Access to services for children with serious emotional disturbance and their families shall be voluntary whenever informed consent can be obtained. Involuntary treatment or commitment to the department’s custody shall not be required as a condition for obtaining, providing, or paying for treatment by the department. The department’s assistance with paying for a child’s treatment and other services under this chapter shall be based upon the rules adopted by the department and by the sliding fee scale developed under section 16-2433, Idaho Code. Department payments to service providers are only made pursuant to a written agreement between the department and the service provider. The agreement must reflect cost-effective services for the child.
(1)  The family and the department may enter into a services agreement if:
(a)  The child meets the department’s eligibility criteria for treatment or services; and
(b)  The child and his parents request mental health services from the department; or
(c)  The family requests full or partial payment for services by the department (other than payment through medical assistance, title XIX of the social security act, as amended); or
(d)  The youth is involuntarily placed by the department under this chapter.
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Terms Used In Idaho Code 16-2406

  • Child: means an individual less than eighteen (18) years of age and not emancipated by either marriage or legal proceeding. See Idaho Code 16-2403
  • Department: means the department of health and welfare. See Idaho Code 16-2403
  • Involuntary treatment: means treatment, services and placement of children provided without consent of the parent of a child, under the authority of a court order obtained pursuant to this chapter, as directed by an order of disposition issued by a designated employee of the department of health and welfare under section 16-2415, Idaho Code. See Idaho Code 16-2403
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Serious emotional disturbance: means a diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM) diagnosable mental health, emotional or behavioral disorder, or a neuropsychiatric condition which results in a serious disability, and which requires sustained treatment interventions, and causes the child’s functioning to be impaired in thought, perception, affect or behavior. See Idaho Code 16-2403
(2)  For purposes of this chapter, a services agreement is a written agreement, binding on the parties, which specifies at a minimum:
(a)  The legal status of the child; and
(b)  The rights and obligations of the parents or guardians, the child and the department while the child is in the out-of-home placement.
(3)  When a child is placed out of his home pursuant to a services agreement or a one hundred twenty (120) day involuntary treatment order by the court, the department shall have the responsibility for the child’s placement and care. The financial obligation of the family will be determined after consideration of all available payment and funding sources including title XIX of the social security act, as amended, all available third party sources, and parent resources according to any order for child support under chapter 10, title 32, Idaho Code. Services shall not be conditioned on transfer of custody or parental rights.