§ 20-46-309 - Composition and qualifications of staff and boards. - Arkansas Statutes

20-46-309. Composition and qualifications of staff and boards.

The Director of the Department of Human Services shall require the following as to the composition and professional qualifications of the clinic or center staff and control and direction of the clinic or center:

(1) The community mental health center or clinic should have an administrator who will be responsible for the management and affairs of the agency in accordance with regulations set forth by the National Institute of Mental Health, and as required by local boards of directors;

(2) Medical responsibility for each patient must be vested in a physician. If that physician is not a psychiatrist, psychiatric consultation must be available to the center staff on a continuing and regularly scheduled basis;

(3) The clinic or center staff shall include other professional staff such as psychologists, social workers, and nurses with such qualifications, responsibilities, and time on the job as shall correspond with the size and capacity of the clinic; and

(4) Each clinic or center from which services may be purchased shall be under the control or direction of a county or community board of directors or trustees of a corporation not for profit or a political subdivision of the state. The local board shall have at least one (1) member from each of the various counties for which funds are received by the organization. However, no county shall have more than a simple majority of members on the board unless that county has within it more than fifty percent (50%) of the population of the total area from which the corporation received mental health funds.