervention by the juvenile justice or
25	25	child protective services systems; and
26	26	(C) with written consent from parents or
27	27	guardians, divert children identified under Paragraph (B) to a
28	28	system of care services to reduce gaps or inefficiencies in the
29	29	provision of care;
30	30	(2) develop, in collaboration with the state and local
31	31	agencies, a best practices plan regarding:
32	32	(A) informed consent and confidentiality
33	33	practices;
34	34	(B) a consent form:
35	35	(i) by which parents may give or refuse
36	36	consent to share information with a specific agency or provider
37	37	that collaborates in the provision of treatment or service to a
38	38	child;
39	39	(ii) that informs a parent that the parent
40	40	has the right to withhold consent and may withdraw consent at any
41	41	time; and
42	42	(iii) that informs the parent of the type of
43	43	information that an agency or provider may share if the parent
44	44	consents;
45	45	(C) uniform referral processes between systems
46	46	and agencies related to behavioral health services;
47	47	(D) the delivery of early intervention and
48	48	treatment services;
49	49	(E) an information exchange process between
50	50	agencies to facilitate faster identification and assessment of
51	51	behavioral health problems and integrate service delivery; and
52	52	(F) an information exchange process between each
53	53	parent of a child participating in the pilot project and the
54	54	agencies and providers involved in the project to assist the parent
55	55	in remaining informed regarding the evaluations performed in
56	56	relation to the child and any conclusions or recommended treatment
57	57	options resulting from those evaluations or decisions that need to
58	58	be made by the parent as a result of an evaluation;
59	59	(3) identify outcome measures that may be used to
60	60	measure the efficiency of coordination;
61	61	(4) ensure that an extensive listing of providers is
62	62	available for children and their families, including information
63	63	regarding the services offered and the behavioral health issues
64	64	addressed by the provider; and
65	65	(5) ensure that parents, agencies, and providers
66	66	participating in the pilot project are informed that a parent or
67	67	child may not be penalized for refusing to consent to the
68	68	information sharing or services under the pilot project.
69	69	(c) In order to facilitate the pilot project and identify
70	70	children in accordance with Subsection (b)(1)(B), a local mental
71	71	health authority serving Bexar County, the Department of State
72	72	Health Services, the Department of Family and Protective Services,
73	73	the Texas Youth Commission, the Texas Education Agency, and local
74	74	school districts may, with the consent of the child's parents or
75	75	guardians:
76	76	(1) disclose information relating to a child,
77	77	including information concerning the child's identity, needs,
78	78	treatment, social, criminal, and educational history, probation or
79	79	supervision status and compliance with the conditions of the
80	80	child's probation or supervision, and medical or mental health
81	81	history, if the disclosure serves a purpose of the pilot project;
82	82	(2) accept information relating to a child that serves
83	83	a purpose of the pilot project, regardless of whether other state
84	84	law makes that information confidential; and
85	85	(3) before sharing information under this section,
86	86	enter into a memorandum of understanding with another local or
87	87	state governmental entity to specify:
88	88	(A) the types of information that may be
89	89	exchanged among agencies under this section without violating any
90	90	applicable provisions of federal law, including any federal funding
91	91	requirements; and
92	92	(B) the protocols for information sharing,
93	93	including methods for ensuring the continued protection of
94	94	confidential information by the recipient of the information.
95	95	(d) This section does not affect the confidential status of
96	96	the information being shared.
97	97	(e) The department may use funds for crisis prevention
98	98	programs in collaboration with funds from local authorities,
99	99	including school districts and criminal justice agencies, to
100	100	implement the pilot project.
101	101	(f) Not later than December 1, 2010, the local mental health
102	102	authority involved in the pilot project shall submit a report to the
103	103	department regarding the local behavioral health intervention
104	104	pilot project, including:
105	105	(1) a comprehensive analysis of the efficacy of the
106	106	project; and
107	107	(2) the local authority's findings and
108	108	recommendations.
109	109	(g) In implementing the pilot project, the Department of
110	110	State Health Services shall ensure that a parent of a child involved
111	111	in the project is provided with reasonable, standardized complaint
112	112	procedures for making complaints regarding the pilot project or an
113	113	agency or provider involved in the pilot project.
114	114	(h) The Department of State Health Services shall ensure
115	115	that the pilot project:
116	116	(1) is operated without regard to the race, color,
117	117	disability, sex, age, national origin, or religion of the
118	118	individuals involved in the pilot project; and
119	119	(2) does not disproportionately target or negatively
120	120	impact minorities.
121	121	(i) This section does not authorize the implementation of
122	122	school-based mental health screening.
123	123	(j) This Act expires September 1, 2011.
124	124	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
125	125	______________________________ ______________________________
126	126	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
127	127	I certify that H.B. No. 1232 was passed by the House on April
128	128	9, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 148, Nays 0, 1 present, not
129	129	voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
130	130	No. 1232 on May 21, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 138, Nays 2,
131	131	2 present, not voting.
132	132	______________________________
133	133	Chief Clerk of the House
134	134	I certify that H.B. No. 1232 was passed by the Senate, with
135	135	amendments, on May 18, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays
136	136	1.
137	137	______________________________
138	138	Secretary of the Senate
139	139	APPROVED: __________________
140	140	Date
141	141	__________________
142	142	Governor