8-512.01. Behavioral health services; urgent need; dependent and adopted children; definition

A. If a dependent child who is in the legal custody of the department of child safety is placed in an out-of-home placement, the out-of-home placement shall receive immediately on placement of the child from the department an updated complete placement packet, contact information for the child's caseworker, the child's regional behavioral health authority designated point of contact, the telephone number to the Arizona health care cost containment system's customer service line, a list of Arizona health care cost containment system registered providers and information regarding the out-of-home placement's rights, if applicable, under this section.

B. If the out-of-home placement of a dependent child who is in the legal custody of the department of child safety or the adoptive parent of a child who is eligible under title XIX or XXI of the social security act identifies an urgent need for the child to receive behavioral health services, the out-of-home placement or adoptive parent may directly contact a regional behavioral health authority for a screening and evaluation of the child. The regional behavioral health authority shall dispatch an assessment team within seventy-two hours after being notified that the child has entered care in an out-of-home placement or within two hours after being notified that the child has an urgent need.  The regional behavioral health authority shall provide an initial evaluation of the child within seven calendar days after a referral or request for services. If after the screening and evaluation it is determined that the child is in need of behavioral health services, the regional behavioral health authority shall provide an initial behavioral health appointment for the child within twenty-one calendar days after the initial evaluation. 

C. On completion of the initial evaluation, the out-of-home placement or adoptive parent:

1. Shall call the regional behavioral health authority designated point of contact and the Arizona health care cost containment system's customer service line if services are not received within twenty-one days to document the failure to receive the service.

2. May access services directly from any Arizona health care cost containment system registered provider regardless of whether the provider is contracted with the regional behavioral health authority.  If the provider is not contracted with the regional behavioral health authority, the provider must submit the provider's claim to the regional behavioral health authority and accept the lesser of one hundred thirty percent of the Arizona health care cost containment system's negotiated rate or the provider's standard rate.

D. If the out-of-home placement or adoptive parent recognizes that the child is in need of crisis services and the crisis services provider in that county is not being responsive to the situation, the out-of-home placement or adoptive parent may contact the child's regional behavioral health authority designated point of contact to coordinate crisis services for the child.

E. If an out-of-home placement or adoptive parent requests the regional behavioral health authority to place a foster child or adoptive child in residential treatment because the child is displaying threatening behavior, the regional behavioral health authority shall respond to the out-of-home placement or adoptive parent within seventy-two hours after the request was made.  If the foster child or adoptive child is hospitalized due to the threatening behavior before the regional behavioral health authority responds, the regional behavioral health authority shall reimburse the hospital for all medically necessary care, including any days of the hospital stay during which the child does not meet criteria for an inpatient stay but is not discharged because the regional behavioral health authority has not authorized a safe and appropriate placement for the child outside of the hospital.

F. If a foster child moves into a different county because of the location of the child's out-of-home placement, the child's out-of-home placement may choose to have the child continue any current treatment in the previous county.  The out-of-home placement may seek any new or additional treatment for the child in the out-of-home placement's county of residence.

G. The Arizona health care cost containment system administration shall track and report annually the number of times the regional behavioral health authority coordinated crisis services because a crisis services provider was unresponsive, the number of times services were not provided within the twenty-one-day time frame, the amount of services accessed directly by an out-of-home placement or adoptive parents that were provided by noncontracted providers, the list of providers that were formerly contracted with the regional behavioral health authority but that terminated the contract and provided services pursuant to this section for one hundred thirty percent of the Arizona health care cost containment system's negotiated rate and the amount the administration spent on services pursuant to this section.  On or before July 1, 2017, the administration shall complete a network adequacy study for behavioral health service providers that provide behavioral health services to children enrolled in the comprehensive medical and dental care program.

H. The Arizona health care cost containment system administration shall adopt corrective action plans, sanctions or other measures to address noncompliance by the regional behavioral health authority, including compliance with the timely payment requirements pursuant to section 36-2904.

I. For the purposes of this section, "out-of-home placement" means a foster home, kinship foster care, a shelter care provider, a receiving home or a group foster home.