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5.4.1
Introduction
Persons determined to have a serious mental illness may be in need
of special assistance to participate in activities associated with
receiving behavioral health services. Special assistance can help
a person when developing an individual service and treatment plan,
filing a grievance or appeal or requesting an investigation concerning
a potential rights violation. A clinician, a case manager, a clinical
team or the Tribal or Regional Behavioral Health Authority (T/RBHA)
may identify a person’s need for special assistance. The following
are some examples of circumstances that may necessitate the provision
of special assistance:
- A person
who needs 24-hour supervision;
- A person
who has difficulty communicating needs and does not have a court
appointed fiduciary; or
- A person
with physical disabilities or language limitations that impact
the person’s ability to make or communicate decisions or
to participate in meetings.
The T/RBHAs,
behavioral health providers and the human rights advocates within
the Office of Human Rights provide special assistance. The Office
of Human Rights provides each human rights committee with a list
of all persons who need special assistance within the jurisdiction
of the respective human rights committee. Each human rights committee
is then responsible for providing independent oversight of the provision
of special assistance. This section outlines expectations for behavioral
health providers to periodically assess a person’s need for
special assistance and to appropriately refer a person to the Office
of Human Rights when a need for special assistance is identified.
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5.4.2
References
The following citations can serve as additional resources for this
content area:
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5.4.3
Scope
To whom does this apply?
All persons
determined to have a Serious Mental Illness who potentially may
be in need of special assistance.
5.4.4
Did you know…?
- A person
determined to have a serious mental illness who has a legal guardian
or other designated representative can still qualify for the provision
of special assistance.
- Human rights
advocates advocate on behalf of persons with a serious mental
illness and assist such persons in understanding and protecting
their rights and obtaining needed services.
- Human rights
committees exist in each region of the state. Their role is to
provide independent oversight to make sure that the rights of
persons receiving behavioral health services are protected and
to oversee the provision of services to clients identified as
needing special assistance.
- Advocates
within the Office of Human Rights may provide or arrange for the
provision of special assistance to a person when a request for
assistance is initiated by the person, another involved representative
or a provider agency. To contact the Office of Human Rights call
(602) 364-4574 or 1-800-421-2124.
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5.4.5
Objectives
The intent of this standard is to identify the need for
special assistance for persons who have been determined to have
a serious mental illness and to refer such persons to the T/RBHA,
Office of Human Rights and appropriate human rights committee.
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5.4.6
Procedures
5.4.6-A.
Identification of the need for special assistance
Behavioral health providers must periodically assess a
person diagnosed with a serious mental illness’s need for
special assistance (see Section 3.9, Intake, Assessment and Service
Planning for more information regarding the identification of special
assistance as part of the person’s initial and ongoing assessments).
Behavioral health providers must also consider a person’s
need for special assistance during the following situations involving
a person diagnosed with a serious mental illness:
- Intake and
assessment;
- Treatment
and service plan development;
- Filing and
processing grievances and appeals; and
- A formal
investigation concerning the person.
A person is
determined to need special assistance if he/she is:
- Unable or
unwilling to communicate preferences for services; and/or
- Unable or
unwilling to participate in service planning; and/or
- Unable or
unwilling to participate in a grievance, appeal or an investigation
process.
The person’s
limitations must be due to:
- Cognitive
ability;
- Intellectual
capacity;
- Sensory
impairment (the need to use American Sign Language, Braille or
lip reading);
- Language
barriers (the need of a person who is learning disabled to receive
information compatible with their comprehension level); or
- Medical
condition.
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5.4.6-B.
Notifying the Office of Human Rights
After a behavioral health provider identifies a person
in need of special assistance, the provider must notify and report
the information to the contracted T/RBHA using the Request for Special
Assistance Form (Form 5.4.1). The Request for Special Assistance
Form must be maintained in the person’s comprehensive clinical
record.
5.4.6-C.
No longer in need of Special Assistance
When a clinician, case manager or the clinical team determines that
a person no longer needs special assistance, the T/RBHA or behavioral
health provider must notify the person and the Office of Human Rights
within 10 days of the determination. The notification must include
the reasons for determining that the person is no longer in need
of special assistance.
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5.4
Special Assistance for Persons Determined to have a Serious
Mental Illness
Last Revised: 09/12/2003
Effective Date: 01/01/2004 |
