Minnesota 245I Comprehensive Training | ARMHS Staff Edition

245i Training Introduction
► Statutory Authority: Minn. Stat. §245I.05 Subd. 1 — Training Plan Requirements

Purpose of Training: Training Overview
REQUIRED TRAINING FOR ALL STAFF

Chapter 1: 245i-101 — Maltreatment of Minor Reporting Requirements
► Authority: Minn. Stat. §245I.05 Subd. 3(a)(2); Chapter 260E ► Timing: Within 72 hours of first providing direct contact services to any client As an ARMHS worker, you meet regularly with clients in their homes, apartments, and communities. This puts you in a unique position to observe signs of child maltreatment — whether involving a client’s child, a client who is a minor, or children in a household where you provide services. Mandatory reporting is not optional, and it cannot be delegated to a supervisor. As an ARMHS worker, you meet regularly with clients in their homes, apartments, and communities. This puts you in a unique position to observe signs of child maltreatment — whether involving a client’s child, a client who is a minor, or children in a household where you provide services. Mandatory reporting is not optional, and it cannot be delegated to a supervisor.

Chapter 2: 245i-102 — Client Rights and Protections
► Authority: Minn. Stat. §245I.12; §144.651 (Health Care Bill of Rights); §363A (MN Human Rights Act) ► Timing: Must be completed BEFORE first providing direct contact services Client rights are legally enforceable — not aspirational guidelines. As an ARMHS worker, you interact with clients in their most vulnerable moments, in their own homes, often without direct supervision present. Understanding and actively protecting client rights is both your ethical obligation and a compliance requirement under §245I.12.

Chapter 3: 245i-103 — Minnesota Health Records Act
► Authority: Minn. Stat. §245I.05 Subd. 3(b)(2); §144.291–144.298 (MN Health Records Act); §144.294 (Family Engagement) ► Timing: Must be completed BEFORE first providing direct contact services Mental health records receive heightened protection under Minnesota law. The Minnesota Health Records Act (MHRA) establishes strict requirements for how client information is created, stored, accessed, and shared. Violations can result in civil liability, license sanctions, and loss of employment.

Chapter 4: 245i-104 — Vulnerable Adult Maltreatment
► Authority: Minn. Stat. §245I.05 Subd. 3(a)(1); §245A.65 Subd. 3; §626.557 (MN Vulnerable Adults Act) ► Timing: Within 72 hours of first providing direct contact services to any client Most ARMHS clients meet the definition of a ‘vulnerable adult’ under Minnesota law because they receive services from a licensed provider. This means you are a mandatory reporter for vulnerable adult maltreatment for virtually every person on your caseload. The reporting obligation is immediate — 72 hours maximum, but often same-day.

Chapter 5: 245i-105 — Specific Activities and Job Functions
► Authority: Minn. Stat. §245I.05 Subd. 3(b)(4); §245I.04; §256B.0623 Subd. 6 ► Timing: Must be completed BEFORE first providing direct contact services ARMHS is a scope-defined service. Every intervention you deliver must be within your legal scope of practice, authorized by the client’s Individual Treatment Plan (ITP), and consistent with your staff classification under §245I.04. Practicing outside your scope is not just a compliance problem — it puts clients at risk and exposes you to personal liability.

Chapter 6: 245i-106 — Professional Boundaries
► Authority: Minn. Stat. §245I.05 Subd. 3(b)(5); §245I.04 ► Timing: Must be completed BEFORE first providing direct contact services Professional boundaries are especially challenging in ARMHS because you work in clients’ homes, often develop close working relationships, and may encounter clients in the community. The intimacy of home-based services makes boundary clarity more important — not less. Boundary violations in ARMHS settings are one of the most common causes of client harm and staff termination.

Chapter 7: 245i-107 — Specific Client Needs
► Authority: Minn. Stat. §245I.05 Subd. 3(b)(6) — specific needs including developmental status, cognitive functioning, physical and mental abilities ► Timing: Must be completed BEFORE first providing direct contact services to each specific client ARMHS is individualized. You are trained not only on general client needs but on the specific needs of each person on your caseload. Before beginning services with a client, you must review their ITP, functional assessment, and any relevant medical or psychiatric history to understand how to tailor your approach.

Chapter 8: 245i-108 — Emergency Procedures
► Authority: Minn. Stat. §245I.05 Subd. 3(b)(3) — fire, inclement weather, missing person, behavioral/medical emergencies ► Timing: Must be completed BEFORE first providing direct contact services | Annual re-training required ARMHS workers deliver services in clients’ homes and communities — not in controlled facility settings. This means you must be prepared to respond to emergencies in environments you do not control, often without immediate backup. Know your protocols before you need them.

SECTION 2: ADDITIONAL MENTAL HEALTH COURSES

Chapter 9: 245i-209 — Mental Illnesses
► Authority: Minn. Stat. §245I.05 Subd. 3(c)(1) — Required as part of 30-hour initial training Understanding mental illness is foundational to effective ARMHS delivery. This course goes beyond diagnosis names to give you a clinically grounded, recovery-informed, and practically applicable understanding of the mental health conditions most commonly seen in ARMHS programs — and how they affect the skills you are trying to build.

Chapter 10: 245i-210 — Mental Health De-escalation Techniques
► Authority: Minn. Stat. §245I.05 Subd. 3(c)(3) De-escalation is one of the most critical skills an ARMHS worker can have. You work alone in clients’ homes, often during periods of heightened distress. The ability to recognize escalation, regulate your own nervous system, and skillfully guide a client back to a calmer state is both a safety skill and a therapeutic one.

Chapter 11: 245i-211 — Client Recovery and Resiliency
► Authority: Minn. Stat. §245I.05 Subd. 3(c)(2) Recovery is the organizing philosophy of ARMHS. Every skill you build, every goal you support, every interaction you have is oriented toward the client’s recovery — not just symptom management. Recovery is self-defined, nonlinear, and holistic. Your job is to support the client’s own recovery journey, not to define it for them.

Chapter 12: 245i-212 — Co-occurring Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders
► Authority: Minn. Stat. §245I.05 Subd. 3(c)(4); Subd. 3(d)(3) Co-occurring disorders are the norm in ARMHS — not the exception. Understanding how mental illness and substance use interact, reinforce each other, and respond to integrated care is essential for every ARMHS worker.

Chapter 13: 245i-213 — Trauma-Informed Care and Secondary Trauma
► Authority: Minn. Stat. §245I.05 Subd. 3(d)(1) and Subd. 3(e)(1) (including ACEs) ► Timing: Within 90 days of first providing direct contact services to adult clients Trauma is a near-universal experience in ARMHS populations. Trauma-Informed Care is not an optional approach — it is the foundational lens through which all ARMHS services must be delivered. And because you work closely with people who have experienced profound trauma, you are also at risk for secondary traumatic stress. This course addresses both.

Chapter 14: 245i-214 — Psychotropic Medications and Medication Side Effects
► Authority: Minn. Stat. §245I.05 Subd. 3(c)(5) and Subd. 5 Medication support is one of the most frequently billed ARMHS service components. You are not prescribing or administering — but you are educating, monitoring, and supporting adherence. To do this effectively and safely, you need solid foundational knowledge of the medications your clients take, what they are supposed to do, and what side effects to watch for.

Chapter 15: 245i-215 — Person-Centered Individual Treatment Plans
► Authority: Minn. Stat. §245I.05 Subd. 3(d)(2); §245I.10 (Assessment and Treatment Planning); §256B.0623 ► Timing: Within 90 days of first providing direct contact services to adult clients The Individual Treatment Plan (ITP) is the legal and clinical foundation of every ARMHS service you deliver. Every intervention, every progress note, every billing claim must connect back to the ITP. And under person-centered principles — required by both §245I.10 and ARMHS certification standards — the ITP must genuinely reflect the client’s own goals, strengths, and priorities.

Chapter 16: 245i-216 — Culturally Responsive Treatment Practices
► Authority: Minn. Stat. §245I.05 Subd. 3(d)(4) and Subd. 3(e)(4) ► Timing: Within 90 days of first providing direct contact services Cultural responsiveness in ARMHS is a clinical competency, not a diversity checkbox. The populations served by Minnesota ARMHS programs are among the most culturally diverse in the country. Research consistently shows that culturally unresponsive services produce worse outcomes — and that culturally adapted services produce dramatically better ones.

Chapter 17: 245i-217 — Goal Setting for Change
► Authority: Minn. Stat. §245I.05 Subd. 4(b) — 30-hour ongoing training requirement Effective goal setting is the engine of ARMHS. When clients set meaningful, achievable goals and experience success toward them, hope grows, engagement increases, and recovery accelerates. Ineffective goal setting produces stagnation, frustration, and disengagement. This course gives ARMHS workers the theory and tools to facilitate goal setting that actually works.

Chapter 18: 245i-218 — Concurrent Substance Use and Mental Health Disorders
► Authority: Minn. Stat. §245I.05 Subd. 3(d)(3) and Subd. 3(e)(3) ► Timing: Within 90 days of first providing direct contact services This course builds on Course 212 with deeper content for ARMHS practitioners and MHRWs providing ongoing services to clients with concurrent substance use and mental health challenges. Where Course 212 provides foundation, this course provides application — the specific skills, interventions, and coordination strategies you need in practice.

Chapter 19: 245i-219 — Behavioral Health Ethics for Minnesota 245i Practitioners
► Authority: Minn. Stat. §245I.05; §245I.04; applicable Minnesota licensing board ethics requirements Ethics is not an abstract philosophical exercise — it is a daily practice. Every decision you make in ARMHS has an ethical dimension: whether to report, how to respond to a boundary challenge, how to balance a client’s autonomy with safety concerns, or how to document honestly when the truth is complicated. This course provides the ethical framework and decision-making tools to navigate these situations with integrity.

Module 19.1: Minnesota 245i Framework and Professional Boundaries
Knowledge Check — Module 19.1
Module 19.2: Minnesota Health Records Act and Confidentiality Ethics
Knowledge Check — Module 19.2
Module 19.3: Informed Consent and Minnesota Legal Requirements
Knowledge Check — Module 19.3
Module 19.4: Mandatory Reporting and Ethical Decision-Making
Knowledge Check — Module 19.4
Course 219 Wrap-Up

Chapter 20: 245i-220 — Substance Use and Addictions Co-Occurring Disorders
► Authority: Minn. Stat. §245I.05 Subd. 3(d) and Subd. 4 This final course provides expanded training on substance use disorders as a distinct clinical concern within ARMHS practice — with deep attention to addiction medicine, recovery pathways, Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT), harm reduction, and Recovery Support Services. By the end of this course, you will have a comprehensive, evidence-based, non-stigmatizing foundation for serving ARMHS clients with substance use disorders.

Training Completion and Compliance Summary

Final Exam

About Course

MINNESOTA 245I

Comprehensive Training Course

FOR ARMHS STAFF

Course Content

245i Training Introduction ► Statutory Authority: Minn. Stat. §245I.05 Subd. 1 — Training Plan Requirements

Purpose of Training: Training Overview

REQUIRED TRAINING FOR ALL STAFF

Module 1.1: Learning Objectives & Course Introduction

Knowledge Check — Module 1.1

Module 1.2: Recognizing Signs of Maltreatment

Knowledge Check — Module 1.2

Module 1.3: Reporting Process and Documentation

Knowledge Check — Module 1.3

Course 101 Wrap-Up: Key Takeaways

Module 2.1: Fundamental Client Rights

Knowledge Check — Module 2.1

Module 2.2: Informed Consent Process

Knowledge Check — Module 2.2

Module 2.3: Privacy, Confidentiality, and Grievance Procedures

Knowledge Check — Module 2.3

Course 102 Wrap-Up

Module 3.1: Legal Framework and Requirements

Knowledge Check — Module 3.1

Module 3.2: Confidentiality Practices in Daily ARMHS Operations

Knowledge Check — Module 3.2

Module 3.3: Family Engagement and Release of Information

Knowledge Check — Module 3.3

Course 103 Wrap-Up

Module 4.1: Legal Framework and Definitions

Knowledge Check — Module 4.1

Module 4.2: Recognizing Signs of Maltreatment

Knowledge Check — Module 4.2

Module 4.3: Reporting Process and Prevention

Knowledge Check — Module 4.3

Course 104 Wrap-Up

Module 5.1: Scope of Practice Under 245I.04

Knowledge Check — Module 5.1

Module 5.2: Core Responsibilities of ARMHS Staff

Knowledge Check — Module 5.2

Module 5.3: Documentation Requirements

Knowledge Check — Module 5.3

Course 105 Wrap-Up

Module 6.1: Boundary Concepts and Importance

Knowledge Check — Module 6.1

Module 6.2: Maintaining Appropriate Boundaries in ARMHS Practice

Knowledge Check — Module 6.2

Module 6.3: Complex Boundary Challenges in ARMHS

Knowledge Check — Module 6.3

Course 106 Wrap-Up

Module 7.1: Cultural Competence and Humility in ARMHS

Knowledge Check — Module 7.1

Module 7.2: Co-occurring Disorders in ARMHS Populations

Knowledge Check — Module 7.2

Module 7.3: Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention in ARMHS

Knowledge Check — Module 7.3

Course 107 Wrap-Up

Module 8.1: Emergency Response Basics

Knowledge Check — Module 8.1

Module 8.2: Medical Emergencies in ARMHS Settings

Knowledge Check — Module 8.2

Module 8.3: Behavioral Emergencies

Knowledge Check — Module 8.3

Course 108 Wrap-Up

SECTION 2: ADDITIONAL MENTAL HEALTH COURSES

ADDITIONAL MENTAL HEALTH COURSES

Module 9.1: Understanding Mental Illness

Knowledge Check — Module 9.1

Module 9.2: Major Mental Health Disorders in ARMHS Populations

Knowledge Check — Module 9.2

Module 9.3: Assessment and Intervention in ARMHS

Knowledge Check — Module 9.3

Course 209 Wrap-Up

Module 10.1: Understanding Escalation and Agitation

Knowledge Check — Module 10.1

Module 10.2: Verbal De-escalation Techniques

Knowledge Check — Module 10.2

Module 10.3: Non-verbal De-escalation and Personal Safety

Knowledge Check — Module 10.3

Course 210 Wrap-Up

245i Training Introduction
► Statutory Authority: Minn. Stat. §245I.05 Subd. 1 — Training Plan Requirements