Section 34.23. Assessment and response.

 

(1)   Eligibility for services. To receive emergency mental health services, a person shall be in a mental health crisis or be in a situation which is likely to develop into a crisis if supports are not provided.

(2)   Written policies. A program shall have written policies which describe all of the following:

(a) The procedures to be followed when assessing the needs of a person who requests or is referred to the program for emergency mental health services and for planning and implementing an appropriate response based on the assessment.

(b) Adjustments to the general procedures which will be followed when a person referred for services has a sensory, cognitive, physical or communicative impairment which requires an adaptation or accommodation in conducting the assessment or delivering services or when a person's language or form of communication is one in which staff of the program are not fluent.

(c) The type of information to be obtained from or about a person seeking services.

(d) Criteria for deciding when emergency mental health services are needed and for determining the type of service to be provided.

(e) Procedures to be followed for referral to other programs when a decision is made that a person's condition does not constitute an actual or imminent mental health crisis.

(f) Procedures for obtaining immediate backup or a more thorough evaluation when the staff person or persons making the initial contact require additional assistance.

(g) Procedures for coordinating referrals, for providing and receiving backup and for exchanging information with other mental health service providers in the county, including the development of crisis plans for individuals who are at high risk for crisis.

(h) Criteria for deciding when the situation requires a face-to-face response, the use of mobile crisis services, stabilization services, if available, or hospitalization.

(i) Criteria and procedures for notifying other persons, such as family members and people with whom the person is living, that he or she may be at risk of harming himself or herself or others.

(j) If the program dispenses psychotropic medication, procedures governing the prescription and administration of medications to clients and for monitoring the response of clients to their medications.

(k) Procedures for reporting deaths of clients which appear to be the result of suicide, reaction to psychotropic medications or the use of physical restraints or seclusion, as required by s. 51.64 (2) , Stats., and for:

1. Supporting and debriefing family members, staff and other concerned persons who have been affected by the death of a client.

2. Conducting a clinical review of the death which includes getting the views of a mental health professional not directly involved in the individual's treatment who has the training and experience necessary to adequately examine the specific circumstances surrounding the death.

(3)   Initial contact. During an initial contact with an individual who may be experiencing a mental health crisis, staff of the program shall gather sufficient information, as appropriate and possible given the nature of the contact, to assess the individual's need for emergency mental health services and to prepare and implement a response plan, including but not limited to any available information regarding:

(a) The individual's location, if the contact is by telephone.

(b) The circumstances resulting in the contact with the program, any events that may have led up to the contact, the apparent severity of the immediate problem and the potential for harm to self or others.

(c) The primary concerns of the individual or a person making the initial contact on behalf of the individual.

(d) The individual's current mental status and physical condition, any over-the-counter, prescription or illicit drugs the individual may have taken, prior incidents of drug reaction or suicidal behavior and any history of the individual's abuse of alcohol or other drugs.

(e) If the individual is threatening to harm self or others, the specificity and apparent lethality of the threat and the availability of the means to carry out the threat, including the individual's access to any weapon or other object which may be used for doing harm.

(f) If the individual appears to have been using alcohol or over-the-counter, prescription or illicit drugs, the nature and amount of the substance ingested.

(g) The names of any people who are or who might be available to support the individual, such as friends, family members or current or past mental health service providers.

(4)   Determination of need.

(a) Based on an assessment of the information available after an initial contact, staff of the program shall determine whether the individual is in need of emergency mental health services and shall prepare and implement any necessary response.

(b) If the person is not in need of emergency mental health services, but could benefit from other types of assistance, staff shall, if possible, refer the person to other appropriate service providers in the community.

(5)   Response plan.

(a) If the person is in need of emergency mental health services, staff of the program shall prepare and initiate a response plan consisting of services and referrals necessary to reduce or eliminate the person's immediate distress, de-escalate the present crisis, and help the person return to a safe and more stable level of functioning.

(b) The response plan shall be approved as medically necessary by a mental health professional qualified under s. DHS 34.21 (3) (b) 1. or 2. either before services are delivered or within 5 days after delivery of services, not including Saturdays, Sundays or legal holidays.

(6)   Linkage and follow up.

(a) After a response plan has been implemented and the person has returned to a more stable level of functioning, staff of the program shall determine whether any follow-up contacts by program staff or linkages with other providers in the community are necessary to help the person maintain stable functioning.

(b) If ongoing support is needed, the program shall provide follow-up contacts until the person has begun to receive assistance from an ongoing service provider, unless the person does not consent to further services.

(c) Follow-up and linkage services may include but are not limited to all of the following:

1. Contacting the person's ongoing mental health providers or case manager, if any, to coordinate information and services related to the person's care and support.

2. If a person has been receiving services primarily related to the abuse of alcohol or other drugs or to address needs resulting from the person's developmental disability, or if the person appears to have needs in either or both of these areas, contacting a service provider in the area of related need in order to coordinate information and service delivery for the person.

3. Conferring with family members or other persons providing support for the person to determine if the response and follow-up are meeting the client's needs.

4. Developing a new crisis plan under sub. (7) or revising an existing plan to better meet the person's needs based on what has been learned during the mental health crisis.

(7)   Crisis plan.

(a) The program shall prepare a crisis plan for a person who is found to be at high risk for a recurrent mental health crisis under the criteria established in the coordinated community services plan under s. DHS 34.22 (1) (a) 7.

(b) The crisis plan shall include whenever possible all of the following:

1. The name, address and phone number of the case manager, if any, coordinating services for the person.

2. The address and phone number where the person currently lives, and the names of other individuals with whom the person is living.

3. The usual work, school or activity schedule followed by the person.

4. A description of the person's strengths and needs, and important people or things in the person's life which may help staff to develop a rapport with the person in a crisis and to fashion an appropriate response.

5. The names and addresses of the person's medical and mental health service providers.

6. Regularly updated information about previous emergency mental health services provided to the person.

7. The diagnostic label which is being used to guide treatment for the person, any medications the person is receiving and the physician prescribing them.

8. Specific concerns that the person or the people providing support and care for the person may have about situations in which it is possible or likely that the person would experience a crisis.

9. A description of the strategies which should be considered by program staff in helping to relieve the person's distress, de-escalate inappropriate behaviors or respond to situations in which the person or others are placed at risk.

10. A list of individuals who may be able to assist the person in the event of a mental health crisis.

(c) A person's crisis plan shall be developed in cooperation with the client, his or her parents or guardian where their consent is required for treatment, the case manager, if any, and the people and agencies providing treatment and support for the person, and shall identify to the extent possible the services most likely to be effective in helping the person resolve or manage a crisis, given the client's unique strengths and needs and the supports available to him or her.

(d) The crisis plan shall be approved as medically necessary by a mental health professional qualified under s. DHS 34.21 (3) (b) 1. or 2.

(e) Program staff shall use a method for storing active crisis plans which allows ready access in the event that a crisis arises, but which also protects the confidentiality of the person for whom a plan has been developed.

(f) A crisis plan shall be reviewed and modified as necessary, given the needs of the client, but at least once every 6 months.

(8)   Service notes. As soon as possible following a client contact, program staff shall prepare service notes which identify the person seeking a referral for emergency mental health services, describe the crisis and identify or describe all of the following:

(a) The time, place and nature of the contact and the person initiating the contact.

(b) The staff person or persons involved and any non-staff persons present or involved.

(c) The assessment of the person's need for emergency mental health services and the response plan developed based on the assessment.

(d) The emergency mental health services provided to the person and the outcomes achieved.

(e) Any provider, agency or individual to whom a referral was made on behalf of the person experiencing the crisis.

(f) Follow-up and linkage services provided on behalf of the person.

(g) If there was a crisis plan under sub. (7) on file for the person, any proposed amendments to the plan in light of the results of the response to the request for services.

(h) If it was determined that the person was not in need of emergency mental health services, any suggestions or referrals provided on behalf of the person.

History: Cr. Register, September, 1996, No. 489 , eff. 10-1-96.