AN ACT to conduct a temporary placement pilot program through the department of health and human services and for the department to study and report on various licensure and youth placement reforms.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  Temporary Placement Pilot Program. – There is established the Temporary Placement Pilot Program, administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. The purpose of the Program is to provide high‑acuity youth, who would require placement in a psychiatric residential treatment facility (PRTF), be eligible for temporary placement in a lower‑level setting that assures safety for the youth through sufficient wrap‑around services and supports. The Program would focus on providing those high‑acuity youth with therapeutic alternatives to other temporary placements used during high‑volume periods, such as social service offices and emergency rooms. The Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Social Services and Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Use Services, shall apply for any required waivers to provide these flexibilities. The Program would begin within six months of receiving any required waivers and adoption of temporary rules, if necessary.

SECTION 2.  Study. – The Department of Health and Human Services shall study and submit a report to the Joint Legislative Health and Human Services Oversight Committee by October 1, 2026, on the outcomes of the Temporary Placement Pilot Program under Section 1 of this act and all of the following:

(1)        Allow experienced providers with a history of excellence to operate under a temporary and less rigorous approval with post‑opening compliance verification until full licensure approval can be processed, including allowing for video walkthroughs for the Division of Health Service Regulation licensure approval.

(2)        Reduce admission hesitancy by creating clinical exception pathways, by providing liability protection with defined parameters, State‑supported clinical consultation, and enhanced reimbursement for high‑acuity cases.

(3)        Policy adjustments regarding emergency admission flexibility by (i) allowing same‑day comprehensive clinical assessments (CCA), (ii) permit the admitting provider to complete the CCA, and (iii) accept provisional documentation for immediate placement.

(4)        Reintegration success rates of youth transiting from out‑of‑state provider placements to the same or step‑down levels of care, including family reintegration, time to re‑placement, family reunification outcomes, cost comparison compared to in‑State care, and reintegration success.

SECTION 3.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Health and Human Services the nonrecurring sum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for the 2026‑2027 fiscal year to conduct the Temporary Placement Pilot Program, as enacted in Section 1 of this act.

SECTION 4.  Section 3 of this act becomes effective July 1, 2026. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.