An act relating to mental health response service guidelines and the safety of social service and home health providers

Changed 'protocols' to 'guidelines' throughout Section 1, and changed 'prescribe best practices' to 'recommend best practices,' making the mental health response document advisory rather than mandatory for municipalities.

Expanded the consultation list in Section 1(b) from 9 to 11 entities, adding the Department's State Program Standing Committees and changing the catch-all from 'any other entity' to 'any other stakeholders.'

Added the word 'reasonably' before 'mitigated or eliminated' in Section 3, lowering the threshold for when a home health agency may deny admission or decline a visit after a safety discharge.

Added new subsection (c) to Section 3 requiring home health agencies to provide written notice of any denial of admission, including the reason and information about how to file a complaint under section 6308.

Added 'volunteer' personnel alongside those 'employed or under contract with a municipality,' broadening who the guidelines apply to in Section 1.

Expanded the legislative presentation recipients in Section 2(b) to include the House Committee on Health Care in addition to the existing House Committee on Human Services and Senate Committee on Health and Welfare.

Added two new categories of participants for the social service provider safety meetings in Section 2: individuals with lived experience of a mental health condition, substance use disorder, or other condition requiring social work services, and any other stakeholder deemed appropriate by the Agency.

Added new subsection (b) to Section 3 stating that nothing requires a home health agency to enter a home to determine if a risk can be mitigated or eliminated, providing explicit protection for agencies.

Added entirely new Section 4 requiring the Department of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living to report to legislative committees on or after February 15, 2025 on the number of safety discharges, the nature of risks involved, and the number of individuals denied subsequent admission due to a prior safety discharge.

The official version includes introductory metadata (sponsor name, committee referral, date introduced, subject line, and statement of purpose) that is absent from the unofficial version.

The official version displays the bill's title evolution from 'mental health response service protocols' to 'mental health response service guidelines and the safety of social service and home health providers,' while the unofficial version shows only the final title.

Page count differs (6 pages in official vs 5 pages in unofficial) due to formatting and header differences, with no change to statutory content.

The official version adds introductory information including the sponsor (Senator Lyons), committee referral (Health and Welfare), introduction date (January 3, 2024), subject line, and a statement of purpose summarizing the bill's intent.

The official version includes the full text of the bill as introduced before the text as passed, showing the legislative history. The introduced version used the term 'protocols' (prescriptive) while the Senate-passed version uses 'guidelines' (recommendatory), and the introduced version added a memorandum of understanding requirement with state entities that was not retained in the passed version.

The header label changed from 'AS PASSED BY SENATE' to 'BILL AS INTRODUCED AND PASSED BY SENATE' to reflect that both versions are now included. A minor typo appears in the official version where 'Sec. 4' is rendered as 'Sec. 3 4.'

The bill title and scope expanded from 'mental health response service protocols' to 'mental health response service guidelines and social service provider safety,' adding an entirely new policy area around protecting social service workers.

Changed from 'protocols' that 'prescribe best practices' to 'guidelines' that 'recommend best practices,' making the Department's output advisory rather than prescriptive. Also changed 'distribute' to 'make available,' reducing the obligation.

New subsection (b) requires the Department to consult with nine specific entities when developing guidelines, including the Department of Health, Department of Public Safety, Vermont Care Partners, Vermont Psychiatric Survivors, NAMI Vermont, the Vermont Criminal Justice Council, and the Vermont League of Cities and Towns.

New Section 2 requires the Agency of Human Services to convene meetings with community-based social service organizations by November 15, 2024, and present findings and recommendations to legislative committees by January 31, 2025. Specific organizations listed include the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, the Vermont Coalition to End Homelessness, and disability service providers.

Added 'volunteer' as a category of covered personnel (previously only those 'employed or under contract with a municipality'), broadening who the guidelines apply to.

New Section 3 (33 V.S.A. 6309) allows home health agencies to deny a subsequent admission or decline to send an employee to make a visit if the individual was previously discharged for staff safety and the behavior cannot be mitigated or eliminated.