The Association of Mediation and Transport Services (AMATS) is pleased to announce they have expanded their Code of Ethics to include Marketing. Although each member company has specialized services and independently markets those unique skill sets, AMATS has adopted marketing principles that provide parameters for each company above and beyond what is required by law. AMATS Marketing Best Practices include: marketing that is transparent, truthful and does not denigrate or infringe upon designations of the competition; training and marketing that does not mislead, deceive, or misinform; transparent relations between referral sources and mental health providers and clients; and supports a client's right to choose without undo pressure. AMATS further unanimously agrees that financial incentivization to promote products, services, or referrals is a direct violation of Federal Anti-Kickback law, may be considered patient brokering, and, as such, prosecuted as human trafficking. AMATS supports total transparency through ethical standards, core values, and practices.
Our complete Code of Ethics is available on our website. AMATS organizational founders began engaging in conversation with members of the mental health community in late 2019. They personally invited 30 known transport companies across the globe to participate in this newly emerging opportunity to change the face of youth intervention and transport. In mid-2020, AMATS received its not-for-profit status, and by the end of the calendar year, Bylaws were written, and a Code of Ethics and Best Practices were adopted. From its inception, one of its goals has been to bring competitors together in an environment of mutual trust and equality and, through a unified voice, evoke positive change for the greater good. To facilitate the process, AMATS has established a three-pronged approach: become transparent, eliminate the bad actors, and establish governance and accountability that makes sense. AMATS Founders watched Oregon establish a punitive licensing to restrict families needing our services. To provide elected officials with an alternative, AMATS advocated for governance that makes sense and promotes good outcomes without limiting access to treatment. AMATS turned its attention toward Utah to pass legislation implementing a framework that promotes accountability and positive outcomes. During this legislative initiative, Utah was home to more private sector therapeutic short-term and long-term mental health and substance abuse private sector programming than any other State in the country. AMATS recognized and helped legislators to be aware that establishing accountability in Utah, rather than punitive constraints, would make the most significant impact on the mental health community as a whole and lay the groundwork for reciprocal agreements from State to State. AMATS sought to advocate for legislation in Utah in 2021 by writing the legislative brief. With the support of Utah Senator Mike McKell, that brief was adopted into law on February 23, 2022.
Thanks to AMATS, every transport company that wants to accompany a person into or out of the State of Utah must be registered through the Utah DHHS. To be approved for the Youth Transport Registry in Utah, each company must have a legitimate business registered in their home State; carry a minimum $1M insurance policy; hold a current Business License in their jurisdiction; all relevant staff must be fingerprinted and pass a state-administered FBI background check; and neither give nor receive monetary compensation as an incentive for the service they are providing. No more kickbacks; it’s the law. Why FBI background checks when Utah has a perfectly good due diligence system in place? Utah knows that FBI background checks are the highest level of clearance afforded to civilians; the Department of Justice oversees the United States intelligence community, but the DOJ does not conduct background checks. AMATS is now focused on obtaining reciprocity between Utah and the other 47 States until Federal Legislation can be carved out. As a true leader in the mental health community AMATS will continue to set the standard into the future. AMATS provides ongoing training for our members, such as legal perspective for written contracts and SOPs, ethics, client interviews, logistics, privacy, and social media law.
AMATS is presently engaged in ongoing discussion with the American Society of Safety Professionals and National Transportation Safety Board, along with therapeutic consultants and programs, as we press toward developing accreditation directed specifically for companies and persons engaged in intervention, mediation, crisis management, and transport for the private sector mental health community. AMATS is leading the way through transparency and ethical transport. AMATS has set the standard that all transport companies should attain. If your transport company is not a member of AMATS, ask why not. Then, follow up and ask the hard questions: do you have a written Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice that your personnel sign and adhere to; will you send me a copy of your insurance deck sheet, including your worker's compensation policy, so I can call the companies and verify accordingly? Additionally, remember to ask for a copy of their policy on safety, restraints, and complex contingencies. All AMATS member companies are not the same; each offers different services and specializes in different areas of essential mental health support. Persons needing transportation assistance to the treatment center of their choice should want to be interviewed to ensure the professional service best meets their needs. Then, by receiving a written estimate for service and a written contract that defines the parameters of professional service and terms agreement, they can decide for themselves without undue pressure which company best meets their needs.
AMATS member companies focus on different types of training to maintain their specializations; however, some training remains uniform across the coalition. De-escalation, paraverbal communication, and conflict diffusion techniques are universal for AMATS members' training, as are personal protective measures, safety, and basic medical protocols. AMATS is the only transport coalition in existence that requires prospective members to submit copies of their insurance policies and contracts along with their application and agree to a background check before their membership can be approved. AMATS developed a mechanism whereby complaints from anyone can be received and investigated by a non-affiliated professional. AMATS collects and compiles transport data without compromising the privacy of the children, youth, and adults in its care and makes that research available to its members. AMATS has developed an assessment methodology by which members can determine the level of crisis and the depth of need for each person rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
AMATS Critical Assessment System has transformed the face of trauma-informed care during transport. By tracking trauma, behaviors, addictions, and other personality traits, the guesswork has been taken out of the equation. AMATS CAS equips members and their staff to quickly ascertain if their company can meet the prospective client's needs or if they should recommend another AMATS company to come alongside the family to assist. AMATS agrees that every company has unique capabilities, and AMATS CAS allows members to provide services that showcase their strengths. AMATS has accomplished more in four years to improve intervention and transport services than any other individual transport company or collective transport companies combined. If your transport company is not a member of AMATS, ask them why they have not risen to the challenge of providing services that ascribe to the highest level of care, the best standards of practice, and the utmost ethical and professional marketing principles. AMATS is looking forward to carving out a wider pathway in the future with accreditation and legislative initiatives.
AMATS is open for membership and appreciates the support from past clients and the Mental Health Community at-large. AMATS is the Future of Ethical Transport. Contact Vernon Thomas, AMATS Executive Director, at vern@ahqi.com for more information about professional mediation and transport services.
About The Association of Mediation and Transport Services (AMATS):
Founded in 2021, The Association of Mediation and Transport Services (AMATS) Heather R. Hayes & Associates, Hired Power, National Treatment Transport, Right Direction Crisis Intervention, Safeguard, Inc, SafePassage Global, and West Shield. The core values are: Accountability, Collaboration, and Integrity. https://amats-association.squarespace.com/