1998 Minnesota Code
Chapters 245 - 267 Public Welfare and Related Activities
Chapter 260 Juveniles
Section 260.152 Mental health screening of children.

260.152 Mental health screening of children.

Subdivision 1. Establishment. The commissioner of human services, in cooperation with the commissioner of corrections, shall establish pilot projects in counties to reduce the recidivism rates of juvenile offenders, by identifying and treating underlying mental health problems that contribute to delinquent behavior and can be addressed through nonresidential services. At least one of the pilot projects must be in the seven-county metropolitan area and at least one must be in greater Minnesota.

Subd. 2. Program components. (a) The commissioner of human services shall, in consultation with the Indian affairs council, the council on affairs of Chicano/Latino people, the council on Black Minnesotans, and the council on Asian-Pacific Minnesotans, provide grants to the counties for the pilot projects. The projects shall build upon the existing service capabilities in the community and must include availability of screening for mental health problems of children who are alleged or found to be delinquent and children who are reported as being or found to be in need of protection or services.

(b) The projects must include referral for mental health assessment of all children for whom the screening indicates a need. This assessment is to be provided by the appropriate mental health professional. If the child is of a minority race or minority ethnic heritage, the mental health professional must be skilled in and knowledgeable about the child's racial and ethnic heritage, or must consult with a special mental health consultant who has such knowledge so that the assessment is relevant, culturally specific, and sensitive to the child's cultural needs.

(c) Upon completion of the assessment, the project must provide or ensure access to nonresidential mental health services identified as needed in the assessment.

Subd. 3. Screening tool. The commissioner of human services and the commissioner of corrections, in consultation with the Indian affairs council, the council on affairs of Chicano/Latino people, the council on Black Minnesotans, and the council on Asian-Pacific Minnesotans, shall jointly develop a model screening tool to screen children to determine if a mental health assessment is needed. This tool must contain specific questions to identify potential mental health problems. In implementing a pilot project, a county must either use this model tool or another screening tool approved by the commissioner of human services which meets the requirements of this section.

Subd. 4. Program requirements. To receive funds, the county program proposal shall be a joint proposal with all affected local agencies, resulting in part from consultation with the local coordinating council established under section 245.4873, subdivision 3, and the local mental health advisory council established under section 245.4875, subdivision 5, and shall contain the following:

(1) evidence of interagency collaboration by all publicly funded agencies serving children with emotional disturbances, including evidence of consultation with the agencies listed in this section;

(2) a signed agreement by the local court services and local mental health and county social service agencies to work together on the following: development of a program; development of written interagency agreements and protocols to ensure that the mental health needs of juvenile offenders and children in need of protection or services are identified, addressed, and treated; and development of a procedure for joint evaluation of the program;

(3) a description of existing services that will be used in this program;

(4) a description of additional services that will be developed with program funds, including estimated costs and numbers of children to be served; and

(5) assurances that funds received by a county under this section will not be used to supplant existing mental health funding for which the child is eligible.

The commissioner of human services and the commissioner of corrections shall jointly determine the application form, information needed, deadline for application, criteria for awards, and a process for providing technical assistance and training to counties. The technical assistance shall include information about programs that have been successful in reducing recidivism by juvenile offenders.

Subd. 5. Interagency agreements. To receive funds, the county must agree to develop written interagency agreements between local court services agencies and local county mental health agencies within six months of receiving the initial program funds. These agreements shall include a description of each local agency's responsibilities, with a detailed assignment of the tasks necessary to implement the program. The agreement shall state how they will comply with the confidentiality requirements of the participating local agencies.

Subd. 6. Evaluation. The commissioner of human services and the commissioner of corrections shall, in consultation with the Indian affairs council, the council on affairs of Chicano/Latino people, the council on Black Minnesotans, and the council on Asian-Pacific Minnesotans, develop systems and procedures for evaluating the pilot projects. The departments must develop an interagency management information system to track children who receive mental health services. The system must be designed to meet the information needs of the agencies involved and to provide a basis for evaluating outcome data. The system must be designed to track the mental health treatment of children released from custody and to improve the planning, delivery, and evaluation of services and increase interagency collaboration. The evaluation protocol must be designed to measure the impact of the program on juvenile recidivism, school performance, and state and county budgets.

Subd. 7. Repealed, 1997 c 7 art 2 s 67

HIST: 1992 c 571 art 10 s 19; 1994 c 576 s 18; 1997 c 7 art 3 s 10-12