71-830. Behavioral Health Education Center; created; administration; duties; report.

(1) The Behavioral Health Education Center is created and shall be administered by the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

(2) The center shall:

(a)(i) Provide funds for two additional medical residents in a Nebraska-based psychiatry program each year starting in 2010 until a total of eight additional psychiatry residents are added in 2013. The center shall provide psychiatric residency training experiences that serve rural Nebraska and other underserved areas. As part of his or her residency training experiences, each center-funded resident shall participate in the rural training for a minimum of one year. A minimum of two of the eight center-funded residents shall be active in the rural training each year; and

(ii) Provide funds for five one-year doctoral-level psychology internships in Nebraska within twelve months after July 18, 2014, and every year thereafter and increase the number of interns in the program to ten within thirty-six months after July 18, 2014. The interns shall be placed in communities so as to increase access to behavioral health services for patients residing in rural and underserved areas of Nebraska;

(b) Focus on the training of behavioral health professionals in telehealth techniques, including taking advantage of a telehealth network that exists, and other innovative means of care delivery in order to increase access to behavioral health services for all Nebraskans;

(c) Analyze the geographic and demographic availability of Nebraska behavioral health professionals, including psychiatrists, social workers, community rehabilitation workers, psychologists, substance abuse counselors, licensed mental health practitioners, behavioral analysts, peer support providers, primary care physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, and physician assistants;

(d) Prioritize the need for additional professionals by type and location;

(e) Establish learning collaborative partnerships with other higher education institutions in the state, hospitals, law enforcement, community-based agencies, and consumers and their families in order to develop evidence-based, recovery-focused, interdisciplinary curricula and training for behavioral health professionals delivering behavioral health services in community-based agencies, hospitals, and law enforcement. Development and dissemination of such curricula and training shall address the identified priority needs for behavioral health professionals; and

(f) Beginning in 2011, develop two interdisciplinary behavioral health training sites each year until a total of six sites have been developed. Four of the six sites shall be in counties with a population of fewer than fifty thousand inhabitants. Each site shall provide annual interdisciplinary training opportunities for a minimum of three behavioral health professionals.

(3) No later than December 1 of every odd-numbered year, the center shall prepare a report of its activities under the Behavioral Health Workforce Act. The report shall be filed electronically with the Clerk of the Legislature and shall be provided electronically to any member of the Legislature upon request.

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