SF1297 Summary

• Allows doctoral-level psychologists with forensic experience to serve on special review boards for mentally ill and dangerous persons, alongside psychiatrists and attorneys.

• Expands mental health practitioner qualifications for children's therapeutic services and supports, permitting clinical trainees to conduct diagnostic assessments and extending assessment validity from 180 days to one year.

• Establishes data-sharing authority for the Commissioner of Human Services to disclose private data on individuals buried at state institutions for purposes of placing grave markers.

• Removes references to obsolete state facilities and programs (Minnesota Extended Treatment Options Program) and repeals outdated statutes governing nursing home beds and specialized services provisions.

• Updates terminology throughout Minnesota statutes to replace archaic or stigmatizing language ("insane," "mentally deficient," "handicapped," "retarded") with contemporary descriptors ("mental illness," "developmental disability," "cognitive impairment").