Appropriates $1.47 million for 2011-12 and $1.47 million for 2012-13 from the General Fund to the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety (DCCPS) to support the positions of a mental health and substance abuse counselor, a behavioral case manager, and a veteran outreach specialist at each of the National Guard’s seven Family Assistance Centers. Specifies that the funded positions will enhance the NC National Guard Integrated Behavioral Health System, with priority given to individuals who are not eligible for, or have difficulty accessing, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs services or TRICARE. Directs state and local agencies who assist individuals who served in the active or reserve components of the Armed Forces and their families to make personnel and other resources available to the Family Assistance Centers. Permits the appropriated funds to also be used for other detailed purposes. Directs DCCPS to report annually to various legislative committees on the Family Assistance Centers, including information on services provided and the number and type of Armed Forces members, veterans, and families served. Effective July 1, 2011.
Directs the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services of the Department of Health and Human Services (MH/DD/SAS) to collaborate with military agencies and appropriate organizations to determine gaps in the care of current or former Armed Forces members with traumatic brain injury, to develop recommendations for an accessible community-based neurobehavioral system of care, and to report recommendations by July 1, 2012, to specified entities. Instructs the Division of Medical Assistance (DMA), MedSolutions, Inc., and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to confirm that MedSolutions, Inc., is using appropriate evidence-based diagnostic testing for screening and assessing traumatic brain injury.
Directs the NC Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Program to facilitate and continue to provide health education and skills training for applicable parties about the health, mental health, and substance abuse needs of the military families, including information about nine specified topics. Instructs AHEC to collaborate with several listed programs and entities to provide the information. Appropriates $250,000 for 2011-12 from the General Fund to AHEC to develop additional programs to present the information, as described.
Directs MH/DD/SAS and DMA to explore the possibility of implementing value-based purchasing or grants to provide additional reimbursement to providers engaged in five specified actions. Also directs the agencies, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, to define appropriate behavioral health process and outcome measures on which to tie performance-based incentive payments. Requires that MH/DD/SAS report recommendations by July 1, 2012, to specified committees, as indicated.
Directs the NC Office of Rural Health and Community Care, in conjunction with other listed agencies and groups, to expand the accumulation in primary care practices serving the adult population of licensed health professionals trained in providing mental health and substance abuse services. Appropriates $500,000 for 2011-12 and $500,000 for 2012-13 from the General Fund to the NC Office of Rural Health and Community Care to provide grants to support two specified activities, with funds targeted as indicated. Effective July 1, 2011.
Appropriates $128,502 for 2011-12 and $128,502 for 2012-13 from the General Fund to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to expand CARE-LINE. Effective July 1, 2011.
Enacts new subsection (g) to GS 122C-115.4 (functions of local management entities), directing the Commission for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services to adopt rules to ensure that the needs of Armed Forces members, veterans, and their families are met by requiring (1) that each local management entity (LME) have at least one trained care coordination staff person as the contact person to ensure access to state-funded services and (2) LME staff to receive training applicable to the services provided, as specified.
Directs the University of North Carolina (UNC), the NC Community College System Office, and other higher education institutions in North Carolina, with AHEC and the Governor’s Institute on Substance Abuse to seek and apply for federal grants to expand mental health and substance abuse training opportunities in North Carolina. Directs the UNC Board of Governors to report to specified committees on the federal funds by July 1, 2012, including recommendations on whether the funds will meet two detailed goals. Requires that NC institutions of higher education comply with the UNC Board of Governors’ reporting requirement.
Directs MH/DD/SAS, in conjunction with listed entities, to develop a training curriculum for specified parties, including crisis workers, veterans service officers, professional advocacy and support organizations, and military chaplains. Requires the curriculum to include information on three detailed core issues, and requires the portion of the curriculum directed to crisis workers, professional advocacy and support organizations, and faith communities to include five specified types of information. Instructs MH/DD/SAS to report to various committees on the curriculum before July 1, 2012.
Enacts new subdivision (60) to GS 115C-47 (powers and duties of local boards of education) to require local boards of education to collect and annually report to the State Board of Education (SBOE) three detailed types of information related to students with family members in the military for each school in the local school administrative unit. Enacts new subdivision (38) to GS 115C-12 (powers and duties of the State Board of Education), requiring the SBOE to submit the report received from the local boards to various legislative committees before March 15 each year. Effective October 1, 2011.
Directs the UNC General Administration, in collaboration with other listed entities, to research ways to address the behavioral health problems and challenges facing military personnel, veterans, and their families. Specifies criteria for the collaborative research teams, and instructs the teams to pursue federal funding. Requires the research to include, at a minimum, five particular goals. Requires that UNC General Administration annually report findings to various legislative committees, beginning on July 1, 2012.
Effective when the act becomes law, unless otherwise indicated.