HB 332: Social services; convene an advisory working group to review tools and protocols for screening of children for trauma; provisions

Georgia's Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) Program is the part of Medicaid that covers checkups and care for children. This bill adds a new section to Georgia law directing the Department of Community Health, working with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, community service boards, and other experts, to form an advisory working group focused on trauma screening tools used in that program. The group must be convened by October 1, 2025, and must review current screening tools, including national pediatric guidelines, and look at which types of providers are allowed to run the screenings. It has to report findings, recommendations, and cost estimates to the department and legislative committees by October 1, 2026, then it disbands on December 31, 2026. Any recommendations that need new state funding cannot be put in place until the General Assembly appropriates money, and the whole effort only proceeds if it does not jeopardize federal Medicaid funding under Title XIX of the Social Security Act.

• Creates a new Code section requiring the Department of Community Health to convene an advisory working group on childhood trauma screening within the EPSDT Medicaid program for children.
• Directs the working group to review existing screening tools, including national pediatric task force recommendations, and evaluate which provider types should be allowed to administer them.
• Sets a deadline of October 1, 2025 to convene the group and October 1, 2026 to report findings, recommendations, and funding needs to the department and legislative committees.
• Abolishes the advisory working group on December 31, 2026 but requires the department to periodically review trauma screening protocols at least once every five years afterward.
• Blocks implementation of any recommendation requiring new state funding until the General Assembly appropriates the money.
• Limits the whole provision so it only applies if it does not jeopardize federal Medicaid funding under Title XIX of the Social Security Act.

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

If enacted, Georgia would formally examine whether its current tools for spotting childhood trauma during Medicaid checkups are adequate, potentially leading to updated screening methods or expanded provider eligibility, though any costly changes would wait on future state funding decisions.

• Adds new O.C.G.A. § 49-4-169.4 defining 'trauma' as an event or circumstance causing lasting harm to a child's physical, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being.
• Subsection (b)(1) requires the department to convene the working group with named agencies and stakeholders to review EPSDT trauma screening tools and provider qualifications.
• Subsection (b)(2) sets the October 1, 2025 convening deadline, the October 1, 2026 reporting deadline, and a December 31, 2026 abolishment date for the group.
• Subsection (b)(3) prevents implementation of recommendations needing new appropriations until the General Assembly funds them.
• Subsection (b)(4) requires ongoing review of screening protocols at least every five years after October 1, 2026, possibly by a group the working group recommends.
• Subsection (c) conditions the entire section on not jeopardizing federal Medicaid funding under Title XIX of the Social Security Act and obtaining necessary federal approvals.

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
• child welfare policy
• behavioral health
• healthcare provider standards