Hawaii HB 1123: RELATING TO MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS.

Bill Text

~-k.B.NO. (t’2~
A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
1 SECTION 1. The legislature finds that addressing mental
2 health needs early in life is imperative for better health and
3 well-being in adulthood. Adverse childhood experiences, various
4 forms of trauma during a child’s development, are linked to a
5 greater likelihood of lifelong risky behaviors that can lead to
6 chronic diseases and poor mental health, including depression,
7 anxiety, and suicidality.
8 The importance of children and adolescent mental health was
9 emphasized during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
10 pandemic. The pandemic significantly impacted the social,
11 emotional, and mental well-being of youth globally. Hawaii
12 children and adolescents, like those in other states in the
13 nation, were more likely to have depression and anxiety after
14 the first year of the COVID-l9 pandemic.
15 The child and adolescent mental health division of the
16 department of health is the State’s Medicaid provider of
17 intensive mental health services for youth. Services provided
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1 by the division may be described as a multi-tiered and multi-
2 agency system of care.
3 The child and adolescent mental health division receives
4 referrals from, and provides mental health services in
5 coordination and collaboration with, other state government
6 agencies, as appropriate. For example, the division may receive
7 a client who is housed in a detention home, has been abused, and
8 has dropped out of school. The division will provide the child
9 with treatment and services in coordination with other state
10 agencies, including the judiciary, child welfare services, and
11 department of education, that may be involved given the child’s
12 circumstances. To minimize disruptions in the daily lives of
13 the clients and their families, the division provides its
14 clients with community-based services and supports by
15 contracting with mental health professionals who practice near
16 or in the communities where eligible children and adolescents
17 live.
18 The purpose of this bill is to clarify and update the
19 responsibilities of the child and adolescent mental health
20 division of the department of health to reflect the current
21 mental health systems of care that address mental health needs
22 of children and adolescents in the State.
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1 SECTION 2. Chapter 321, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
2 amended by adding to part XV a new section to be appropriately
3 designated and to read as follows:
4 ~321- Definitions. For the purposes of this part:
5 “Client” means a child or adolescent who is receiving
6 services from the child and adolescent mental health division.
7 ~TDivisionh? means the child and adolescent mental health
8 division of the department of health.”
9 SECTION 3. Section 321-171, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
10 amended to read as follows:
11 “~321-l71 Children’s and adolescents’ mental health
12 services; department responsibility. It shall be the
13 responsibility of the department of health to:
14 (1) Provide preventative health services for children and
15 [youth;] and adolescents; and
16 (2) Provide diagnostic and treatment services for
17 emotionally disturbed children and [youth; and
18 -(-3-)- Providc trcatmcnt and rchabilitativc ocrvicco for
19 mcntally ill childrcn and youth.] adolescents.
20 [Such] These services shall be delivered [at thc carlicst
21 poøøiblc momcnt] as soon as reasonably possible after the need
22 for [ouch] the services is established. [M-1-] Subject to the
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1 availability of state or federal resources, eligible children
2 and [youth] adolescents between the ages of birth and seventeen
3 years shall receive the necessary mental health services to
4 [inourc] ensure their proper and full development. [If thcrc ic
5 any adjudication or øcttlcmcnt of any lcgal action involving thc
6 dclivcry of childrcn’o mcntal hcalth ocrvicco, thcj The
7 department of health shall be responsible for the coordination
8 of carrying out the terms of [~-he] any judgment or settlement[--]
9 related to the delivery of children’s and adolescents’ mental
10 health services, as required by this section.”
11 SECTION 4. Section 321-172, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
12 amended to read as follows:
13 “~321-172 [Childrcn’o mcntal health ~crvicco branch.]
14 Child and adolescent mental health division. There is
15 established within the department of health[, mcntal hcalth
16 divioion, a childrcn’c] a child and adolescent mental health
17 [branch] division, which shall coordinate the effective and
18 efficient delivery of mental health services to children and
19 [youth,] adolescents, including services provided by private
20 nonprofit agencies under contract to the department of health,
21 and be responsible for the development and implementat