50-06-06.13. Treatment services for children with serious emotional disorders.

1. The department shall establish a program to provide out-of-home treatment services for a Medicaid-eligible child with a serious emotional disorder. The department may not require a parent or legal guardian to transfer legal custody of the child in order to have the child placed in an out-of-home treatment program if the sole reason for the placement is the need to obtain services for the child's emotional or behavioral problems. With departmental approval, a parent with legal and physical custody or a legal guardian of the child may obtain treatment services for the child through the program. A parent without physical custody of a child, who disagrees with a child's treatment under this section, may request a judicial determination regarding the child's treatment.

2. The department may establish a program to prevent out-of-home placement for a Medicaid-eligible child with a behavior health condition as defined in the "Diagnostic

and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders", American psychiatric association, fifth edition, text revision (2013).