MT SB191

Creates a new category of licensed health care facility called "residential treatment centers" for youth under 19 years of age requiring 24-hour mental health services, including assessment, counseling, skilled nursing, medication management, and co-occurring substance use disorder treatment

Requires the Department of Public Health and Human Services to adopt administrative rules covering staff-to-patient ratios, staff qualifications and training, fingerprint background checks, suicide prevention policies, and abuse and neglect reporting

Mandates that residential treatment centers obtain accreditation from a U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services-approved accrediting entity

Allows provisional licensure for up to 1 year (two 6-month periods) for facilities actively pursuing accreditation

Extends educational funding eligibility to children placed in residential treatment centers, adding them to the list of qualifying facilities alongside children's psychiatric hospitals, residential treatment facilities, and therapeutic group homes