Bill Text: TX SB1499 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to establishing a local behavioral health intervention pilot project.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-03-18 - Referred to Health & Human Services [SB1499 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-SB1499-Introduced.html
By: West | S.B. No. 1499 | |
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relating to establishing a local behavioral health intervention | ||
pilot project. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 533, Health and Safety | ||
Code, is amended by adding Section 533.051 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 533.051. LOCAL BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PILOT PROJECT. | ||
(a) The Department of State Health Services shall establish | ||
a local behavioral health intervention pilot project for | ||
individuals with mental illness, substance use disorders, or | ||
co-occurring mental illnesses and substance use disorders, who are | ||
at risk for, or who have a history of recidivism in crisis services, | ||
psychiatric hospitalization or criminal justice involvement, who | ||
reside in a multiple-county behavioral health region that | ||
integrates public sector mental health and substance abuse | ||
disorders and funding with over 10 years experience in behavioral | ||
health managed care with blended funding; separation of authority | ||
functions from provider functions; an existing network of specialty | ||
providers; consumer choice of behavioral health providers; | ||
containing a variety of communities including urban, rural and | ||
suburban communities; at least one county having a dense urban | ||
area; at least one county being predominately rural; at least one | ||
county having higher than average per capita income as compared to | ||
the rest of the state; at least one county having lower average per | ||
capita income than the rest of the state; existing diversion courts | ||
in at least 2 of the counties; existing psychiatric hospital with | ||
Psychiatric Emergency Services available 24 hours per day, 7 per | ||
week, 365 days a year; existing Mobile Crisis Services; and no | ||
waiting list for any level of service. | ||
(b) In implementing the pilot project, the department shall | ||
direct a local mental health authority or an entity contracted to | ||
provide Behavioral Health and Substance Use Disorders services | ||
serving the region described in Section 1 (a) to: | ||
(1) oversee the development of a program designed to | ||
address the needs of individuals with mental illness, substance | ||
use disorders or co-occurring mental illnesses and substance use | ||
disorders who are at risk for, or who have a history of recidivism | ||
in crisis services, psychiatric hospitalization or criminal | ||
justice involvement. | ||
(A) permit collaboration in the provision of | ||
behavioral health services to the individuals described in Section | ||
1 (b) (1) ; | ||
(B) identify individuals described in Section 1 | ||
(b) (1); and | ||
(C) divert individuals identified under Section | ||
1, (b) (1) Paragraph (B) to a system of care services to reduce the | ||
gaps or inefficiencies in the provision of care; | ||
(2) develop, in collaboration with the state and local | ||
agencies, a best practices plan regarding: | ||
(A) enhanced engagement in treatment services; | ||
(B) delivery of intervention and treatment | ||
services; | ||
(C) uniform referral processes between systems | ||
and agencies related to behavioral health services; | ||
(D) an information exchange process between | ||
agencies to facilitate faster identification and assessment of | ||
behavioral health problems and integrate service delivery; | ||
(E) transition between levels of care to insure | ||
continued engagement in services; | ||
(F) reintegration into the community; | ||
(3) identify outcome measures that may be used to | ||
measure the efficiency of coordination; | ||
(4) ensure that an extensive listing of providers is | ||
available to each participating individual including information | ||
regarding the services offered and the behavioral health issues | ||
addressed by the provider; and | ||
(5) ensure that participating individuals, agencies, | ||
and providers participating in the pilot project are informed that | ||
the participating individual 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 | ||
individuals in accordance with Section 533.051(b)(1)(B), a local | ||
behavioral health authority serving the region described in Section | ||
533.051(a), the Department of State Health Services, the Department | ||
of Family and Protective Services, the Texas Department of Criminal | ||
Justice, the Correctional Office on Offenders with Medical or | ||
Mental Impairments, law enforcement, criminal justice system, may, | ||
with the consent of the participant: | ||
(1) disclose information relating to a participant, | ||
including information concerning the participant's identity, | ||
needs, treatment, social, criminal, and educational history, | ||
probation or supervision status and compliance with the conditions | ||
of the participant's probation or supervision, and medical or | ||
behavioral health history, if the disclosure serves a purpose of | ||
the pilot project; | ||
(2) accept information relating to a participant 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 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) Not later than December 1, 2014, the local behavioral | ||
health authority involved in the pilot project shall submit a | ||
report to the department regarding the 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. | ||
(f) In implementing the pilot project, the Department of | ||
State Health Services shall ensure that a participant 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. | ||
(g) 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. | ||
(h) This Act expires on September 1, 2015. | ||
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect on September 1, 2013. |