Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a)
Screener certification shall be granted to individuals who possess the
qualifications delineated in (b) below who have completed the Division's
screener certification course and who have passed the screener certification
proficiency examination.
1. The screening
service shall maintain records of the certification of screeners and their
completion or fulfillment of re-certification requirements.
(b) Individuals who apply for
status as a certified screener after August 16, 2010, shall possess at least
one of the following educational credentials, which shall serve as
prerequisites to admission to the Division's screener certification course and
to subsequent status as a temporary or fully certified screener:
1. A master's degree in a
mental-health-related field from an accredited institution, plus one year of
postmaster's, full-time equivalent, professional experience in a psychiatric
setting;
2. A bachelor's degree in
a mental-health-related field from an accredited institution, plus three years
post-bachelor's, full-time equivalent, professional experience in the mental
health field, one of which is in a crisis setting;
3. A bachelor's degree in a
mental-health-related field from an accredited institution, plus two years
post-bachelor's, full-time equivalent, professional experience in the mental
health field, one of which is in a crisis setting and currently enrolled in a
master's program; or
4. A licensed
registered nurse with three years full-time equivalent, post-RN, professional
experience in the mental health field, one of which is in a crisis
setting.
(c) Prior to
achieving full status as a certified screener, an individual shall serve as a
temporary screener and shall receive a "T" number.
1. Temporary screener certification entitles
a mental health professional to perform emergency screening in a screening
service for one year from the issuance of the "T" number.
2. While a temporary screener may perform all
the functions of a certified screener during this one-year period, a certified
screener must review and approve the screening document completed by the
temporary screener.
3. Within one
year of submitting an application for temporary status, the temporary screener
shall attend and successfully complete a Division-approved Basic Screening
Certification Training Series and shall pass the Screener Proficiency Exam.
i. Screeners who have not attended and
completed every class in the training series shall not be allowed to sit for
the proficiency exam.
ii. Temporary
screeners who fail to complete each class in the training series must make up
the missed class(es) in the next Basic Screener Training Certification
series.
iii. Temporary screeners
who fail to pass the proficiency exam must pass a make-up exam.
iv. Temporary screeners who fail to either
complete each class in the basic training series or pass the exam before the
one-year expiration of their temporary status will be placed on conditional
status, pursuant to the terms of (f) below.
v. Temporary screeners who have successfully
completed all basic certification classes and passed the proficiency exam shall
be issued a permanent screening (or "S") number, which shall be valid for two
years.
(d)
Screener certification shall be valid for two years from the date of
certification, with recertification in accordance with (e) below.
(e) Biennial recertification shall be granted
after a screener has submitted evidence of completion of 15 continuing
education hours approved by the Division on a case-by-case basis, with regard
to the relevance of the subject matter to emergency or screening services.
These may include courses, conferences or in-service training. At a minimum,
six of those 15 hours shall be provided by the Division-sponsored screener
training course.
(f) A temporary
screener who fails to complete the basic certification training series and pass
the screener proficiency exam within the required one-year period or, a
certified screener who fails to complete the recertification requirements set
forth at (e) above, shall be placed on conditional or "C" status.
1. Screening documents and police transport
forms completed by a screener on conditional status shall be co-signed by the
screening coordinator within one working day of the screener's
completion.
2. All documents signed
by a screener on conditional status shall indicate that status.
3. A screener on conditional status shall
have six months from the date of conversion to such status to satisfy all
outstanding certification requirements.
4. Failure to remediate the conditions
resulting in conditional status within six months shall result in the loss of
all screening status until these requirements are met. In addition, the
screening coordinator, agency director, Division regional coordinator, and the
Department's Office of Licensing shall be notified as to this loss of screening
status.
(g) The duties
of a screener shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
1. Screening of consumers who may be in need
of commitment;
2. Assessment,
referral and linkage;
3. Hotline
coverage;
4. Crisis
stabilization;
5. Development of
alternative treatment plans;
6.
Consultation, training and technical assistance to other clinical
staff;
7. Consultation with the
psychiatrist;
8. Supervision and
monitoring of consumers;
9.
Screening outreach;
10. Screening
for admission to STCFs;
11.
Arranging for a consumer's discharge or transfer out of the screening
service;
12. Arranging for a
consumer's appropriate transport to a receiving facility; and
13. Determining whether the consumer has
executed an Advance Directive for Mental Health Care.
