PURPOSE: This rule describes the organization of the department and where the public may obtain information about the department as required by section 536.023, RSMo (1986).

1. (1) The Department of Mental Health was established by the Omnibus Reorganization Act of 1974. Under Chapter 630, RSMo the department shall administer, maintain and develop facilities and services for persons affected by mental disorders, developmental disabilities and alcohol or drug abuse. The department further seeks to reduce the incidence and prevalence of disabling conditions; to systematically plan on a regional and statewide basis for the provision of services; to certify or license, or both, certain residential facilities, day programs and specialized services; to conduct research and program evaluation to improve services; and to develop staff and analyze mental health manpower needs.
2. (2) As set out in section 630.015, RSMo, the State Mental Health Commission appoints the department director with the advice and consent of the senate. The director serves at the pleasure of the commission. As set out in section 630.025, RSMo, the commission sets the salary of the department director. The other statutory duties of the commission are mainly advisory as set out in section 630.015, RSMo. Membership and meeting requirements of the commission are set out in section 630.010, RSMo.
3. (3) The department director heads the department as its chief executive officer as set out in section 630.025, RSMo to perform the duties and exercise the powers as may be imposed or conferred upon him/her by law.

4. (4) The department service delivery system is divided into the following three (3) divisions as described in other rules of this title: the Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, the Division of Comprehensive Psychiatric Services and the Division of Mental Retardation and Development Disabilities.

   1. (A) The Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse plans and funds prevention, treatment and rehabilitation programs for persons who have alcohol or chemical dependencies. It provides community-based funding for prevention, outpatient, residential and detoxification services. The division also provides technical assistance to agencies and operates a certification program that sets standards for treatment programs, qualified professionals and alcoholand drug-related educational programs. The division also provides outpatient treatment services to compulsive gamblers and their families. The division’s phone number is (573) 751-4942.
   2. (B) The Division of Comprehensive Psychiatric Services directly operates eleven (11) facilities that provide services including inpatient treatment, acute care, services for children, forensic services and outpatient services. In addition, private not-for-profit mental health agencies contract with the department to provide services. The division also provides and monitors residential placements for persons with mental illness. Intermediate and long-term inpatient care are provided on a regional basis by the state psychiatric hospitals. Similarly, children and youth inpatient programs are available through state-operated children’s hospitals on a regional basis. Residential programs are purchased predominantly through private agencies. The division’s phone number is (573) 751-8017.
   3. (C) The Division of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities serves a population that has such developmental disabilities as mental retardation, cerebral palsy, head injuries, autism, epilepsy and certain learning disabilities. These conditions must have been manifested before age twenty-two
5. (22) with the expectation that they will continue. To be eligible for services from the division, persons with these disabilities must be substantially limited in their ability to function independently. This division’s primary mission is to help improve the lives of persons with developmental disabilities through programs and services to enable those persons to live independently and productively, given their individual needs and capabilities. The division achieves its mission through a statewide system of seventeen (17) state-operated facilities that provide or purchase specialized services. The eleven (11) regional centers form the framework for the system, backed by six (6) habilitation centers that provide residential care and habilitation services for more severely disabled persons. The regional centers, the primary points of entry into the system, provide assessment and case management services. The centers also provide oversight for community placement facilities, habilitation programs and other services funded or licensed by the department. The division’s phone number is (573) 751- 4054. 9 CSR 10-1

6. (5) The department provides administrative and technical support for the entire department and its divisions through the following units:

   1. (A) The Office of Administration provides technical and fiscal assistance for a department that operates twenty-eight (28) facilities and a central office that contracts with more than four thousand (4,000) private agencies or individuals that provide services in the community. The office’s services include capital improvements and general services, contracts management, reimbursements, dietetic services coordination, budget management and fiscal management. The Office of Administration’s phone number is (573) 751-4055;
   2. (B) The Office of Departmental Affairs is responsible for department-wide functions in support of department services, division offices and other support offices; coordinating and implementing quality improvement processes to enhance services to clients through survey of programs and consultation to agencies; providing technical assistance in and development of major federal and state initiatives; coordinating department implementation of and support for the Americans with Disabilities Act; providing internal and external audits; providing investigations and consulting services to the divisions regarding client deaths and serious injury or risk; and collaborating with national public policy agencies, consumer associations and industry groups to enhance mental health care systems. The Office of Departmental Affairs’ phone number is (573) 751-7779;
   3. (C) The Office of Human Resources is responsible for supplying administrative support for employment, employee relations, recruitment, compensation management and affirmative action. The office maintains and analyzes the staff information system to assist in management decisions. The Office of Human Resources’ phone number is (573) 751-4991;
   4. (D) The Office of Information Systems is responsible for the development, operation and coordination of the department’s computer information systems. These include clinical systems as well as financial and administrative applications. The Office of Information Systems’ phone number is (573) 751- 9128; and
   5. (E) The Office of Public Affairs disseminates information to the public concerning mental health programs and services. The office also provides support services, technical assistance and training to the department’s divisions, offices and facilities. The Office of Public Affairs’ phone number is
7. (573) 751-4423.
8. (6) The Professional Review Committee was created by law in 1980 to review, report and make recommendations to the department director on any research involving people served by the department. This committee consists of ten (10) members, appointed by the director to represent the fields of medicine, pharmacology, behavioral sciences, biomedical science, philosophy of science, and bioethics.
9. (7) As set out in section 630.050, RSMo, the department shall promulgate rules by filing them with the secretary of state prescribing policies or standards which affect charging, funding and licensing procedures of residential facilities, day programs and specialized services available to the public. The department shall adopt department-wide operating regulations concerning only its internal management. Each facility shall adopt policies concerning only its internal management. The rules and policies are available at the department central office or residential facilities for public inspection and review.
10. (8) Pursuant to section 610.023, RSMo, the director has appointed the executive I in the Office of Departmental Affairs as the custodian responsible for the maintenance of the Department of Mental Health’s records. The executive I is located at the offices of the Department of Mental Health, 1706 East Elm Street, P.O. Box 687, Jefferson City, MO 65102. Further information regarding the release of information on any meeting, record or vote is available from the executive I. The executive I shall also provide information on charges for furnishing copies of records, timelines for producing records and assistance for persons with disabilities, for example, large print or Braille materials.
11. (9) The public may obtain information or make submissions or requests from and to the director of the Department of Mental Health, 1706 East Elm Street, P.O. Box 687, Jefferson City, MO 65102. Phone (573) 751-4122. Business hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

AUTHORITY: sections 536.023, RSMo (1994) and 630.050, RSMo (Cum. Supp. 1996). Original rule filed April 8, 1976, effective July 12, 1976. Rescinded and readopted: Filed April 14, 1981, effective Aug. 17, 1981. Amended: Filed May 25, 1995, effective Nov. 30, 1995. Amended: Filed July 1, 1997, effective Dec. 30, 1997. Op. Atty. Gen. No. 70, Wilson (8-27-79). Except under the interstate compact on mental health, the Department of Mental Health does not have the authority to place patients out of the state. Op. Atty. Gen. No. 228, Robb (6-28-73). The Division of Mental Health has the authority and the duty to charge for the care and treatment of a juvenile committed to the Division of Mental Health by the juvenile court or transferred to the Division of Mental Health from the State Board of Training Schools pursuant to section 211.201, RSMo if such person is determined to be a private patient pursuant to the provisions of section 202.863, RSMo. Op. Atty. Gen. No. 60, Robb (1-17-73). The Division of Mental Health is required to adopt rules for all institutions accepting the mentally retarded including facilities operated by the division itself. Homes and institutions which are licensed under the provisions of chapter 198, RSMo as nursing homes by the Division of Health and which come within the provisions of section 202.905, RSMo, must also be licensed by the Division of Mental Health and must conform to the rules promulgated by the respective divisions. Op. Atty. Gen. No. 66, Nanson (6-18-58). The Division of Mental Diseases may charge pay patients in state hospitals the maximum amount fixed by the division for each institution or any amount below that maximum based upon the ability, or means of the patient, to pay. A husband is liable for the support of his wife unless she has abandoned him/her without good cause or has abandoned him/her with cause, and has contracted an adulterous relationship consequently; that a husband is liable for the support of his minor children; that in the absence of the husband or his inability to support minor children the same obligation devolves upon the wife. Persons who adopt a child and persons who stand in the position of in loco parentis have the same duty to support as do natural parents.