3707.1 To be eligible for Mental Health Supported Employment services, a consumer shall:

1. (a) Be at least eighteen (18) years of age;
2. (b) Indicate an interest in employment as determined through the diagnostic and comprehensive assessments for the Mental Health Rehabilitation Services (MHRS) program;
3. (c) Have Mental Health Supported Employment identified as a needed service on a current, MHRS person-centered Plan of Care that has been reviewed by the Department;
4. (d) Not be receiving MHRS Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) services; and
5. (e) Be determined by the Department of Behavioral Health (the Department) as eligible for Mental Health Supported Employment services after undergoing an independent needs-based assessment pursuant to § 3708.3(b) that examines the following:
6. (1) Be assessed to have mental health needs that require an improvement, stabilization, or prevention of deterioration in functioning (including ability to live independently without support), which result from the presence of a mental illness; and
7. (2) Have at least one (1) of the following risk factors:
   1. (A) Be unable to sustain gainful employment for at least ninety (90) consecutive days as related to a history of mental illness;
   2. (B) An inability to obtain or maintain employment resulting from age or disability (physical or behavioral);
   3. (C) More than one instance of mental illness treatment in the past two (2) years; or
   4. (D) Be at risk for deterioration of mental illness as evidenced by one (1) or more of the

following:

(i) Persistent or chronic risk factors such as social isolation due to a lack of family or social supports, poverty, criminal justice involvement, or homelessness;

(ii) Care for mental illness requiring multiple provider types, including behavioral health, primary care, and long-term services and supports; or

(iii) A past psychiatric history with no significant functional improvement that can't be maintained without treatment and supports.

SOURCE: Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 58 DCR 10330, 10337 (December 9, 2011); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 67 DCR 10775 (September 4, 2020); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 69 DCR 011733 (September 30, 2022); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 70 DCR 016660 (December 29, 2023).