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Montana bill would create 'residential treatment center' license for youth mental‑health programs
Summary
A committee hearing on Senate Bill 191 featured proponents saying a new residential treatment center license would keep more Montana children in-state and opponents warning it could weaken existing oversight developed after documented abuses. DPHHS said it does not intend to reduce protections when writing rules.
Sen. Cuff, sponsor of Senate Bill 191, told the House Health and Human Services Committee the bill would create a residential treatment center licensure category intended to fill a gap in Montana’s youth mental‑health system and allow more children to receive in‑state care.
“This bill will allow more Montana kids to be able to stay within the state and get this sort of treatment,” Sen. Cuff said during his opening testimony.
The bill would add a licensure type for residential mental‑health facilities that serve youth under 19 and sit between high‑acuity psychiatric residential treatment facilities and less intensive private alternative residential programs (PARP). Proponents said that because the new license would be recognized as a health‑care facility, private insurers would be more likely to reimburse for in‑state care.
“SB 191 provides an excellent opportunity to increase services to youth and families,” said Julie Fink, who testified she worked for the state for 30 years and formerly…
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