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square bulletIt’s Here: Minor Consent to Behavioral Health Care Module

Minor Consent to Behavioral Health module screenshot

From , LCSW, PhD, Director, Trauma Informed Oregon

We’re glad to share that our new learning module, Minor Consent to Behavioral Health Care, is now live and free to use.

Questions about when young people can consent to their own care come up constantly. Providers ask us: Can this young person start services without a parent? What do I have to share, and with whom? How do I involve family in a way that supports the young person rather than pushing them away? These questions sit right where law, ethics, and relationships meet, and the answers shape whether a young person feels safe enough to reach out and engage in services.

We built this module because a trauma informed approach to youth care depends on getting this right. Clear information helps providers act with confidence, protect young people’s trust, and keep the door open to care.

What’s in the Module

The module is designed for Oregon behavioral health providers and walks through the state’s rules on when and how minors can consent to behavioral health services. It covers:

  • Consent: when a young person can agree to their own care
  • Parent and guardian involvement: what the law expects and how to approach it thoughtfully
  • Disclosure: what can and can’t be shared, and with whom
  • Practice considerations: how these rules play out in real conversations with young people and families

The module is interactive, includes knowledge checks along the way, and contains resources. It has been built so you can explore it alone or with a team. You can explore it all at once, go to what you need now, and/or use it for deeper discussion in team meetings or supervision.

A Beginning, not the Whole Story

This module isn’t complete, and we know it. Minor consent is a complex topic that manifests differently for families, young people and agencies. This first module, which focuses on providers, lays the foundation. From here, we plan to add more content from a range of perspectives, including young people, parents and caregivers, persons with disabilities who may need support or accommodations to make and communicate decisions, organizations, and others who navigate these questions every day. We will soon build additional modules – hopefully with your expertise and experiences.