225C.52 - MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES SYSTEM FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH -- PURPOSE.
225C.52 MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES SYSTEM FOR CHILDREN
AND YOUTH -- PURPOSE.
1. Establishing a comprehensive community-based mental health
services system for children and youth is part of fulfilling the
requirements of the division and the commission to facilitate a
comprehensive, continuous, and integrated state mental health
services plan in accordance with sections 225C.4, 225C.6, and
225C.6A, and other provisions of this chapter. The purpose of
establishing the children's system is to improve access for children
and youth with serious emotional disturbances and youth with other
qualifying mental health disorders to mental health treatment,
services, and other support in the least restrictive setting possible
so the children and youth can live with their families and remain in
their communities. The children's system is also intended to meet
the needs of children and youth who have mental health disorders that
co-occur with substance abuse, mental retardation, developmental
disabilities, or other disabilities. The children's system shall
emphasize community-level collaborative efforts between children and
youth and the families and the state's systems of education, child
welfare, juvenile justice, health care, substance abuse, and mental
health.
2. The goals and outcomes desired for the children's system shall
include but are not limited to all of the following:
a. Identifying the mental health needs of children and youth.
b. Performing comprehensive assessments of children and youth
that are designed to identify functional skills, strengths, and
services needed.
c. Providing timely access to available treatment, services,
and other support.
d. Offering information and referral services to families to
address service needs other than mental health.
e. Improving access to needed mental health services by
allowing children and youth to be served with their families in the
community.
f. Preventing or reducing utilization of more costly,
restrictive care by reducing the unnecessary involvement of children
and youth who have mental health needs and their families with law
enforcement, the corrections system, and detention, juvenile justice,
and other legal proceedings; reducing the involvement of children and
youth with child welfare services or state custody; and reducing the
placement of children and youth in the state juvenile institutions,
state mental health institutes, or other public or private
residential psychiatric facilities.
g. Increasing the number of children and youth assessed for
functional skill levels.
h. Increasing the capacity to develop individualized,
strengths-based, and integrated treatment plans for children, youth,
and families.
i. Promoting communications with caregivers and others about
the needs of children, youth, and families engaged in the children's
system.
j. Developing the ability to aggregate data and information,
and to evaluate program, service, and system efficacy for children,
youth, and families being served on a local and statewide basis.
k. Implementing and utilizing outcome measures that are
consistent with but not limited to the national outcomes measures
identified by the substance abuse and mental health services
administration of the United States department of health and human
services.
l. Identifying children and youth whose mental health or
emotional condition, whether chronic or acute, represents a danger to
themselves, their families, school students or staff, or the
community. Section History: Recent Form
2008 Acts, ch 1187, §54