SECTION 904.29. Criteria for Commitment of a Minor to a State MR Facility Under the PMRA

(a) In accordance with THSC, §§593.003, 593.052, and 593.041, a minor may be committed to a state MR facility for residential services only if:

(1) the minor is determined to have mental retardation in accordance with §415.155 of this title (relating to Determination of Mental Retardation (DMR));

(2) the minor, because of mental retardation:

(A) represents a substantial risk of physical impairment or injury to self or others; or

(B) is unable to provide for and is not providing for the minor's most basic personal physical needs;

(3) the minor cannot be adequately and appropriately habilitated in an available, less restrictive setting;

(4) the state MR facility provides habilitative services, care, training, and treatment appropriate to the minor's needs; and

(5) a report by an MRA's IDT recommending the placement has been completed in accordance with §412.264 of this title (relating to IDT Recommendation Concerning the Commitment of an Adult or a Minor or the Regular Voluntary Admission of an Adult to a State MR Facility Under the PMRA) during the six months preceding the date of the commitment hearing.

(b) A minor represents a substantial risk of physical impairment or injury to self or others or is unable to provide for and is not providing for the minor's most basic personal physical needs, as referenced in subsection (a)(2) of this section, if:

(1) the minor's IQ is four or more standard deviations below the mean, (i.e., in the severe or profound range of mental retardation);

(2) the minor's ICAP service level equals:

(A) 1, 2, 3, or 4; or

(B) 5 or 6 and the minor:

(i) has extraordinary medical needs that would require direct nursing treatment for at least 180 minutes per week if the minor's caregiver were not providing such treatment; or

(ii) exhibits incidents of dangerous behavior that would require intensive staff intervention and resources to prevent serious physical injury to the minor or others if the minor's caregiver were not managing such incidents; or

(3) the minor meets other objective measures as determined by the department.

(c) A determination that a minor cannot be adequately and appropriately habilitated in an available, less restrictive setting, as referenced in subsection (a)(3) of this section, may not be made unless:

(1) a CRCG held a staffing concerning the minor and provided information to the minor's family about available community supports that could serve as an alternative to admission of the minor to a state MR facility;

(2) available community supports that could serve as an alternative to admission of the minor to a state MR facility were attempted; and

(3) if there are indications that the minor may have a serious emotional disturbance, the minor was assessed by a children's mental health professional to determine if a serious emotional disturbance exists and services to address the serious emotional disturbance were attempted.

Source Note: The provisions of this §904.29 adopted to be effective January 1, 2001, 25 TexReg 12746; transferred effective September 1, 2004, as published in the Texas Register September 10, 2004, 29 TexReg 8841; transferred effective September 1, 2023, as published in the August 11, 2023, issue of the Texas Register, 48 TexReg 4397