SECTION 301.357. Additional Standards of Care Specific to Mental Health Community Services for Children and Adolescents

(a) Administration of the uniform assessment. The uniform assessment must be administered face-to-face or via telemedicine with the individual and the LAR (if applicable) or primary caregiver as clinically appropriate according to the child's or adolescent's age, functioning, and current living situation.

(b) Age and developmentally appropriate mental health community services. All mental health community services delivered to children and adolescents by a provider must be, for each child and adolescent, age-appropriate, developmentally appropriate, and consistent with academic development.

(c) Separation of individuals by age. A provider that delivers mental health community services to children and adolescents in group settings (e.g., residential, day programs, group therapy, partial hospitalization, and inpatient) must separate children and adolescents from adults. The provider must further separate children from adolescents according to age and developmental needs, unless there is a clinical or developmental justification in the medical record.

(d) Transition to mental health community services for adults. The provider must develop a transition plan for each adolescent who will need mental health community services for adults. The transition plan must be developed in consultation with the adolescent (and LAR if applicable) and future providers with adequate time to allow both current and future providers to transition the adolescent into adult services without a disruption in services. The transition plan must include:

(1) a summary of the mental health community services and treatment the adolescent received as a child and adolescent;

(2) the adolescent's current status (e.g., diagnosis, medications, uniform assessment guideline calculation, and unmet needs);

(3) information from the adolescent and the LAR regarding the adolescent's strengths, preferences for mental health community services, and responsiveness to past interventions;

(4) a description of the mental health community services the adolescent will receive as an adult;

(5) a list of resources for other recovery supports such as volunteer opportunities, family or peer organizations, 12-step programs, churches, colleges, or community education;

(6) documentation that the adolescent's services continued throughout the transition without disruptions; and

(7) documentation of the follow up to ensure successful transition to adult services.

Source Note: The provisions of this §301.357 adopted to be effective April 29, 2009, 34 TexReg 2603; transferred effective March 15, 2020, as published in the February 21, 2020 issue of the Texas Register, 45 TexReg 1237