Purpose

To strengthen and standardize training for staff who provide substance use disorder and mental health treatment, with a focus on serving people with disabilities. The bill adds new training requirements and updates timelines to ensure staff understand client rights, confidentiality, safety, trauma-informed care, and how to support individuals with various disabilities.

Main Provisions

• Training topics required for all staff involved in direct client contact:

  • Client confidentiality rules and ethical boundaries.
  • Emergency procedures and client rights.
  • Mandatory reporting requirements and policies for releasing client information.
  • HIV minimum standards.
  • Maltreatment reporting for both vulnerable adults and minors, including related reporting definitions.
  • Accessibility, communications access, and sensory safety for individuals with disabilities (including traumatic brain injuries, developmental, cognitive, and physical disabilities).

• Cooccurring disorders training:

  • Treatment director, supervisor, nurse, or counselor must complete at least 12 hours of training covering philosophy, trauma-informed care, screening, assessment, diagnosis, person-centered treatment planning, documentation, programming, medication collaboration, mental health consultation, and discharge planning.
  • New staff without this training must complete it within six months of employment.
  • Credit may be granted for relevant training obtained before employment.

• Initial training requirements (before or soon after first direct contact with a client):

  • Maltreatment reporting and definitions for vulnerable adults and minors (within 72 hours).
  • Client rights and protections, Minnesota Health Records Act, and confidentiality/family engagement provisions.
  • Emergency procedures for fires, severe weather, missing persons, and medical/behavioral emergencies.
  • Specific job functions and program policies.
  • Professional boundaries and accessibility/sensory safety for clients with disabilities.
  • For certain mental health-related roles, specific topics include developmental status and client needs.

• Mental health-specific initial training:

  • Mental health professionals (e.g., mental health rehabilitation workers, behavioral aides, etc.) must receive 30 hours of training covering:
  • Mental illnesses, recovery and resiliency, de-escalation techniques, cooccurring disorders, and psychotropic medications (including side effects like tardive dyskinesia).

• Timelines for adults and children:

  • Within 90 days of first providing direct contact services to an adult client, relevant staff must receive trauma-informed care training, person-centered treatment planning, family partnerships, cultural responsiveness, and related topics; also address cooccurring substance use disorders.
  • Within 90 days of first providing direct contact services to a child client, staff must receive training on trauma-informed care, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), family-centered treatment planning, family systems considerations, culturally responsive practices, child development, and related topics; includes parent-team training.

• Ongoing training (Subdivision 4):

  • Staff providing direct contact services must receive annual training on topics listed in the initial training sections.
  • Staff who are qualified under the program but are not mental health professionals must receive 30 hours of training every two years, with topics aligned to program needs and including accessibility/sensory safety for individuals with disabilities receiving mental health services.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Explicit, codified requirements for disability-related accessibility training and sensory safety for all direct-contact staff in substance use disorder and mental health settings.
• New or expanded focus on trauma-informed care, ACEs, family-centered approaches, and culturally responsive treatment, with concrete timelines (72 hours, 90 days, 6 months) for initial trainings and 30-hour blocks for specific roles.
• Introduction of annual and biennial ongoing training requirements, including a two-year renewal cycle for non-mental-health professionals.
• Provision to credit prior relevant training and to require documentation in personnel files.
• Specific emphasis on training for staff who work with cooccurring disorders and on the integration of medical and behavioral health considerations (including medications and their side effects).

Implementation & Timing (Key Dates/Deadlines)

• New staff: basic cooccurring disorders training within six months of employment; other initial trainings before or shortly after first direct contact.
• Adults: trauma-informed care, person-centered plans, and related topics within 90 days of first direct contact.
• Children: trauma-informed care, ACEs, family-centered planning, cultural responsiveness, and child development topics within 90 days of first direct contact; parent-team training for certain staff.
• Ongoing: annual updates on core topics; non-mental health professionals must complete 30 hours of training every two years.

Affected Parties and Scope

• License holders operating substance use disorder and mental health treatment programs.
• Staff with direct client contact (and leadership roles like treatment directors, supervisors, nurses, and counselors).
• People served by these programs, including adults and children, especially those with disabilities (as defined to include traumatic brain injuries, developmental, cognitive, and physical disabilities).

How This Is Described in Practice

• Programs must maintain training records showing completion, dates, and credits.
• Staff must complete required trainings within the stated timeframes or receive approved credit for prior training.
• Training topics are tied to legally defined standards such as confidentiality, reporting requirements, and patient rights, as well as program-specific practices like trauma-informed care and family engagement.

Relevant Terms - staff development - training - client confidentiality - client ethical boundaries - emergency procedures - client rights - mandatory reporting - maltreatment reporting - release of client information - HIV minimum standards - cooccurring disorders - trauma-informed care - accessibility - communications access - sensory safety - individuals with disabilities - traumatic brain injuries - developmental disabilities - cognitive disabilities - physical disabilities - person-centered treatment planning - family-centered treatment - culturally responsive treatment - ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) - family engagement - professional boundaries - Minnesota Health Records Act - direct contact services - initial training - ongoing training - 30 hours - 12 hours - 6 months - 90 days