HB332: HB332 Social services; convene an advisory working group to review tools and protocols for screening of children for trauma; provisions

Georgia runs the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) Program, which covers health screenings for children on Medicaid. This bill adds a new section to Georgia law directing the Department of Human Services, working with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities and other experts, to convene an advisory working group. That group would review and possibly update the tools and protocols used to screen children for trauma within EPSDT, including looking at national screening standards and which types of providers should be allowed to conduct the screenings. The group must be convened by October 1, 2025, and must report its findings, recommendations, and cost estimates to the department and to legislative committees by October 1, 2026. It would then be abolished by the end of that year. Any recommendations that need extra state funding cannot be put into effect until the General Assembly approves that funding, and the whole section only applies if it does not jeopardize federal Medicaid funding under the Social Security Act.

• Creates a new Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 49-4-169.4) requiring the Department of Human Services to convene an advisory working group on trauma screening for children.
• Directs the working group to review existing trauma screening tools used in the EPSDT Medicaid program, including national pediatric screening guidelines.
• Requires the working group to evaluate which types of health providers are qualified to perform trauma screenings for children.
• Sets an October 1, 2025 deadline to form the group and an October 1, 2026 deadline for it to report findings, recommendations, and funding needs, then abolishes the group by December 31, 2026.
• Blocks implementation of any recommendation that requires new state funding until the General Assembly actually approves that funding.
• Limits the whole provision to situations where it would not put at risk federal Medicaid funding under Title XIX of the Social Security Act.

Children enrolled in Georgia's Medicaid EPSDT program, the Department of Human Services, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, community service boards, managed care plan experts, behavioral health and child welfare experts, and healthcare providers who screen children for trauma.

If enacted, families and children on Medicaid could eventually see updated or more consistent trauma screening during checkups, and the state would get a clearer picture of what such changes would cost. Because implementation depends on future funding approval and federal Medicaid rules, any actual changes to screening practices would take time.

• Section 1 adds Code Section 49-4-169.4, defining 'trauma' as an event or circumstances causing lasting harm to a child's physical, emotional, social, or spiritual well-being.
• Subsection (b)(1) requires the department to convene a working group with named partners to update or develop trauma screening tools and protocols within EPSDT.
• Subsection (b)(1)(A)-(B) directs the group to examine existing screening tools, including U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and Bright Futures guidance, and which providers should conduct screenings.
• Subsection (b)(2) sets an October 1, 2025 convening deadline, an October 1, 2026 reporting deadline to the department and legislative committees, and a December 31, 2026 abolishment date for the group.
• Subsection (b)(3) bars implementation of recommendations requiring new appropriations until the General Assembly funds them.
• Subsection (b)(4) requires periodic review of screening protocols at least once every five years after October 1, 2026.
• Subsection (c) makes the entire section contingent on not jeopardizing federal Medicaid funding under Title XIX of the Social Security Act.
• Section 2 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2025-02-11House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-10House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-06House Hopper (House)

• Tangie Herring (D, HD-145)Primary sponsor
• Spencer Frye (D, HD-122)
• Eric Bell (D, HD-075)
• Carl Gilliard (D, HD-162)
• Robert Flournoy (D, HD-074)
• Karen Bennett (D, HD-094)

• child trauma screening
• Medicaid EPSDT program
• children's health policy
• behavioral health
• state advisory committees