Texas Administrative Code › Title 26 - HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES › Part 1 - HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION › Chapter 301 - IDD-BH CONTRACTOR ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONS › Subchapter G - MENTAL HEALTH COMMUNITY SERVICES STANDARDS › Division 2 - ORGANIZATIONAL STANDARDS › Section 301.331 - Competency and Credentialing

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) Competency of
					 staff members, including volunteers. The LMHA, MCO, and provider must implement
					 a process to ensure the competency of staff members prior to providing services
					 that, at a minimum:
(1) ensures services are
					 provided by staff members who are operating within the scope of their license,
					 job description, or contract specification;
(2) ensures that the mental health community
					 services provided by peer providers are limited to mental health
					 rehabilitative, supported employment, supported housing, parent support group,
					 and family partner services; and
(3) defines competency-based expectations for
					 each position as follows:
(A) required
					 competencies must be included for all staff members, including adequate,
					 accurate knowledge of:
(i) the nature of
					 severe and persistent mental illness and serious emotional
					 disturbances;
(ii) the recovery and
					 resiliency model of mental illness and serious emotional disturbance;
(iii) the dignity and rights of an
					 individual, as described in Chapter 404, Subchapter E of Title 25 (relating to
					 Rights of Persons Receiving Mental Health Services);
(iv) identifying, preventing, and reporting
					 abuse, neglect, and exploitation, in accordance with Chapter 414, Subchapter L
					 of Title 25 (relating to Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation in Local Authorities
					 and Community Centers);
(v)
					 individual confidentiality, as described in Chapter 414, Subchapter A of Title
					 25 (relating to Protected Health Information) and other relevant state and
					 federal laws affecting confidentiality of medical records, including Title 42
					 CFR Part 2;
(vi) interacting with
					 an individual who has a physical disability such as a hearing or visual
					 impairment;
(vii) responding to an
					 individual's language and cultural needs through knowledge of customs, beliefs,
					 and values of various, racial, ethnic, religious, and social groups;
(viii) exposure control of blood borne
					 pathogens;
(ix) identification of
					 an individual as being in a crisis and accessing emergency or urgent care
					 services;
(x) proper documentation
					 of services provided; and
(xi)
					 planning and training for responding to severe weather, disasters, and
					 bioterrorism;
(B)
					 critical competencies must be included for positions in which a staff member's
					 primary job duties are related to individual service contacts and interactions
					 and include, but are not limited to, adequate and accurate knowledge of:
(i) cardio pulmonary resuscitation
					 (CPR);
(ii) first aid;
(iii) safe management of verbally and
					 physically aggressive behavior;
(iv) utilization of assistive technology such
					 as communication devices with individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing;
					 and
(v) seizure response and
					 assessment;
(C)
					 specialty competencies must be included for positions in which a staff member
					 performs specialized services and tasks and include adequate and accurate
					 knowledge of specialized services and tasks, such as:
(i) the requirements of this
					 subchapter;
(ii) age appropriate
					 clinical assessment including the uniform assessment;
(iii) age appropriate engagement techniques
					 (e.g., motivational interviewing);
(iv) use of telemedicine equipment;
(v) the utilization management
					 guidelines;
(vi) developing and
					 implementing an individualized treatment plan;
(vii) appropriate actions to take in a crisis
					 (e.g., screening, intervention, management and if applicable, suicide/homicide
					 precautions);
(viii) services for
					 co-occurring psychiatric and substance use disorders described in Chapter 411,
					 Subchapter N of Title 25 (relating to Standards for Services to Individuals
					 with Co-Occurring Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders (COPSD));
(ix) accessing resources within the local
					 community;
(x) strategies for
					 effective advocacy and referral for an individual;
(xi) infection control;
(xii) recognition, reporting, and recording
					 of side effects, contraindications, and drug interactions of psychoactive
					 medication;
(xiii) age appropriate
					 rehabilitative approaches;
(xiv)
					 proficiency in specimen collection;
(xv) the peer-provider or consumer-operated
					 service model;
(xvi) assessment and
					 intervention with children, adolescents, and families; and
(xvii) clinical specialties directly related
					 to the services to be performed.
(D) crisis hotline competencies must be
					 included for positions in which a staff member routinely answers the crisis
					 hotline and include adequate and accurate knowledge of:
(i) the nature of severe and persistent
					 mental illness and serious emotional disturbances and COPSD;
(ii) behavioral health crisis
					 situations;
(iii) operating a
					 telephone system to access behavioral health crisis screening and
					 response;
(iv) age appropriate
					 crisis intervention and response;
(v) utilization of assistive technology such
					 as communication devices with individuals who are deaf or hard of
					 hearing;
(vi) advocacy for
					 treatment in the most clinically appropriate, available environment;
					 and
(vii) applicable privacy laws,
					 rules, and regulations including those described in Chapter 414, Subchapter A
					 of Title 25 (relating to Protected Health Information) and in Title 42 CFR Part
					 2.
(E) telemedicine
					 competencies must be included for positions in which a staff member's job
					 duties are related to assisting with telemedicine services and include adequate
					 and accurate knowledge of:
(i) operation of
					 the telemedicine equipment; and
(ii) how to use the equipment to adequately
					 present the individual.
(4) requires staff members to demonstrate
					 competencies in the following manner:
(A) all
					 staff members must demonstrate required competencies before contact with
					 individuals, confidential information, or protected health information and
					 periodically throughout the staff member's tenure of employment or association
					 with the LMHA, MCO, or provider;
(B) all staff members in positions that
					 require critical competencies must demonstrate the critical competencies before
					 contact with individuals and periodically throughout the staff member's or
					 volunteer's tenure of employment or association with the LMHA, MCO, or
					 provider;
(C) all staff members in
					 positions that require specialty competencies must demonstrate the specialty
					 competencies before providing the specialized service(s) or performing the
					 specialized task(s) and periodically throughout the staff member's or
					 volunteer's tenure of employment or association with the LMHA, MCO, or
					 provider; and
(D) all staff members
					 in positions that require crisis hotline competencies must demonstrate those
					 competencies before providing crisis hotline services and at least annually
					 throughout the staff member's or volunteer's tenure of employment or
					 association with the LMHA, MCO, or provider.