Section 396.NEW - [Newly enacted section not yet numbered] [Additional duties of Center]In addition to the duties prescribed by sections 7 and 10 of this act, the Center, if established, shall:
1. Through the regional hubs established pursuant to section 6 of this act:(a) Collaborate with other persons and entities to assess the specific behavioral health needs of each behavioral health region; and(b) Engage in research and training specifically designed to address those needs.2. Coordinate with the System, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation and other state agencies involved in behavioral health, education and workforce development to promote the efficient utilization of state resources designated for those purposes.3. Build partnerships with school districts, institutions within the System, occupational licensing boards that license, certify or register providers of behavioral health care, the Department of Education, the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation and other public and private entities involved in workforce development to establish pipelines to careers in behavioral health from schools through professional practice. Such pipelines must focus on recruiting youth who are: (a) From underserved and marginalized communities; or(b) Interested in pursuing careers that address the most critical behavioral health needs of this State, including, without limitation, careers providing behavioral health care to children, the elderly and other underserved populations.4. Develop and implement strategies to: (a) Recruit adults who are interested in careers in behavioral health;(b) Retain providers of behavioral health care who currently practice in this State; and(c) Ensure that providers who participate in the pipelines established pursuant to subsection 3 ultimately practice in this State.5. Collaborate with professional organizations for providers of behavioral health care, institutions that provide training and education for providers of behavioral health care and other relevant persons and entities to ensure the availability of high-quality continuing education on emerging, evidence-based practices for providing behavioral health care in various settings.6. Provide or collaborate with other agencies to provide technical assistance for providers of behavioral health care regarding administrative issues and other nonacademic issues relating to the provision of behavioral health care in this State, including, without limitation: (a) Obtaining a state business license and any necessary local licenses;(b) Planning the establishment and operation of a business to provide behavioral health care;(c) Billing insurers for the provision of behavioral health care; and(d) The management of staff.7. Provide technical assistance to support the provision of graduate and postgraduate training in evidence-based practices for providing behavioral health care at existing and new sites for the provision of such training, with the highest priority placed on sites that serve rural, frontier and underserved urban communities.8. Provide training for supervisors of graduate and postgraduate training for providers of behavioral health care, with the highest priority placed on supervisors who serve rural, frontier and underserved urban communities.9. Collaborate with existing entities or establish new programs to assist adult students in pursuing the education and training necessary to become a provider of behavioral health care.10. Coordinate with other entities to obtain or, where necessary, collect and analyze data to: (a) Determine where providers of behavioral health care who practice in this State were born, educated and trained;(b) Evaluate the progression of persons through programs for the education and training of providers of behavioral health care in this State and determine where such persons practice after completing those programs;(c) Ensure the strength and success of pipelines to careers in behavioral health from schools through professional practice; and(d) Identify the degree to which programs of education and training for providers of behavioral health care produce an adequate number of specialists to meet the needs of this State and each behavioral health region.11. Collaborate with agencies involved in the education, training, licensure, certification, registration and endorsement of providers of behavioral health care to develop systems for: (a) Identifying methods used by providers of education or training for providers of behavioral health care to prepare participants in programs of such education or training to correctly implement evidence-based practices for providing behavioral health care;(b) Identifying the practices and therapeutic modalities being taught to participants in programs of education or training for providers of behavioral health care; and(c) To the extent feasible, tracking the implementation of the methods, practices and modalities described in paragraphs (a) and (b) by providers of behavioral health care.12. Monitor progress toward the goals prescribed in the strategic plan developed pursuant to section 7 of this act.13. Perform the duties prescribed by this section and section 7 of this act in a manner that leverages existing programs and resources and avoids duplication of efforts.Added by 2023, Ch. 424,§8, eff. 10/1/2023.