An Act To Address Maine's Shortage of Behavioral Health Services for Minors
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1418
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: McCREIGHT, SANBORN, BEEBE-CENTER, DAUGHTRY, GATTINE, PERRY, RECKITT, TALBOT ROSS, CLAXTON
Amends: 22 MRSA §7708

Legislative Document
No. 1418
H.P. 1031
House of Representatives, March 28, 2019
An Act To Address Maine's Shortage of Behavioral Health Services 
for Minors
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative McCREIGHT of Harpswell.
Cosponsored by Senator SANBORN, L. of Cumberland and
Representatives: BEEBE-CENTER of Rockland, DAUGHTRY of Brunswick, GATTINE of 
Westbrook, McDONALD of Stonington, PERRY of Calais, RECKITT of South Portland, 
TALBOT ROSS of Portland, Senator: CLAXTON of Androscoggin.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  22 MRSA §7708 is enacted to read:
§7708.  Behavioral health resource for minors website
1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A.  "Behavioral health needs" means a wide range of mental health disorders and 
illnesses, substance use disorder, developmental disabilities and autism spectrum 
disorder.
B.  "Community service provider" has the same meaning as in Title 5, section 20003, 
subsection 4.
C.  "Extended stay" means a stay of a patient in a health care facility that is longer 
than required to stabilize immediate threats to the life and safety of the patient for the 
purpose of a longer term treatment of a health care issue.
D.  "Hospital emergency department" means the department of a hospital responsible 
for the provision of medical and surgical care to patients arriving at the hospital with 
health conditions, including illnesses and trauma, requiring immediate care.
E.  "Mental health disorders and illness" means certain mental and emotional 
disorders 
including 
depression, 
anxiety, 
bipolar 
disorder, 
schizophrenia, 
post-traumatic stress disorder, conduct disorder, attention deficit disorder and 
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and aggressive behavior, risk of harm to self 
or others and difficulty with anger control.
F.  "Substance use disorder" means a significant functional impairment of a person, 
including a health problem or a disability, caused by the misuse of alcohol or another 
drug as addressed by Title 5, chapter 521.
2.  Website.  The department shall maintain:
A.  A daily updated statewide list on a publicly accessible website accessible by 
hospital emergency departments that displays available placements to assist hospital 
emergency departments to locate potential openings in mental health facilities or 
programs and with community service providers for minors with behavioral health 
needs for the purpose of referring the persons to the facilities or programs for 
residential placement or care; and
B.  A quarterly updated resource list for hospital emergency departments on a 
publicly accessible website that includes mental health facilities or programs and 
community service providers for minors with behavioral health needs with 
descriptions of the admissions and exclusions criteria of the programs, facilities and 
providers, including age, gender and populations served, such as individuals with 
physical or developmental disabilities or autism or other behavioral health needs.
3.  Data collection and analysis.  The department shall collect and analyze data on 
the issue of minors with behavioral health needs being held in hospital emergency 
departments for extended stays, including:
A.   Collecting on a monthly basis data regarding:
(1)  Admissions to all hospital emergency departments of minors with behavioral 
health needs, including length of stay and criteria for admission and discharge;
(2)  Programs available to minors with behavioral health needs, including the 
number and type of programs and the number of beds, slots or placements of the 
programs available to the minors; and
(3)  Minors with behavioral health needs sent to a facility or program outside the 
State for treatment, including the type of program and length of stay for each 
minor; and
B.  Analyzing the data in paragraph A, including identifying:
(1)  Reasons for extended stays, including lack of beds, slots or placements in 
other facilities or programs, refusal of admission to other facilities or programs 
due to behavioral concerns or lack of community-based programs such as home-
based support, step-down programs providing partial hospitalization or outpatient 
treatment providers or programs;
(2)  Specific behavioral health needs treatment programs and the waiting list for 
admission to each program; and
(3)  Funding mechanisms for appropriate service delivery and programming to 
provide short-term, transitional assistance, such as temporary staff increases, one-
on-one staffing or staff training to address specific areas of behavioral health 
needs, to minors with behavioral health needs who are discharged to residential 
placements, partial hospitalization or home-based programs.
The department shall study the data collected and analyzed to determine the extent of the 
issue of minors with behavioral health needs being held in hospital emergency 
departments, the characteristics of the minors and any progress made on efforts to address 
the issue.  By January 1st of each year, the department shall submit a summary of the 
study along with conclusions and any recommendations to the joint standing committee 
of the Legislature having jurisdiction over health and human services matters. The 
committee may report out legislation based upon the study and recommendations to the 
Legislature by February 1st of that year.
Sec. 2.  Department of Health and Human Services to study behavioral 
health needs advocate.  In conjunction with the report required under the Maine 
Revised Statutes, Title 22, section 7708, subsection 3, for the report due January 1, 2020, 
the Department of Health and Human Services shall study the feasibility of adding a child 
behavioral health needs advocate within the department to ensure best practices among 
behavioral health needs providers and to coordinate the department's activities regarding 
addressing the behavioral health needs of minors with activities by hospital emergency 
departments and behavioral health treatment providers such as hospitals, step-down 
programs providing partial hospitalization, contracted behavioral health residential 
programs and the Department of Corrections.  For purposes of this section, "behavioral 
health needs" has the same meaning as in Title 22, section 7708, subsection 1, paragraph 
A.
SUMMARY
This bill:
1. Defines "behavioral health needs" to mean a wide range of mental health disorders 
and illnesses, substance use disorder, developmental disabilities and autism spectrum 
disorder;
2. Directs the Department of Health and Human Services to take measures to address 
the issue of extended stays in hospital emergency departments by minors with behavioral 
health needs by:
A.  Maintaining a daily updated online statewide list of available mental health 
facility or program and community service provider placements for referral purposes 
by hospital emergency departments;
B.  Maintaining a quarterly updated online resource list of mental health programs or 
facilities and community service providers that treat behavioral health needs; and
C.  Collecting monthly data on and study the issue of extended stays of minors with 
behavioral health needs in hospital emergency departments and annually submitting a 
report with a summary of the study along with any recommendations to the joint 
standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over health and human 
services matters;
3.  Directs the department to study the data and analysis on extended stays in hospital 
emergency departments by minors with behavioral health needs and submit an annual 
report to the Legislature that identifies:
A.  Reasons for the extended stays;
B.  Specific behavioral health needs treatment programs and the waiting list for 
admission to each program; and
C.  Funding mechanisms to provide short-term transitional assistance to minors with 
behavioral health needs discharged from a hospital emergency department to 
residential placements, partial hospitalizations or home-based programs; and
4.  Directs the department to study the feasibility of adding a child behavioral needs 
advocate within the department to coordinate the department's activities with those of 
various agencies and programs that provide behavioral health needs services to minors 
and to submit a report to the Legislature by January 1, 2020.