SECTION 379.1403. Crisis Call Hotline

A contractor does not have to provide a crisis call hotline, but if the contractor does provide a hotline and it is funded by the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), the contractor must:

(1) answer the hotline 24 hours a day, every day of the year, by an individual trained in crisis intervention or who has immediate access to someone who has had this training;

(2) accept collect calls and anonymous incoming calls;

(3) list the hotline number in all telephone directories within the contractor's service area and on the contractor's website, if applicable;

(4) provide a minimum of two hotline telephone lines;

(5) ensure the caller has direct access to a live person who is trained to assess the person's safety and that a messaging system is not used to answer the hotline;

(6) provide caller ID blocks on the contractor's numbers for outgoing calls to program participants and other victims of family violence, which may only be unblocked with permission from the program participant or victim of family violence;

(7) ensure the screening process complies with all state and federal laws if the hotline is used to screen for eligibility for services;

(8) keep all hotline calls and any related documentation confidential;

(9) provide meaningful access to persons with disabilities, including victims of family violence with sensory and speech impairments;

(10) ensure the contractor is able to provide meaningful access to people with limited English proficiency; and

(11) if the contractor uses caller ID or any other technology that establishes a record of calls on the hotline, the contractor must:

(A) ensure there will not be a breach of confidentiality to third parties; and

(B) comply with the confidentiality requirements of §379.1323 of this subchapter (relating to Policies and Procedures for the Retention and Destruction of Documentation) regarding the records generated by caller ID or other technology.

Source Note: The provisions of this §379.1403 adopted to be effective December 23, 2007, 32 TexReg 9332; amended to be effective September 1, 2013, 38 TexReg 4309