North Carolina HB 1201: Youth Placement Study.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 1201

Short Title: Youth Placement Study. (Public)
Sponsors: Representative K. Brown.
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Appropriations, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
May 5, 2026
*H1201-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO CONDUCT A TEMPORARY PLACEMENT PILOT PROGRAM THROUGH 2
THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AND FOR THE 3
DEPARTMENT TO STUDY AND REPORT ON VARIOUS LICENSURE AND YOUTH 4
PLACEMENT REFORMS. 5
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 6
SECTION 1. Temporary Placement Pilot Program. – There is established the 7
Temporary Placement Pilot Program, administered by the Department of Health and Human 8
Services. The purpose of the Program is to provide high-acuity youth, who would require 9
placement in a psychiatric residential treatment facility (PRTF), be eligible for temporary 10
placement in a lower-level setting that assures safety for the youth through sufficient 11
wrap-around services and supports. The Program would focus on providing those high-acuity 12
youth with therapeutic alternatives to other temporary placements used during high-volume 13
periods, such as social service offices and emergency rooms. The Department of Health and 14
Human Services, Division of Social Services and Division of Mental Health, Developmental 15
Disabilities, and Substance Use Services, shall apply for any required waivers to provide these 16
flexibilities. The Program would begin within six months of receiving any required waivers and 17
adoption of temporary rules, if necessary. 18
SECTION 2. Study. – The Department of Health and Human Services shall study 19
and submit a report to the Joint Legislative Health and Human Services Oversight Committee by 20
October 1, 2026, on the outcomes of the Temporary Placement Pilot Program under Section 1 of 21
this act and all of the following: 22
(1) Allow experienced providers with a history of excellence to operate under a 23
temporary and less rigorous approval with post-opening compliance 24
verification until full licensure approval can be processed, including allowing 25
for video walkthroughs for the Division of Health Service Regulation 26
licensure approval. 27
(2) Reduce admission hesitancy by creating clinical exception pathways, by 28
providing liability protection with defined parameters, State-supported 29
clinical consultation, and enhanced reimbursement for high-acuity cases. 30
(3) Policy adjustments regarding emergency admission flexibility by (i) allowing 31
same-day comprehensive clinical assessments (CCA), (ii) permit the 32
admitting provider to complete the CCA, and (iii) accept provisional 33
documentation for immediate placement. 34

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 1201-First Edition
(4) Reintegration success rates of youth transiting from out-of-state provider 1
placements to the same or step-down levels of care, including family 2
reintegration, time to re-placement, family reunification outcomes, cost 3
comparison compared to in-State care, and reintegration success. 4
SECTION 3. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of 5
Health and Human Services the nonrecurring sum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) 6
for the 2026-2027 fiscal year to conduct the Temporary Placement Pilot Program, as enacted in 7
Section 1 of this act. 8
SECTION 4. Section 3 of this act becomes effective July 1, 2026. The remainder of 9
this act is effective when it becomes law. 10