[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6284895,"mediaKeyId","2576496-67518d1abacdf3b944760aa116989a80","parentId",2576496,"title","House Human Services committee hears bill to rename regional human service centers, add certified behavioral clinic rules","audioSeconds",1737,"startMs",346000,"endMs",2083000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2576496-67518d1abacdf3b944760aa116989a80&start=346&end=2083","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2576496-67518d1abacdf3b944760aa116989a80/thumbnail_346000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6284895/North-Dakota/House-Human-Services-committee-hears-bill-to-rename-regional-human-service-centers-add-certified-behavioral-clinic-rules","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6284895-c026aa24f2c1b4bfc060da251a07ab17/orig.mp4?Expires=1771144131&Signature=IKPR6M0eIG8pd4e7zOehj2-SWrp3Alx~SHhseepDkxuiCXhF36zP-VLdco9UbMFEl7t7tz28mYEqOHIWU7IPUI2GVh7VDXawxnRKSq6eeGzNneFIaDkqJSj4QNtObzunJUQZtcMl4K3XEwjb9plsvlgdCdjmDvIe7NLPbOX7xoqYQrWlSrnP-k3aBsHLBeEeFtq~G1lg-TZ2ne9LjlGvXNb~7naAXCjCVeQHT2wclB-MDwwysDT7eI6jJEBPFMehBHrUFUzMBpT0bZtKCJ1iCAz-tQsJpduOw3NYReqTNRTs9G5~S4mASau80gBZn8F~zPfGriUX9sTPoN~p-cR8tw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Oregon State Legislature","date","2025-03-12T00:00:00Z","article","Senate Bill 2113, which would change the name of regional human service centers to state-operated behavioral health clinics and establish a process for certifying community behavioral health clinics, was heard by the House Human Services Committee. Jonathan Ulm, chief legal officer for the Department of Health and Human Services, testified in support and walked committee members through numerous statutory changes included in the engrossed bill.

The bill makes a series of technical and substantive changes across multiple statutory sections, updates departmental program names, clarifies information‑sharing and appeals authority for the department, adds the department’s ability to pay stipends to participants who serve on councils and boards, and creates a certification pathway for certified community behavioral health clinics. It also includes a $150,000 appropriation to update signage, an amendment added by the Senate.

Ulm told the committee the engrossed bill renames “Regional Human Service Centers” to “State Operated Behavioral Health Clinics,” removes obsolete deadlines and restructuring language, and aligns department rules with the move from accreditation toward certification as certified community behavioral health clinics. He said the change clarifies that the state-operated behavioral health clinics provide community‑based behavioral health services and that state operated behavioral health clinic directors follow regular state hiring practices rather than a commissioner appointment requirement. “There is no loss of service,” Ulm said when describing the restructuring in the bill.

The bill adds a new subsection allowing the department to pay a stipend to recipients or providers who serve on advisory councils or boards; proponents said that would increase participation and provide consistency across department councils. Ulm also described a new subsection permitting the department to appeal court orders that require the department to perform a function, service, or duty, because the department sometimes receives orders in which it is not a party. The bill would also require providers receiving department funds to submit process and outcome measures, a requirement the department has included in budget bills previously and is seeking to codify.

Nikki Wagner, president of the North Dakota Long Term Care Association, testified in support of the Senate amendment to change daily reporting requirements in the behavioral health bed management system for general psychiatric skilled nursing facilities (geropsychiatric facilities). She and Maren Gamer, CEO/administrator of SMP Health Saint Raphael in Valley City, told the committee that geropsychiatric units have long average lengths of stay and high occupancy, which makes daily bed reporting administratively burdensome and of limited operational value. Gamer said her facility’s geropsychiatric unit averaged about 691 days per stay and reported only a handful of admissions and discharges in 2024. Both urged keeping the Senate amendment that shifts rudimentary daily reporting to a weekly requirement with updates within 48 hours when a bed becomes available.

Denise Harvey, director of program services for Protection & Advocacy, supported the department’s move to create certified community behavioral health clinics and the changes to the Cross Disability Advisory Council membership, but she expressed concern with sections that permit court‑ordered admissions of juveniles to the North Dakota State Hospital or the Life Skills and Transition Center. Harvey said P&A believes institutional placement by court order can conflict with Olmstead principles and urged the committee to review the court’s ability to order institutional placement of youth. She also noted that while the bill gives the department the ability to appeal court orders, P&A worried that appeals could divert resources from community alternatives.

The bill makes multiple discrete statutory edits across at least a dozen sections (the engrossed package referenced Sections 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 25, 28, 29, 30, 32, 36 in Ulm’s testimony). Ulm said some language is being restored at the auditor’s request (an operating fund line first adopted in 1971), and other changes update vendor names and remove outdated mandates. The committee took questions from members about the stipend language (Ulm said stipends must fit within existing appropriations and gave the Early Childhood Services Board as an example of a board that sometimes pays stipends) and about the function of the special operating fund (Ulm described it as a revolving fund that can receive income, for example, Medicaid billing recoveries).

No vote was taken during the hearing; the committee opened Senate Bill 2113, received testimony from the department and stakeholders, and then closed the hearing after additional supportive testimony. The clerk read the bill title at the start of the hearing and the committee closed the hearing following public testimony and questions.

The bill text, as described in testimony, would (a) rename facilities and update related statutory language, (b) create a certification process for certified community behavioral health clinics and allow the department to adopt related rules, (c) add stipend authority for council/board participants, (d) add internal information‑sharing clarifications subject to federal law, and (e) add an ability for the department to appeal court orders that require it to perform duties when it is not a party.

The committee hearing record includes supportive testimony from the department, long‑term care providers, and protection and advocacy, along with committee questions. Chairman Ruby opened and closed the hearing; no formal committee vote on the measure was recorded at this hearing.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Human Services Wednesday, Mar 12, 2025 2:24 PM - 3:46 PM","oneSentenceSummary","Senate Bill 2113, which would rename regional human service centers as state‑operated behavioral health clinics and create a certification pathway for certified community behavioral health clinics, was heard by the House Human Services Committee; departmental counsel and stakeholders described technical edits, a stipend authority for advisory participants, a new appeals power, and a $150,000 appropriation for signage.","taxTitle","Human Services, House of Representatives, Legislative, North Dakota","taxId",28893,"location","North Dakota","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6284890,"Committee hears extension for paid family caregiver pilot while state designs cross‑disability waiver",2798,2097000,4895000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2576496-67518d1abacdf3b944760aa116989a80&start=2097&end=4895","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2576496-67518d1abacdf3b944760aa116989a80/thumbnail_2097000.jpg","/articles/6284890/North-Dakota/Committee-hears-extension-for-paid-family-caregiver-pilot-while-state-designs-crossdisability-waiver","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6284890-43d991d4fb2d6b54e4c8378f3f490017/orig.mp4?Expires=1771144131&Signature=SbyzBJTTsRJFuNPHZuhTHFH6lvuLEtWbA-O9XQ4NnCSS6rz4cxhJDDhbLo7sIBalJy0T7~9gYmxzKg0EtznfUFOP64WMIiY4R3VHFrMA1kWAJ~tNqwx6bxjwE5MAjbMROpyY4yiyx-h1H0rReMzE0b7gY3IguwIcxGFadqKUOqe9cyqRk2hCNBI1kkj3loz4vsXEbGhbCiIvmA4DIuVTns6vE5TEAmvieX9ry8RG9nVUvJSrexQoba1CQk7qVT10ZooqqzYz2lmiVJpgsRtxPy8Aq1kcAkddCfDxagHew9M0irYvbzlCyAokZyoas5dN2VM0PZ2Cbw~q4pLJ1fc2kQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senate Bill 2305, which would extend the paid family caregiver pilot program and provide an appropriation while the state develops a cross‑disability Medicaid waiver, was heard by the House Human Services Committee. Senator Kathy Hogan, prime sponsor and advocate for the pilot, and multiple families, providers, and advocates testified in support of continuing the pilot until the cross‑disability waiver becomes operational.

Proponents said the pilot fills a gap created by workforce shortages and helps keep medically complex children and adults in family homes rather than in institutional settings. Supporters asked the committee to maintain and extend the pilot while DHHS completes planning and federal approvals for the cross‑disability waiver.

Senator Kathy Hogan summarized the pilot’s background, noting the program began in April 2024 and received 444 applications; 50 applicants had been determined eligible and an 82‑child waiting list remained, according to documents she provided to the committee. Hogan told members the pilot was funded with state dollars and was not included in the governor’s budget; an advisory group of DHHS staff, advocates and family members reviewed program data and initially recommended $9 million to continue services. Hogan said the Appropriations Committee ultimately included $7 million to continue services for people on the waiting list.

Multiple family members testified about how paid family caregiving enabled them to maintain care at home when in‑home services were unavailable or inconsistent. Roxanne Romanek of Designer Genes of North Dakota said these are not new Medicaid enrollees but individuals already authorized for waiver services; the pilot helps deliver the services when provider shortages prevent outside caregivers from showing up. Parents described extensive, specialized caregiving tasks that go beyond typical parenting: feeding through gastrostomy tubes, administering multiple daily medications, monitoring for aspiration or seizures, and managing complex medical equipment.

Families and provider representatives described implementation challenges and areas for improvement. Speakers asked for continued evaluation of the pilot’s eligibility assessment tool, particularly for children under age 8 whose developmental norms can mask extraordinary care needs; Designer Genes and others urged that the Cross Disability Advisory Council help refine assessment language so young children with medically complex needs are not excluded. Testimony also noted the pilot required some applicants to “spend down” and that several denials were attributable to how rules were written rather than to absence of need.

Senator Sean Cleary, who sponsored the pilot in the Senate, said the Senate amendment reduced the fiscal exposure by limiting the biennial fiscal note to those already on the waiting list. He and others urged the committee to support a “do pass” recommendation so the department can maintain services while it moves the program into the cross‑disability waiver, which will require federal approval and is planned to start at the beginning of the next biennium.

Committee members asked about evaluation and fiscal oversight. Hogan said the pilot had no formal, long‑term external evaluation because it had been operational only a short time, but that the advisory group reviewed available data, appeals, and program feedback to recommend continuation options. Committee members also asked whether the cross‑disability waiver would carry a federal match; Hogan and multiple witnesses said the goal is to move services into the cross‑disability waiver to access federal funding in the future.

No formal committee vote was taken at the hearing; the clerk read the bill title, the committee heard a substantial block of supportive testimony from families and advocacy groups, and the committee closed the hearing after questions and statements from members.","Senate Bill 2305, to extend the paid family caregiver pilot program while the Department of Health and Human Services develops a cross‑disability waiver, received broad support at a House Human Services Committee hearing from families, advocates and legislators who said the pilot helps medically complex people remain at home.","actionData","errors"]

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House Human Services committee hears bill to rename regional human service centers, add certified behavioral clinic rules

Committee hears extension for paid family caregiver pilot while state designs cross‑disability waiver