DHS Planning for Children’s Behavioral Health Services
The Department of Human Services (DHS) is implementing a number of measures related to services for children and adolescents with behavioral health needs. The full text of their announcement is available for review and a summary of key elements of the DHS action plans are highlighted below:
Behavioral Health Rehabilitation Services (BHRS)
- Concentrating efforts on the development of appropriate regulatory guidance for BHRS.
- Established a work group that will review existing policies, bulletins, and data that will be used to draft the regulations by November 2016.
Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA)
- Developed a two-year action plan to enhance access and quality of ABA services.
- Will develop new requirements for the training, qualifications, skills, and experience of practitioners.
- Issued bulletins clarifying the training requirements for TSS workers and newly licensed behavior specialists who use BSC-ASD services to provide ABA.
- Issued a bulletin that provides guidelines to assess the medical necessity of ABA.
Behavior Specialist Licensure
- Will send out guidance to accredited colleges and universities that are interested in developing graduate-level coursework or programs.
- Will provide guidance for students on how they can satisfy the coursework and experience requirements while working towards their degree.
