25 TAC §§412.951 - 412.958
The Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation
(TDMHMR) proposes §§412.951-412.958 of new Chapter 412, Subchapter
Z, concerning jail diversion pilot program.
The proposed sections describe TDMHMR's process for local authorities to
conduct mental health evaluations through interactive audiovisual telecommunications.
The mental health evaluations are conducted as part of a jail diversion pilot
program required by SB 789 of the 77th Texas Legislature, codified in Texas
Health and Safety Code, §§533.101 and 533.102. Austin Travis County
MHMR, Austin, and Tri-County MHMR, Conroe, will participate in the pilot program,
which uses interactive audiovisual telecommunications to identify persons
who are clinically eligible for diversion from jail to mental health services
prior to being charged with a crime or detained in jail. The authorizing legislation
provides for both prebooking and postbooking diversion, but the rules apply
to prebooking mental health evaluations only.
Cindy Brown, chief financial officer, has determined that for each year
of the first five years the proposed sections are in effect, enforcing or
administering the sections does not have foreseeable implications relating
to costs or revenues of the state or local governments because this pilot
will facilitate the delivery of services already in place at the two pilot
sites.
Mike Maples, assistant director, Behavioral Health Services, has determined
that for each year of the first five years the proposed sections are in effect,
the public benefit expected is the implementation of procedures that will
enable participating local authorities to evaluate whether a person is clinically
eligible for diversion from jail to mental health services prior to being
charged with a crime or detained in jail and to test and evaluate the effectiveness
of using telecommunication technology for this purpose. It is anticipated
that there would be no additional economic cost to persons required to comply
with the proposed sections because mental health evaluations are required
to be provided by all local mental health authorities. The cost of the equipment
will be funded through a grant.
It is not anticipated that the proposed sections will affect a local economy
because no funds in addition to those already provided to local mental health
authorities will be used.
It is not anticipated that the proposed sections will have an adverse economic
effect on small businesses or micro-businesses because the sections do not
place requirements on small or micro-businesses.
Written comments on the proposed sections may be sent to Linda Logan, director,
Policy Development, Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation,
P.O. Box 12668, Austin, Texas 78711-2668, within 30 days of publication.
These new sections are proposed under the Texas Health and Safety
Code, §532.015, which provides the Texas Board of Mental Health and Mental
Retardation (board) with broad rulemaking authority, and Texas Health and
Safety Code, §533.102, which requires TDMHMR to promulgate rules governing
prebooking mental health evaluations using interactive audiovisual telecommunications.
The proposed sections would affect the Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter
533, §§533.101-533.102.
§412.951.Purpose.
The purpose of this subchapter is to provide procedures for evaluations
governing the use of interactive audiovisual telecommunications in the pilot
program established under Texas Health and Safety Code, §§533.101-533.102,
to determine if a person is clinically eligible for diversion from jail to
mental health services prior to the person being charged with a crime or being
detained in jail.
§412.952.Application.
This subchapter applies to local mental health authorities (LMHAs)
participating in the jail diversion pilot program established under the Texas
Health and Safety Code, Chapter 533, §§533.101-533.102.
§412.953.Definitions.
The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter, have the
following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(1)
Booking center staff member--A person employed by a booking
center.
(2)
Interactive audiovisual telecommunication--Electronic media
involving both hearing and sight, by both the person being evaluated and the
evaluator, used to conduct a mental health evaluation.
(3)
Law enforcement officer--A representative of a municipal,
county, or state law enforcement agency who is certified by the Texas Commission
on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education (TCLEOSE) and who is responsible
for enforcement of law or civil commitment actions.
(4)
Local mental health authority (LMHA)--An entity to which
the Texas Board of Mental Health and Mental Retardation delegates its authority
and responsibility within a specified region for the planning, policy development,
coordination, resource development and allocation, and/or for supervising
and ensuring the provision of mental health community services to people with
mental illness in one or more local service areas.
(5)
Mental illness--An illness, disease, or condition (other
than a sole diagnosis of epilepsy, senility, substance use disorder or dependency,
mental retardation, autism, or pervasive developmental disorder) that:
(A)
substantially impairs an individual's thought, perception
of reality, emotional process, or judgment; or
(B)
grossly impairs an individual's behavior as demonstrated
by recent disturbed behavior.
(6)
Mental health evaluation--The clinical process of obtaining
and evaluating relevant historical, social, functional, psychiatric, developmental,
or other information from a person sufficient to determine priority population
eligibility, treatment needs, the intensity of those needs, and the nature
of the person's current support system.
(7)
Person--An individual who has been detained by a law enforcement
officer.
(8)
Qualified mental health professional (QMHP)--An individual
who is credentialed to provide QMHP-CS services, including those referenced
in §§412.314(a)-(b) and 412.315(a) of this title (relating to Crisis
Services and to Assessment and Treatment Planning, respectively), who has
demonstrated competency in the work to be performed, and who:
(A)
has a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university
with a minimum number of hours equivalent to a major as determined by the
LMHA in accordance with §412.312(c) of this title (relating to Competency
and Credentialing) from an accredited college or university in psychology,
social work, medicine, nursing, rehabilitation, counseling, sociology, human
growth and development, physician assistant, gerontology, special education,
educational psychology, early childhood education, or early childhood intervention;
or
(B)
is a registered nurse.
§412.954.Determination of Clinical Eligibility for Diversion: Mental Health Evaluation.
(a)
A QMHP conducts a mental health evaluation using interactive
audiovisual telecommunication in accordance with §412.315(a) of this
title (relating to Assessment and Treatment Planning).
(b)
The LMHA ensures that a person referred by a law enforcement
officer or booking center staff person and consent is obtained, receives a
mental health evaluation through interactive audiovisual telecommunication
prior to being charged with a crime or detained in jail.
(c)
Based on the results of the mental health evaluation, the
QMHP determines if the person is clinically eligible for diversion.
§412.955.Obtaining Informed Consent for the Evaluation.
(a)
The QMHP requests and documents the person's informed consent,
or withholding of informed consent, to participate in a mental health evaluation
using interactive audiovisual telecommunications.
(b)
The QMHP ensures that the person is not videotaped or audiotaped
during the mental health evaluation for any purpose.
§412.956.Recommendations and Documentation.
(a)
The QMHP makes a verbal and written report to the referring
law enforcement officer or booking center staff person concerning:
(1)
the person's clinical eligibility or ineligibility for
treatment services; (2) the LMHA's capacity or lack of capacity to treat a
person who is clinically eligible for treatment services;
(3)
the person's informed consent or lack of informed consent
to receive LMHA treatment services; and
(4)
the QMHP's treatment recommendations.
(b)
The LMHA maintains documentation of each mental health
evaluation conducted through interactive audiovisual telecommunication.
§412.957.References.
The following laws and rules are referenced in this subchapter:
(1)
Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 533;
(2)
Chapter 404, Subchapter E, of this title, governing Rights
of Persons Receiving Mental Health Services; and
(3)
Chapter 412, Subchapter G, of this title, governing Mental
Health Community Services Standards.
§412.958.Distribution.
(a)
This subchapter is distributed to:
(1)
all members of the Texas Board of Mental Health and Mental
Retardation;
(2)
executive, management, and program staff of TDMHMR Central
Office;
(3)
executive directors of all local authorities; and
(4)
advocacy organizations.
(b)
The executive director of each LMHA participating in the
pilot program is responsible for disseminating copies of this subchapter to
all appropriate staff and contractors.
This agency hereby certifies that the proposal has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be within the agency's legal authority to adopt.
Filed with the Office of
the Secretary of State on January 17, 2002.
TRD-200200264
Andrew Hardin
Chairman, Texas MHMR Board
Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation
Earliest possible date of adoption: March 3, 2002
For further information, please call: (512) 206-4516