1. The Division shall carry out a vocational and educational program for the certification of mental health technicians, including forensic technicians:

(a) Employed by the Division, or other employees of the Division who perform similar duties, but are classified differently.

(b) Employed by the Division of Child and Family Services of the Department.

The program must be carried out in cooperation with the Nevada System of Higher Education.

2. A mental health technician is responsible to the director of the service in which his or her duties are performed. The director of a service may be a licensed physician, dentist, podiatric physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, rehabilitation therapist, social worker, registered nurse or other professionally qualified person. This section does not authorize a mental health technician to perform duties which require the specialized knowledge and skill of a professionally qualified person.

3. The Division shall adopt regulations to carry out the provisions of this section.

4. As used in this section, “mental health technician” means an employee of the Division of Public and Behavioral Services or the Division of Child and Family Services who, for compensation or personal profit, carries out procedures and techniques which involve cause and effect and which are used in the care, treatment and rehabilitation of persons with mental illness and persons who are emotionally disturbed, and who has direct responsibility for:

(a) Administering or carrying out specific therapeutic procedures, techniques or treatments, excluding medical interventions, to enable consumers to make optimal use of their therapeutic regime, their social and personal resources, and their residential care; or

(b) The application of interpersonal and technical skills in the observation and recognition of symptoms and reactions of consumers, for the accurate recording of such symptoms and reactions, and for carrying out treatments authorized by members of the interdisciplinary team that determines the treatment of the consumers.

(Added to NRS by 1989, 428; A 1993, 402, 2230; 1995, 805; 1999, 98, 2591; 2011, 410; 2013, 663, 3004)