Sec. 47.30.056. - Use of money in the mental health trust settlement income account. - Alaska Statutes

(a) The money in the mental health trust settlement income account established in AS 37.14.036 shall be used as provided in AS 37.14.041, including to

(1) provide an integrated comprehensive mental health program as required by this section;

(2) meet the authority's annual administrative expenses; and

(3) offset the effect of inflation on the mental health trust fund.

(b) Expenditures under (a)(1) of this section must provide for a reasonable level of necessary services to

(1) the mentally ill;

(2) the mentally defective and retarded;

(3) chronic alcoholics suffering from psychoses;

(4) senile people who as a result of their senility suffer major mental illness; and

(5) other persons needing mental health services, as the legislature may determine.

(c) The integrated comprehensive mental health program for which expenditures are made under this section

(1) must give priority in service delivery to persons who, as a result of a mental disorder or of a disorder identified in (b) of this section,

(A) may require or are at risk of hospitalization; or

(B) experience such major impairment of self-care, self-direction, or social and economic functioning that they require continuing or intensive services;

(2) may, at the discretion of the board, include services to persons who are not included under (b) or (c)(1) of this section.

(d) In (b)(1) of this section, "the mentally ill" includes persons with the following mental disorders:

(1) schizophrenia;

(2) delusional (paranoid) disorder;

(3) mood disorders;

(4) anxiety disorders;

(5) somatoform disorders;

(6) organic mental disorders;

(7) personality disorders;

(8) dissociative disorders;

(9) other psychotic or severe and persistent mental disorders manifested by behavioral changes and symptoms of comparable severity to those manifested by persons with mental disorders listed in this subsection; and

(10) persons who have been diagnosed by a licensed psychologist, psychiatrist, or physician licensed to practice medicine in the state and, as a result of the diagnosis, have been determined to have a childhood disorder manifested by behaviors or symptoms suggesting risk of developing a mental disorder listed in this subsection.

(e) In (b)(2) of this section, "the mentally defective and retarded" includes persons with the following neurologic or mental disorders:

(1) cerebral palsy;

(2) epilepsy;

(3) mental retardation;

(4) autistic disorder;

(5) severe organic brain impairment;

(6) significant developmental delay during early childhood indicating risk of developing a disorder listed in this subsection;

(7) other severe and persistent mental disorders manifested by behaviors and symptoms similar to those manifested by persons with disorders listed in this subsection.

(f) In (b)(3) of this section, "chronic alcoholics suffering from psychoses" includes persons with the following disorders:

(1) alcohol withdrawal delirium (delirium tremens);

(2) alcohol hallucinosis;

(3) alcohol amnestic disorder;

(4) dementia associated with alcoholism;

(5) alcohol-induced organic mental disorder;

(6) alcoholic depressive disorder;

(7) other severe and persistent disorders associated with a history of prolonged or excessive drinking or episodes of drinking out of control and manifested by behavioral changes and symptoms similar to those manifested by persons with disorders listed in this subsection.

(g) In (b)(4) of this section, "senile people who as a result of their senility suffer major mental illness" includes persons with the following mental disorders:

(1) primary degenerative dementia of the Alzheimer type;

(2) multi-infarct dementia;

(3) senile dementia;

(4) presenile dementia;

(5) other severe and persistent mental disorders manifested by behaviors and symptoms similar to those manifested by persons with disorders listed in this subsection.

(h) The authority shall adopt regulations defining the disorders identified in this section to reflect revisions in the diagnostic nomenclature of the health professions serving the beneficiaries of the trust. The authority shall review and revise the regulations as necessary. Regulations adopted under this subsection must be in the long term best interest of the trust and of persons with disorders equivalent to those identified in (b) and (c) of this section.

(i) In this section, "an integrated comprehensive mental health program"

(1) means public health programs and services that, on December 16, 1994, are separately recognizable and administered, without regard to the administrative unit directly responsible for the delivery of the service; among the services included are services for the mentally ill, community mental health services, services for the developmentally disabled, alcoholism services, and services for children, youth, adults, and seniors with mental disorders;

(2) includes, at a minimum, each of the following services as appropriate:

(A) emergency services on a 24-hour basis;

(B) screening examination and evaluation services required to complete the involuntary commitment process under AS 47.30.700 - 47.30.815;

(C) inpatient care;

(D) crisis stabilization services, which may include:

(i) active community outreach;

(ii) in-hospital contact;

(iii) mobile crisis teams of mental health professionals;

(iv) crisis beds to provide a short term residential program for persons experiencing an acute episode of mental illness that requires temporary removal from a home environment;

(E) treatment services, which may include

(i) diagnosis, testing, and evaluation of medical needs;

(ii) medication monitoring;

(iii) physical examinations;

(iv) dispensing psychotropic and other medication;

(v) detoxification;

(vi) individual or group therapy;

(vii) aftercare;

(F) case management, which may include

(i) evaluation of needs;

(ii) development of individualized treatment plans;

(iii) enhancement of access to available resources and programs;

(iv) development of interagency contacts and family involvement;

(v) advocacy;

(G) daily structure and support, which may include

(i) daily living skills training;

(ii) socialization activities;

(iii) recreation;

(iv) transportation;

(v) day care services;

(vi) client and care provider education and support services;

(H) residential services, which may include

(i) crisis or respite care;

(ii) board and care;

(iii) foster care, group homes, halfway houses, or supervised apartments;

(iv) intermediate care facilities;

(v) long-term care facilities;

(vi) in-home care;

(I) vocational services, which may include

(i) prevocational services;

(ii) work adjustment;

(iii) supported work;

(iv) sheltered work;

(v) training in which participants achieve useful work experience;

(J) outpatient screening, diagnosis, and treatment services, including individual, family, and group psychotherapy, counseling, and referral;

(K) prevention and education services, including consultation with organizations, providers, and the public; and

(L) administrative services, including appropriate operating expenses of state agencies and other service providers.

(j) The authority shall adopt regulations regarding the services described in (i) of this section to reflect advances in the appropriate professions. The authority shall review and revise the regulations as necessary. Regulations adopted under this subsection must be in the long term best interest of the mental health trust.