La. Admin. Code tit. 48 § I-8579

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section I-8579 - Staffing-Qualified Professional and Qualified Mental Retardation Professional

A. A qualified professional (QP) is:

1. a psychologist with at least a master's degree from an accredited program and specialized training or two years experience in treating mentally retarded, emotionally disturbed or learning disabled children whose condition is similar to the condition of the individuals being served; or

2. a physician licensed under state law to practice medicine or osteopathy and with specialized training or two years experience in treating emotionally disturbed, mentally retarded or learning disabled children whose condition is similar to that of the individuals being served.

B. Qualified mental retardation professional (QMRP) is a professionally qualified person responsible for overseeing the implementation of an individual's service plan. A QMRP is a person who has specialized training or one year of experience in training or one year of experience in treating or working with the mentally retarded and is one of the following:

1. a psychologist with a master's degree from an accredited program;

2. a licensed doctor of medicine or osteopathy;

3. an educator with a degree in education from an accredited program;

4. a social worker shall be:

a. a person with a bachelor's degree in social work from an accredited program;

b. a person who has at least one year of experience working directly with handicapped persons in the appropriate area of handicapping conditions; and is:

i. a physician;

ii. a registered nurse;

iii. an occupational therapist who:

(a). is eligible for certification as an occupational therapist (OTR) by the American Occupational Therapy association; or

(b). is a graduate of an occupational therapist educational program accredited jointly by the American Occupational Therapy association and the committee on allied Health Education and accreditation of the American Medical Association;

iv. an occupational therapy assistant who:

(a). is eligible for certification as a certified occupational therapy assistant (COTA) by the American Occupational Therapy Association; or

(b). is a graduate of an occupational therapy assistant program accredited by the American Occupational Therapy association;

v. a physical therapist that is licensed by the state in which he/she practices;

vi. a physical therapy assistant who is a graduate of a two year college-level program approved by the American Physical Therapy association;

vii. a psychologist who has at least a Master's degree in psychology, from an accredited program;

viii. a social worker who:

(a). is licensed, if applicable by the state in which practicing;

(b). has a degree from a school of social work accredited or approved by the Council on Social Work Education; or

(c). has graduated from a college or university with a Bachelor of Social Work degree accredited or approved by the Council on Social Work Education;

ix. a speech-language pathologist or audiologist who:

(a). is licensed, if applicable, by the state in which practicing; and

(b). is eligible for a certificate of clinical competence in speech and language pathology or audiology granted by the American Speech, Language, and Hearing Association under its requirements in effect on the publication of this provision; or

(c). meets the educational requirements for certification and is in the process of accumulating the supervised experience required for certification;

x. a recreation staff member with a bachelor's degree in recreation, or in a specialty area such as art, dance, music or physical education;

xi. a music therapist who:

(a). has a four year undergraduate degree in music therapy;

(b). has at least 6 months experience in the field of music therapy; and

(c). is registered with the National Association for Music Therapy or the American Association for Music Therapy; or

xii. a human services professional with at least a bachelor's degree in a human services field (such as psychology, sociology, special education, rehabilitation counseling, juvenile justice, corrections, etc.); or

c. a person in a field other than social work and at least three years of social work experience under the supervision of a qualified social worker;

5 a physical or occupational therapist as defined in federal regulations;

6. a speech pathologist or audiologist as defined by federal regulations;

7. a registered nurse;

8. a therapeutic recreation specialist who:

a. is a graduate of an accredited program; and

b. is licensed by the state; or

9. a rehabilitation counselor who is certified by the Committee on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification.

La. Admin. Code tit. 48, § I-8579

Promulgated by the Department of Health and Hospitals, Bureau of Health Services Financing, LR 38:3202 (December 2012).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 36:254 and R.S. 40:2180-2180.5.