208.204. Medical care for children in custody of department, payment--division of medical services may administer funds--individualized service plans developed for children in state custody exclusivel
Medical care for children in custody of department, payment--divisionof medical services may administer funds--individualized service plansdeveloped for children in state custody exclusively based on need formental health services.
208.204. 1. The division of medical services may administer thefunds appropriated to the department of social services or any division ofthe department for payment of medical care provided to children in thelegal custody of the department of social services or any division of thedepartment.
2. Through judicial review or family support team meetings, thechildren's division shall determine which cases involve children in thesystem due exclusively to a need for mental health services, and identifythe cases where no instance of abuse, neglect, or abandonment exists.
3. Within sixty days of a child being identified pursuant tosubsection 2 of this section, an individualized service plan shall bedeveloped by the applicable state agencies responsible for providing orpaying for any and all appropriate and necessary services. Theindividualized service plan shall specifically identify which agencies aregoing to pay for, subject to appropriations, and provide such services, andsuch plan shall be submitted to the court for approval. Services shall beprovided in the least restrictive, most appropriate environment that meetsthe needs of the child including home, community-based treatment, andsupports. The child's family shall actively participate in designing theindividualized service plan for the child. The department of socialservices shall notify the appropriate judge of the child and shall submitthe individualized service plan developed for approval by the judge. Thechild may be returned by the judge to the custody of the child's family.
4. When the children are returned to their family's custody andbecome the service responsibility of the department of mental health, theappropriate moneys to provide for the care of each child in each particularsituation shall be billed to the department of social services by thedepartment of mental health pursuant to a comprehensive financing planjointly developed by the two departments.
(L. 1988 H.B. 1139, A.L. 2004 S.B. 1003)