ADOPTED
Representative Dempsey of the 13th offers the following amendment:
Amend the substitute to HB 1238 (LC 52 1088S) by replacing line 6 with the following:
to amend Article 1 of Chapter 11 of Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to general provisions regarding juvenile code, so as to establish procedures for
children who remain in certain clinical facilities after inpatient medical necessity has been
met due to the absence of an immediate and safe discharge placement; to authorize facilities
to make referrals to MATCH and provide notice to the Division of Family and Children
Services; to require the Division of Family and Children Services to file a petition alleging
dependency within 45 days of notice; to establish an intensive care coordinator; to provide
for construction; to amend Article 6 of Chapter 5 of Title 49 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to programs and protection for children, so as to require the Division of
Family and Children Services to file a petition alleging dependency within 45 days of notice;
to provide expedited reunification services for children; to provide for reports; to provide for
related matters; to provide for contingent effectiveness; to repeal conflicting laws; and for
other purposes.
By inserting between lines 22 and 23 the following:
Article 1 of Chapter 11 of Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
general provisions regarding juvenile code, is amended by adding a new Code section to read
as follows:
"15-11-42.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Child' means a minor enrolled in a Medicaid health plan or considered underinsured
or uninsured.
(2) 'Clinically appropriate level of care' means a service that is recommended by a
treatment team with knowledge about the child's current clinical presentation.
(3) 'Crisis stabilization unit' means a short-term residential program designed to provide
psychiatric stabilization and detoxification services.
(4) 'Evidence based services' means programs, therapies, and interventions that are
scientifically validated to reduce recidivism, improve long-term outcomes of youth, and
prevent deeper involvement in the juvenile justice system.
(5) 'Home setting' means a residential setting that is not a licensed clinical facility.
(6) 'Licensed clinical facility' means any facility that admits children only upon a
determination of medical necessity by a treating clinician. This includes psychiatric
residential treatment facilities and crisis stabilization units.
(7) 'MATCH' means the Multi-Agency Treatment for Children (MATCH) team within
the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities as established
pursuant to Code Section 37-1-20.
(8) 'Psychiatric residential treatment facility' means a subacute residential alternative to
acute psychiatric hospitalization.
(9) 'Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse' means an initiative of the United
States Department of Health and Human Services, established under the federal Family
First Prevention Services Act, that reviews and rates child welfare programs.
(b) When a hospital, psychiatric hospital, or licensed clinical facility determines that a
child is ready to discharge but remains in the facility due to the absence of an immediate
and safe discharge placement, the facility may submit a referral to MATCH. The facility's
referral shall include a clinical recommendation of what the clinically appropriate level of
care to which the child can safely be discharged. MATCH shall follow typical protocols,
including attempting engagement with family and legal guardians to identify
family-specific recommendations of service providers to meet the needs identified by the
child's clinicians. MATCH shall submit written recommendations to the referring facility.
(c)(1) The facility may notify the Division of Family and Children Services intake when
the parents or legal guardians of a child ready to discharge do not agree to promptly
provide the child a home setting or consent to treatment in a clinically appropriate level
of care and:
(A) The facility has recommended discharge to a clinically appropriate level of care
as the least restrictive setting in which the child can safely be served; and
(B) MATCH has identified home and community based supports and services the
family can access.
(2) Upon such notification and documentation that reasonable efforts to engage the
parents in a clinically recommended discharge plan have occurred, the Division of Family
and Children Services shall file a dependency petition within 45 days of receiving notice
from a hospital, psychiatric hospital, psychiatric hospital, or licensed clinical facility that
a child remains in the facility after medical necessity has been met.
(3) During the course of the investigation or upon filing the petition, the Division of
Family and Children Services investigator in charge of the case shall begin focused case
management activities, including assigning a customized intensive care coordinator to
facilitate clinical discharge planning, treatment coordination, parent, guardian, or legal
custodian engagement, and transition services for the purpose of preventing unnecessary
foster care placement and supporting safe reunification.
(d) To facilitate reunification and prevent unnecessary termination of parental rights, the
Division of Family and Children Services shall provide expedited access to evidence based
in-home parent skill-based programs and services approved by the Title IV-E Prevention
Services Clearinghouse.
(e) Nothing in this Code section shall prohibit the Division of Family and Children
Services from assuming protective custody of a child or seeking appropriate orders of the
juvenile court when necessary to protect the health or safety of the child.
(f) A child meeting the criteria described in subsection (c) of this Code section shall not
be deemed abandoned solely because a parent, guardian, or legal custodian lacks the
clinical capacity, financial resources, treatment access, or placement options necessary to
immediately resume custody.
(g) The court shall review the Division of Family and Children Services' reasonable and
diligent efforts to support engagement and prevent foster care placement at each review
hearing, including, but not limited to:
(1) Referrals to evidence based services;
(2) Assistance with transportation, visitation, or treatment access;
(3) Coordination of clinical discharge and placement planning; and
(4) Communication with the parent, guardian, or legal custodian.
(h) Except where allowed by the federal Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, in effect
on January 1, 2026, termination of parental rights shall not be sought solely on the basis
of treatment complexity, placement availability, or lack of an immediate and safe discharge
placement."
SECTION 3.
Article 6 of Chapter 5 of Title 49 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
programs and protection for children, is amended by adding a new part to read as follows:
"Part 4
49-5-158.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term 'Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse'
means an initiative of the United States Department of Health and Human Services,
established under the federal Family First Prevention Services Act, that reviews and rates
child welfare programs.
(b) The Division of Family and Children Services shall file a dependency petition within
45 days of receiving notice from a hospital, psychiatric hospital, or licensed clinical facility
that a child remains in the facility after medical necessity has been met.
(c) The Division of Family and Children Services shall provide expedited reunification
services to children subject to this Code section, including evidence based in-home parent
skill-based programs and services approved by the Title IV-E Prevention Services
Clearinghouse.
(d) The Department of Human Services shall report to the House Appropriations
Committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee regarding:
(1) The number of children identified under this Code section and not served;
(2) The average duration of hospital boarding of a child after such child is medically
ready for discharge;
(3) Permanency outcomes, including reunification and termination of parental rights; and
(4) Utilization of evidence based in-home parent skill-based programs and services
approved by the Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse."
SECTION 4.
(a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section, this Act shall become
effective on July 1, 2026.
(b) Sections 2 and 3 of this Act shall become effective only if state funds are specifically
appropriated for the purposes of such sections in an appropriations Act enacted by the
General Assembly.
(c) If funds are so appropriated, then this Act shall become effective on the later of:
(1) The date on which such appropriations Act becomes effective; or
(2) The beginning date of the fiscal year for which such appropriations are made.
SECTION 5.