HF 2263 (LSB 5606YH (3) 91)

HOUSE FILE 2263

BY  CROKEN, MADISON, KURTH, BROWN-POWERS, and WILBURN

A BILL FOR

An Act requiring the department of health and human services to establish peer-run respite programs.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 225A.1, Code 2026, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  12A.  “Life-altering challenge” means a major personal stressor or life event that is disruptive to an individual’s well-being and daily life and that may result in the need for crisis prevention.
    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  225A.10  Peer-run respite programs.
   1.  The department shall establish seven peer-run respite programs throughout the state, each of which must meet all of the following requirements:
   a.  The program shall offer voluntary, short-term support for individuals experiencing emotional distress, behavioral health distress, a mental health crisis, or a life-altering challenge.
   b.  The program shall not be located on a clinical, medical, or mental health facility’s campus.
   c.  Each program shall operate independently of other medical clinics and behavioral health clinics.
   d.  At least fifty-one percent of the board of directors for the program shall be comprised of individuals who have a history of living with a psychiatric condition or a behavioral health condition, or who have experienced a life-altering challenge.
   e.  If the program offers clinical mental health services, the clinical mental health services must constitute less than ten percent of the total services offered by the program.
   2.  The department shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to administer this section.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill requires the department of health and human services to establish seven peer-run respite programs (programs) throughout the state. The programs must offer voluntary, short-term support for individuals experiencing emotional distress, behavioral health distress, a mental health crisis, or a life-altering challenge as that term is defined in the bill. The programs cannot be located on a clinical, medical, or mental health facility’s campus, and must operate independently from other medical clinics and behavioral health clinics. At least 51 percent of a program’s board of directors must be comprised of individuals who have a history of living with a psychiatric condition or a behavioral health condition, or who have experienced a life-altering challenge. If a program offers clinical mental health services, such services must constitute less than 10 percent of the total services offered by the program.