CHILD WELFARE MANUAL

Section 4, Chapter 2 (Placements), Subsection 7 – Requirements for Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility (PRTF) Placements

Effective Date:  10-1-2021

A PRTF is a program that provides inpatient psychiatric services furnished in a psychiatric residential treatment facility.  Approval for placement in this setting requires rigorous review by an independent team, which includes a physician.  These settings are not licensed by the Children’s Division. The Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) is responsible for certification of the PRTF setting in Missouri. Hawthorn Children’s Psychiatric Hospital is a PRTF owned and operated by the Missouri Department of Mental Health (DMH). It is the Department of Mental Health’s only free-standing children’s psychiatric hospital in Missouri and provides treatment services to children who are residents of Missouri.  More information about Hawthorn can be found here: https://dmh.mo.gov/hawthorn-childrens-psychiatric-hospital.

The Children’s Division anticipates the establishment of new, privately ran PRTF programs in the coming years.  The DHSS can assist facilities seeking to become PRTF facilities.

The referral process to all PRTF settings is the same as the process for residential treatment settings, outlined in Section 4, Chapter 2 (Placements), Subsection 3 – Residential and Department of Mental Health Developmental Disability Placements.