26B-1-329.  Mental Health Services Donation Fund.

(1)  As used in this section:

Terms Used In Utah Code 26B-1-329

  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
(a)  “Mental health therapist” means the same as that term is defined in Section 58-60-102.

(b)  “Mental health therapy” means treatment or prevention of a mental illness, including:

(i)  conducting a professional evaluation of an individual’s condition of mental health, mental illness, or emotional disorder consistent with standards generally recognized by mental health therapists;

(ii)  establishing a diagnosis in accordance with established written standards generally recognized by mental health therapists;

(iii)  prescribing a plan or medication for the prevention or treatment of a condition of a mental illness or an emotional disorder; and

(iv)  engaging in the conduct of professional intervention, including psychotherapy by the application of established methods and procedures generally recognized by mental health therapists.

(c)  “Qualified individual” means an individual who:

(i)  is experiencing a mental health crisis; and

(ii)  calls a local mental health crisis line as defined in Section 26B-5-610 or the statewide mental health crisis line as defined in Section 26B-5-610.

(2)  There is created an expendable special revenue fund known as the “Mental Health Services Donation Fund.”

(3) 

(a)  The fund shall consist of:

(i)  gifts, grants, donations, or any other conveyance of money that may be made to the fund from public or private individuals or entities; and

(ii)  interest earned on money in the fund.

(b)  The Office of Substance Use and Mental Health shall administer the fund in accordance with this section.

(4)  The Office of Substance Use and Mental Health shall award fund money to an entity in the state that provides mental health and substance use treatment for the purpose of:

(a)  providing through telehealth or in-person services, mental health therapy to qualified individuals;

(b)  providing access to evaluations and coordination of short-term care to assist a qualified individual in identifying services or support needs, resources, or benefits for which the qualified individual may be eligible; and

(c)  developing a system for a qualified individual and a qualified individual’s family to access information and referrals for mental health therapy.

(5)  Fund money may only be used for the purposes described in Subsection (4).

(6)  The Office of Substance Use and Mental Health shall provide an annual report to the Behavioral Health Crisis Response Commission, created in Section 63C-18-202, regarding:

(a)  the entity that is awarded a grant under Subsection (4);

(b)  the number of qualified individuals served by the entity with fund money; and

(c)  any costs or benefits as a result of the award of the grant.

Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 305, 2023 General Session