BILL REQ. #:  H-4153.2 

Read first time 01/15/08.   Referred to Committee on Health Care & Wellness.

     AN ACT Relating to consumer-directed mental health care; amending RCW 71.24.025 and 71.24.055; and adding new sections to chapter 71.24 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 71.24.025 and 2007 c 414 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.
     (1) "Acutely mentally ill" means a condition which is limited to a short-term severe crisis episode of:
     (a) A mental disorder as defined in RCW 71.05.020 or, in the case of a child, as defined in RCW 71.34.020;
     (b) Being gravely disabled as defined in RCW 71.05.020 or, in the case of a child, a gravely disabled minor as defined in RCW 71.34.020; or
     (c) Presenting a likelihood of serious harm as defined in RCW 71.05.020 or, in the case of a child, as defined in RCW 71.34.020.
     (2) "Available resources" means funds appropriated for the purpose of providing community mental health programs, federal funds, except those provided according to Title XIX of the Social Security Act, and state funds appropriated under this chapter or chapter 71.05 RCW by the legislature during any biennium for the purpose of providing residential services, resource management services, community support services, and other mental health services. This does not include funds appropriated for the purpose of operating and administering the state psychiatric hospitals.
     (3) "Child" means a person under the age of eighteen years.
     (4) "Chronically mentally ill adult" or "adult who is chronically mentally ill" means an adult who has a mental disorder and meets at least one of the following criteria:
     (a) Has undergone two or more episodes of hospital care for a mental disorder within the preceding two years; or
     (b) Has experienced a continuous psychiatric hospitalization or residential treatment exceeding six months' duration within the preceding year; or
     (c) Has been unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any mental disorder which has lasted for a continuous period of not less than twelve months. "Substantial gainful activity" shall be defined by the department by rule consistent with Public Law 92-603, as amended.
     (5) "Clubhouse" means a community-based program that provides rehabilitation services and is certified by the department of social and health services.
     (6) "Community mental health program" means all mental health services, activities, or programs using available resources.
     (7) "Community mental health service delivery system" means public or private agencies that provide services specifically to persons with mental disorders as defined under RCW 71.05.020 and receive funding from public sources.
     (8) "Community service agency" means an agency or organization providing consumer-run, family-run, or advocate-run mental health rehabilitation, recovery, and support services.
     (9) "Community support services" means services authorized, planned, and coordinated through resource management services including, at a minimum, assessment, diagnosis, emergency crisis intervention available twenty-four hours, seven days a week, prescreening determinations for persons who are mentally ill being considered for placement in nursing homes as required by federal law, screening for patients being considered for admission to residential services, diagnosis and treatment for children who are acutely mentally ill or severely emotionally disturbed discovered under screening through the federal Title XIX early and periodic screening, diagnosis, and treatment program, investigation, legal, and other nonresidential services under chapter 71.05 RCW, case management services, psychiatric treatment including medication supervision, counseling, psychotherapy, assuring transfer of relevant patient information between service providers, recovery services, and other services determined by regional support networks.
     (((9))) (10) "Consensus-based" means a program or practice that has general support among treatment providers and experts, based on experience or professional literature, and may have anecdotal or case study support, or that is agreed but not possible to perform studies with random assignment and controlled groups.
     (((10))) (11) "Consumer-run" means a program that is entirely operated or directed by consumers.
     (12) "County authority" means the board of county commissioners, county council, or county executive having authority to establish a community mental health program, or two or more of the county authorities specified in this subsection which have entered into an agreement to provide a community mental health program.
     (((11))) (13) "Department" means the department of social and health services.
     (((12))) (14) "Designated mental health professional" means a mental health professional designated by the county or other authority authorized in rule to perform the duties specified in this chapter.
     (((13))) (15) "Emerging best practice" or "promising practice" means a practice that presents, based on preliminary information, potential for becoming a research-based or consensus-based practice.
     (((14))) (16) "Evidence-based" means a program or practice that has had multiple site random controlled trials across heterogeneous populations demonstrating that the program or practice is effective for the population.
     (((15))) (17) "Family-run" means a program that is entirely operated or directed by family members.
     (18) "Licensed service provider" means an entity licensed according to this chapter or chapter 71.05 RCW or an entity deemed to meet state minimum standards as a result of accreditation by a recognized behavioral health accrediting body recognized and having a current agreement with the department, that meets state minimum standards or persons licensed under chapter 18.57, 18.71, 18.83, or 18.79 RCW, as it applies to registered nurses and advanced registered nurse practitioners.
     (((16))) (19) "Long-term inpatient care" means inpatient services for persons committed for, or voluntarily receiving intensive treatment for, periods of ninety days or greater under chapter 71.05 RCW. "Long-term inpatient care" as used in this chapter does not include: (a) Services for individuals committed under chapter 71.05 RCW who are receiving services pursuant to a conditional release or a court-ordered less restrictive alternative to detention; or (b) services for individuals voluntarily receiving less restrictive alternative treatment on the grounds of the state hospital.
     (((17))) (20) "Mental health services" means all services provided by regional support networks and other services provided by the state for persons who are mentally ill.
     (((18))) (21) "Mentally ill persons," "persons who are mentally ill," and "the mentally ill" mean persons and conditions defined in subsections (1), (4), (((27))) (30), and (((28))) (31) of this section.
     (((19))) (22) "Recovery" means the process in which people are able to live, work, learn, and participate fully in their communities.
     (((20))) (23) "Regional support network" means a county authority or group of county authorities or other nonprofit entity recognized by the secretary in contract in a defined region.
     (((21))) (24) "Registration records" include all the records of the department, regional support networks, treatment facilities, and other persons providing services to the department, county departments, or facilities which identify persons who are receiving or who at any time have received services for mental illness.
     (((22))) (25) "Research-based" means a program or practice that has some research demonstrating effectiveness, but that does not yet meet the standard of evidence-based practices.
     (((23))) (26) "Residential services" means a complete range of residences and supports authorized by resource management services and which may involve a facility, a distinct part thereof, or services which support community living, for persons who are acutely mentally ill, adults who are chronically mentally ill, children who are severely emotionally disturbed, or adults who are seriously disturbed and determined by the regional support network to be at risk of becoming acutely or chronically mentally ill. The services shall include at least evaluation and treatment services as defined in chapter 71.05 RCW, acute crisis respite care, long-term adaptive and rehabilitative care, and supervised and supported living services, and shall also include any residential services developed to service persons who are mentally ill in nursing homes, boarding homes, and adult family homes, and may include outpatient services provided as an element in a package of services in a supported housing model. Residential services for children in out-of-home placements related to their mental disorder shall not include the costs of food and shelter, except for children's long-term residential facilities existing prior to January 1, 1991.
     (((24))) (27) "Resilience" means the personal and community qualities that enable individuals to rebound from adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or other stresses, and to live productive lives.
     (((25))) (28) "Resource management services" mean the planning, coordination, and authorization of residential services and community support services administered pursuant to an individual service plan for: (a) Adults and children who are acutely mentally ill; (b) adults who are chronically mentally ill; (c) children who are severely emotionally disturbed; or (d) adults who are seriously disturbed and determined solely by a regional support network to be at risk of becoming acutely or chronically mentally ill. Such planning, coordination, and authorization shall include mental health screening for children eligible under the federal Title XIX early and periodic screening, diagnosis, and treatment program. Resource management services include seven day a week, twenty-four hour a day availability of information regarding enrollment of adults and children who are mentally ill in services and their individual service plan to designated mental health professionals, evaluation and treatment facilities, and others as determined by the regional support network.
     (((26))) (29) "Secretary" means the secretary of social and health services.
     (((27))) (30) "Seriously disturbed person" means a person who:
     (a) Is gravely disabled or presents a likelihood of serious harm to himself or herself or others, or to the property of others, as a result of a mental disorder as defined in chapter 71.05 RCW;
     (b) Has been on conditional release status, or under a less restrictive alternative order, at some time during the preceding two years from an evaluation and treatment facility or a state mental health hospital;
     (c) Has a mental disorder which causes major impairment in several areas of daily living;
     (d) Exhibits suicidal preoccupation or attempts; or
     (e) Is a child diagnosed by a mental health professional, as defined in chapter 71.34 RCW, as experiencing a mental disorder which is clearly interfering with the child's functioning in family or school or with peers or is clearly interfering with the child's personality development and learning.
     (((28))) (31) "Severely emotionally disturbed child" or "child who is severely emotionally disturbed" means a child who has been determined by the regional support network to be experiencing a mental disorder as defined in chapter 71.34 RCW, including those mental disorders that result in a behavioral or conduct disorder, that is clearly interfering with the child's functioning in family or school or with peers and who meets at least one of the following criteria:
     (a) Has undergone inpatient treatment or placement outside of the home related to a mental disorder within the last two years;
     (b) Has undergone involuntary treatment under chapter 71.34 RCW within the last two years;
     (c) Is currently served by at least one of the following child-serving systems: Juvenile justice, child-protection/welfare, special education, or developmental disabilities;
     (d) Is at risk of escalating maladjustment due to:
     (i) Chronic family dysfunction involving a caretaker who is mentally ill or inadequate;
     (ii) Changes in custodial adult;
     (iii) Going to, residing in, or returning from any placement outside of the home, for example, psychiatric hospital, short-term inpatient, residential treatment, group or foster home, or a correctional facility;
     (iv) Subject to repeated physical abuse or neglect;
     (v) Drug or alcohol abuse; or
     (vi) Homelessness.
     (((29))) (32) "State minimum standards" means minimum requirements established by rules adopted by the secretary and necessary to implement this chapter for: (a) Delivery of mental health services; (b) licensed service providers for the provision of mental health services; (c) residential services; and (d) community support services and resource management services.
     (((30))) (33) "Treatment records" include registration and all other records concerning persons who are receiving or who at any time have received services for mental illness, which are maintained by the department, by regional support networks and their staffs, and by treatment facilities. Treatment records do not include notes or records maintained for personal use by a person providing treatment services for the department, regional support networks, or a treatment facility if the notes or records are not available to others.
     (((31))) (34) "Tribal authority," for the purposes of this section and RCW 71.24.300 only, means: The federally recognized Indian tribes and the major Indian organizations recognized by the secretary insofar as these organizations do not have a financial relationship with any regional support network that would present a conflict of interest.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 71.24 RCW to read as follows:
     The department shall adopt rules to provide a standardized process for medicaid certification of community service agencies. The rules shall include the certification of community service agencies, and the delivery of and billing for behavioral health rehabilitation and support services. The rules shall cover such tier 1 rehabilitation and support services as personal care, self help, peer services, comprehensive community support services, psychoeducational services, and support to maintain employment services; and tier 2 rehabilitation and support services, including behavioral health promotion, skills training, home care training for families, comprehensive community support services, and supervised behavioral health day treatment services.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 71.24 RCW to read as follows:
     Within funds appropriated for this purpose, the department shall provide technical assistance to community service agencies to enable them to organize, become medicaid certified, and provide consumer-run, family-run, or advocate-run community-based mental health rehabilitation, recovery, and support services.

Sec. 4   RCW 71.24.055 and 2007 c 359 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     As part of the system transformation initiative, the department of social and health services shall undertake the following activities related specifically to children's mental health services:
     (1) The development of recommended revisions to the access to care standards for children. The recommended revisions shall reflect the policies and principles set out in RCW 71.36.005, 71.36.010, and 71.36.025, and recognize that early identification, intervention and prevention services, and brief intervention services may be provided outside of the regional support network system. Revised access to care standards shall assess a child's need for mental health services based upon the child's diagnosis and its negative impact upon his or her persistent impaired functioning in family, school, or the community, and should not solely condition the receipt of services upon a determination that a child is engaged in high risk behavior or is in imminent need of hospitalization or out-of-home placement. Assessment and diagnosis for children under five years of age shall be determined using a nationally accepted assessment tool designed specifically for children of that age. The recommendations shall also address whether amendments to RCW 71.24.025 (((26))) (30) and (((27))) (31) and 71.24.035(5) are necessary to implement revised access to care standards;
     (2) Development of a revised children's mental health benefit package. The department shall ensure that services included in the children's mental health benefit package reflect the policies and principles included in RCW 71.36.005 and 71.36.025, to the extent allowable under medicaid, Title XIX of the federal social security act. Strong consideration shall be given to developmentally appropriate evidence-based and research-based practices, family-based interventions, the use of natural and peer supports, and community support services. This effort shall include a review of other states' efforts to fund family-centered children's mental health services through their medicaid programs;
     (3) Consistent with the timeline developed for the system transformation initiative, recommendations for revisions to the children's access to care standards and the children's mental health services benefits package shall be presented to the legislature by January 1, 2009.