By: Zaffirini  S.B. No. 1503
         (In the Senate - Filed March 8, 2007; March 20, 2007, read
  first time and referred to Committee on Health and Human Services;
  May 8, 2007, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
  Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 8, 2007, sent
  to printer.)
 
  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1503 By:  Zaffirini
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to behavioral health services for children and
  establishment of the Children's Behavioral Health Council.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 531.251, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 531.251.  TEXAS INTEGRATED FUNDING INITIATIVE PILOT
  PROJECT [CONSORTIUM]; DEFINITION; EXPANSION PLAN.  (a)  In this
  subchapter, "council" means the Children's Behavioral Health
  Council established under Section 531.425.
         (a-1)  The council [commission] shall [form a consortium to]
  develop criteria for and implement the expansion of the Texas
  Integrated Funding Initiative pilot project and [to] develop local
  mental health care systems in communities for minors who are
  receiving residential mental health services or who are at risk of
  residential placement to receive mental health services. [The
  consortium must include representatives of the Texas Department of
  Mental Health and Mental Retardation, Department of Protective and
  Regulatory Services, Texas Education Agency, Texas Youth
  Commission, Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, and Texas
  Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse and an equal number of family
  advocates.]
         (b)  The commission and the council [consortium] shall:
               (1)  develop a model and guidelines for the delivery of
  mental health services and support to a minor, initiated before the
  person's 18th birthday, including best practices in the financing,
  administration, governance, and delivery of those services;
               (2)  establish a plan to expand the Texas Integrated
  Funding Initiative [so that the initiative may operate in up to six
  communities]; and
               (3)  identify appropriate sources of state and federal
  funding to finance mental health services under the initiative from
  a central fund for expansion communities.
         SECTION 2.  Subsection (b), Section 531.252, Government
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (b)  The commission and the council [consortium] shall
  develop criteria to evaluate proposals for selecting expansion
  communities to participate in the expanded initiative. The
  criteria must:
               (1)  reflect the underlying principles of the Texas
  Integrated Funding Initiative;
               (2)  emphasize services that are culturally competent,
  family-centered, and seamless;
               (3)  identify populations to be served under the
  proposals;
               (4)  establish for the expansion communities service
  outcome goals related to minors who are receiving residential
  mental health services or who are at risk of residential placement
  to receive mental health services, including:
                     (A)  decreasing incidents of abuse or neglect of
  the minors;
                     (B)  reducing recidivism rates of juvenile
  offenders;
                     (C)  increasing school attendance and progress of
  the minors;
                     (D)  reducing the rate of placement of the minors
  in residential treatment;
                     (E)  increasing the rate of reunification of the
  minors with their families;
                     (F)  improving the emotional, behavioral, and
  social adjustment of the minors; and
                     (G)  improving the stability of placements of the
  minors;
               (5)  provide for locations of participating
  communities in urban, suburban, and rural settings; and
               (6)  specify information that must be provided in a
  proposal for a community, including:
                     (A)  information on the costs of the activities
  proposed; and
                     (B)  the characteristics of minors in the
  community who are in residential care for mental health services or
  who are at risk of being placed in residential care to receive
  mental health services.
         SECTION 3.  Section 531.253, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 531.253.  SELECTION OF EXPANSION COMMUNITIES.  The
  commission and the council may [consortium shall] review proposals
  for expansion communities and approve the participation of those
  communities [not more than six communities to participate in the
  initiative]. The selected communities must be those that best meet
  the criteria developed under Section 531.252.
         SECTION 4.  Section 531.254, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 531.254.  SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT COLLABORATION.  The
  commission, the council [consortium], and the expansion
  communities shall collaborate to develop and shall share technical
  assistance and training resources to aid communities in developing
  local systems for delivering mental health services to minors.
         SECTION 5.  Subsections (a), (b), and (c), Section 531.255,
  Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The commission and the council [Texas Department of
  Mental Health and Mental Retardation] jointly shall monitor the
  progress of the expansion communities.
         (b)  The commission, the council [consortium], and the
  expansion communities shall collaborate to develop a system to
  evaluate the success of the expansion communities in achieving
  outcome goals for the minors the communities serve, including
  outcome goals developed under Section 531.252. An evaluation under
  the system must include information on cost avoidance and net
  savings that result from participation in the initiative.
         (c)  Each expansion community shall identify the baseline
  information to compare with the information on outcomes in
  evaluating the achievements of the community. A community is
  responsible for collecting and reporting outcome information to the
  commission and the council in accordance with the requirements of
  the evaluation system developed under Subsection (b).
         SECTION 6.  Section 531.421, Government Code, is amended by
  adding Subdivision (3-a) to read as follows:
               (3-a)  "Council" means the Children's Behavioral Health
  Council established under Section 531.425.
         SECTION 7.  Subsection (c), Section 531.422, Government
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (c)  Each community resource coordination group shall submit
  the report described by Subsection (b) to the council [consortium].
  The council [consortium] shall provide a deadline to each group for
  submitting the reports. The time frame for completing the reports
  must be coordinated with any regional reviews by the commission of
  the delivery of related services.
         SECTION 8.  Subchapter L, Chapter 531, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Sections 531.425 and 531.426 to read as follows:
         Sec. 531.425.  CHILDREN'S BEHAVIORAL HEALTH COUNCIL.
  (a)  The Children's Behavioral Health Council is established to
  provide a coordinated, comprehensive, interagency approach to the
  development and delivery of behavioral health services to children.
         (b)  The council is composed of:
               (1)  one representative with decision-making authority
  from each of the following state agencies, appointed by the chief
  administrative officer of the respective agency:
                     (A)  the Health and Human Services Commission;
                     (B)  the Department of State Health Services;
                     (C)  the Department of Family and Protective
  Services;
                     (D)  the Department of Assistive and
  Rehabilitative Services;
                     (E)  the Department of Aging and Disability
  Services;
                     (F)  the Texas Education Agency;
                     (G)  the Texas Correctional Office on Offenders
  with Medical or Mental Impairments;
                     (H)  the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission; and
                     (I)  the Texas Youth Commission; and
               (2)  an equal number of representatives of the public
  appointed by the governor, including:
                     (A)  representatives of:
                           (i)  children's mental health advocacy
  groups;
                           (ii)  organizations with expertise in
  behavioral health issues involving children; and
                           (iii)  providers of community-based
  children's mental health services, including local mental health
  authorities; and
                     (B)  at least five representatives who:
                           (i)  are family members of a child with a
  mental health disorder; or
                           (ii)  received mental health services as a
  child.
         (c)  The members of the council shall annually elect one
  agency representative and one public representative to serve as
  co-chairs.
         (d)  The council shall:
               (1)  develop and implement coordinated state policies
  to improve the behavioral health of children;
               (2)  develop a coordinated system for planning and
  budgeting that establishes priorities and strategies for the
  coordinated delivery of behavioral health services to children;
               (3)  develop a coordinated system to track and report
  spending on behavioral health services for children by agencies
  represented by a member of the council;
               (4)  administer state grants for development of local
  systems of care services;
               (5)  develop a plan to support the statewide expansion
  of local systems of care services;
               (6)  ensure a central role for the local mental health
  authority in the expansion and operation of the local systems of
  care;
               (7)  provide technical assistance and training to local
  providers of systems of care services;
               (8)  design an integrated funding structure for the
  provision of behavioral health services for children in accordance
  with Section 531.426;
               (9)  assess the provision of behavioral health services
  to children to eliminate duplication of efforts and identify
  opportunities to consolidate those efforts; and
               (10)  assist the Mental Health Transformation
  Workgroup in fulfilling the workgroup's responsibilities regarding
  children's mental health services and coordinate the council's
  activities with the workgroup.
         (e)  The council is administratively attached to the
  commission.  The commission, through the commission's Office of
  Program Coordination for Children and Youth, shall provide
  administrative support and resources to the council as necessary to
  enable the council to perform its duties.
         (f)  A public member of the council may not receive
  compensation for serving on the council, but is entitled to
  reimbursement for travel expenses incurred while conducting the
  business of the council, as provided by the General Appropriations
  Act.
         (g)  The council is not subject to Chapter 2110.
         Sec. 531.426.  INTEGRATED FUNDING STRUCTURE FOR CERTAIN
  BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES.  (a)  The council shall design an
  integrated cross-agency funding structure for the provision of
  behavioral health services to children.
         (b)  In creating the funding structure, the council shall
  consider:
               (1)  the use of existing categorical or noncategorical
  federal, state, and local funds;
               (2)  the use of blended or braided funding
  arrangements;
               (3)  which funds should be included in the funding
  structure and how the funds should be structured; and
               (4)  the role of the local mental health authority as
  the local funds manager responsible for local planning and network
  development.
         (c)  The council may hire a consultant with nationally
  recognized system of care expertise to assist with designing the
  funding structure.
         (d)  Not later than December 1, 2008, the council shall
  submit a report to the governor and the Legislative Budget Board
  that:
               (1)  describes the funding structure designed by the
  council; and
               (2)  identifies the steps necessary to implement the
  structure, including identification of necessary statutory changes
  or federal approvals.
         (e)  Subsection (d) and this subsection expire September 1,
  2009.
         SECTION 9.  Effective December 1, 2008, Subchapter L,
  Chapter 531, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 531.427
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 531.427.  HOME AND COMMUNITY SERVICES FOR CHILDREN WITH
  SEVERE EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCES.  (a)  The commission shall maximize
  funding for home and community-based services for children with
  severe emotional disturbances by providing those services, to the
  greatest extent possible, through a Section 1915(c) waiver program
  or other Medicaid program.
         (b)  In implementing a program to deliver services to
  children with severe emotional disturbances under Subsection (a),
  the commission shall develop a plan to assist a child receiving
  services delivered through the program when the child transitions
  out of the program.
         SECTION 10.  (a)  Subdivision (3), Section 531.421,
  Government Code, is repealed.
         (b)  Sections 531.423 and 531.424, Government Code, are
  repealed.
         SECTION 11.  (a)  Not later than October 1, 2007, the chief
  administrative officer of each agency listed in Subsection (b),
  Section 531.425, Government Code, as added by this Act, shall
  appoint the agency's representative to the Children's Behavioral
  Health Council established by that section.
         (b)  Not later than October 1, 2007, the governor shall
  appoint the public members of the Children's Behavioral Health
  Council established by Section 531.425, Government Code, as added
  by this Act.
         SECTION 12.  Not later than December 1, 2008, the Health and
  Human Services Commission shall submit a report to the standing
  committees of the senate and house of representatives having
  primary jurisdiction over the state Medicaid program regarding the
  commission's plan for maximizing funding in accordance with Section
  531.427, Government Code, as added by this Act, including detailed
  information regarding:
               (1)  any Section 1915(c) waiver program, as defined by
  Section 531.001, Government Code, or Medicaid program that will be
  used to maximize funding;
               (2)  the categories of funding that will be blended;
               (3)  the effects of the maximization of funding on:
                     (A)  the services available; and
                     (B)  the method of delivering the services; and
               (4)  any other information relevant to the maximization
  of funding, as determined by the commission.
         SECTION 13.  The changes in law made by this Act to
  Subchapter G-1, Chapter 531, Government Code, do not affect the
  funding for or provision of services by a community participating
  in the Texas Integrated Funding Initiative under that subchapter
  before the effective date of this Act.
         SECTION 14.  Except as otherwise provided by this Act, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2007.
 
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