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  By: Menendez (Senate Sponsor - Van de Putte) H.B. No. 1232
         (In the Senate - Received from the House April 14, 2009;
  April 15, 2009, read first time and referred to Committee on Health
  and Human Services; May 13, 2009, reported favorably by the
  following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 13, 2009, sent to printer.)
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
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)  uniform behavioral health screening for
  children;
                     (C)  uniform referral processes between systems
  and agencies related to behavioral health services;
                     (D)  the delivery of early intervention and
  treatment services; and
                     (E)  an information exchange process between
  agencies to facilitate faster identification and assessment of
  behavioral health problems and integrate service delivery;
               (3)  identify outcome measures that may be used to
  measure the efficiency of coordination; and
               (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.
         (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)  This section expires September 1, 2011.
         SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
 
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