SB 608

This bill requires the Department of Health Services to create and administer

a school-based mental health consultation pilot program in Outagamie County to

assist participating school-based providers in providing enhanced care to students

with mental health care needs, to provide referral support for those students, and to

provide additional services. The mental health consultation pilot program is not an

emergency referral service. DHS must provide moneys to an organization that as of

January 1, 2019, provided consultation services through the child psychiatry

consultation program existing under current law, and the organization must meet

certain criteria and provide consultation services through the consultation pilot

program established by the bill. Under the bill, the consultation provider must have

the capability to provide consultation services by telephone, and may also provide

services by other means of communication. The consultation provider may also

provide certain in-person or Internet site-based educational seminars and refresher

courses provided to any participating school-based provider who uses the

consultation pilot program, and these services are eligible for funding from DHS.

A consultation provider must report any information requested by DHS. The

bill also requires DHS to conduct annual surveys of participating school-based

providers who use the consultation pilot program and to submit a report on the

program to the appropriate committees of the legislature by August 1, 2022.