---
title: HB 677. Health; certain placement procedures for children upon discharge from a hospital or psychiatric residential treatment facility; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb677
cite_as: HB 677, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb677
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb677.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb677/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70978
date: 2025-03-10
status: engrossed
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-12
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb676.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb678.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 492
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb677.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 677
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-03-06
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
  - Katie Dempsey
  - Darlene Taylor
  - Lee Hawkins
  - James Hatchett
  - Mary Oliver
text_version: Comm Sub
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB677/2025
upstream_id: 1987916
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - child psychiatric care
  - hospital discharge
  - behavioral health
  - child welfare
  - health policy
---

# HB 677. Health; certain placement procedures for children upon discharge from a hospital or psychiatric residential treatment facility; provide

## Text

House Bill 677 (RULES COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE)
By: Representatives Dempsey of the 13th, Taylor of the 173rd, Hawkins of the 27th, Hatchett
of the 155th, and Oliver of the 84th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 1 of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
general provisions of health, so as to provide for certain placement procedures for children
upon discharge from a hospital or psychiatric residential treatment facility in certain
circumstances; to provide for related matters; to provide for applicability; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 1 of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general
provisions of health, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
<ins>"31-1-26.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Acute psychiatric care' means a level of care that is highly structured for patients
who are a risk to themselves or others.
(2) 'Health benefit policy' means any individual or group plan, policy, or contract for
major medical, hospitalization, or other healthcare services issued, delivered, issued for
delivery, or renewed in this state by a healthcare corporation, health maintenance
</ins>
<ins>organization, preferred provider organization, accident and sickness insurer, fraternal
benefit society, hospital service corporation, medical service corporation, or any similar
entity. Such term shall not include contracts executed by the State of Georgia on behalf
of state employees under Article 1 of Chapter 18 of Title 45.
(b) Every hospital and psychiatric residential treatment facility in this state shall adhere
to the following procedures for instances in which the parent, guardian, or legal custodian
of a child not in the custody of the Department of Human Services through the Division of
Children and Family Services who has received psychiatric care or acute psychiatric care
at such hospital or facility fails to take physical custody of such child within 48 hours of
a physician's discharge order from such hospital or facility:
(1) A task force shall be assembled which shall consist of a care coordinator, the child's
treating psychiatrist at the hospital or facility, or, if unavailable, the hospital or facility's
medical director, and, if applicable, a representative of the Department of Human
Services, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, the health
benefit policy of the child, and the Medicaid care management organization of such child;
and
(2) Such task force shall meet without delay to determine an appropriate medical or
community placement of such child into an appropriate environment."
</ins> SECTION 2.
Each task force affected by this Act shall submit by the end of each month following the
effective date of this Act such information as may be requested by the Multi-Agency
Treatment for Children (MATCH) Committee within the Georgia Department of Behavioral
Health and Developmental Disabilities. Such department shall submit a report to the
chairpersons of the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Appropriations
Committee by December 31 of the year following the year in which this Act becomes
effective. Such report shall include the number of children and length of stay of such
children at a hospital or psychiatric residential treatment facility during the year that the
report is submitted but for a period of time no later than December 1 of that year.
SECTION 3.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

## Summaries written by Georgia Commons

The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.

A Georgia House bill would require hospitals and psychiatric residential treatment facilities to form a rapid-response task force when a discharged child's parent or guardian fails to pick them up within 48 hours.

### Plain-language summary

When a child receives psychiatric care at a Georgia hospital or psychiatric residential treatment facility and a doctor orders their discharge, there is currently no statewide requirement dictating what happens if the child's parent, guardian, or legal custodian does not come to take physical custody of them. This bill adds a new section to Georgia's health code (O.C.G.A. § 31-1-26) addressing that gap for children who are not already in state foster care custody.
If a parent or guardian fails to pick up the child within 48 hours of the discharge order, the facility must assemble a task force made up of a care coordinator, the child's treating psychiatrist (or the facility's medical director if the psychiatrist is unavailable), and, when applicable, representatives from the Department of Human Services, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, the child's health insurer, and their Medicaid care management organization. This task force must meet right away to find an appropriate medical or community placement for the child. The bill also requires monthly reporting to a state behavioral health committee and an annual report to legislative appropriations committees on how many children this affects and how long they stay.

### What it does

- Adds a new Code section (O.C.G.A. § 31-1-26) requiring hospitals and psychiatric residential treatment facilities to act when a discharged child is not picked up within 48 hours.
- Requires formation of a task force including a care coordinator, the treating psychiatrist or medical director, and relevant state agency or insurer representatives when applicable.
- Requires the task force to meet without delay to find an appropriate medical or community placement for the child.
- Requires each task force to submit monthly information to the Multi-Agency Treatment for Children (MATCH) Committee within the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.
- Requires the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities to report annually to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees on the number of affected children and their length of stay.
- Repeals any conflicting Georgia laws.

### Who it affects

Hospitals and psychiatric residential treatment facilities in Georgia, children receiving psychiatric or acute psychiatric care who are not in state foster care custody, their parents or guardians, care coordinators, treating psychiatrists, the Department of Human Services, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, and children's health insurers and Medicaid care management organizations.

### Why it matters

Children discharged from psychiatric care sometimes remain at a hospital or facility longer than medically necessary because no one arrives to take custody of them. This bill creates a formal, time-bound process to find these children a placement, and requires state tracking of how often this happens and how long the delays last.

### Key provisions

- Section 1 adds O.C.G.A. § 31-1-26, defining 'acute psychiatric care' and 'health benefit policy' for purposes of the new procedures.
- Section 1(b) applies when a parent, guardian, or legal custodian fails to take physical custody of a child within 48 hours of a physician's discharge order, for children not already in Division of Family and Children Services custody.
- Section 1(b)(1) specifies the required task force membership, including agency and insurer representatives 'if applicable.'
- Section 1(b)(2) requires the task force to meet 'without delay' to determine an appropriate medical or community placement.
- Section 2 requires monthly reporting to the MATCH Committee and an annual report by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, due by December 31 of the year following the Act's effective year.
- Section 3 repeals conflicting laws.

## Status

- Status: Engrossed (2025-03-06)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2025-03-10)
- Sponsors: Katie Dempsey, Darlene Taylor, Lee Hawkins, James Hatchett, Mary Oliver
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70978

> The history, votes, and amendments (492 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb677.md?full=1