General Assembly Raised Bill No. 294
February Session, 2016 LCO No. 1893
*01893_______PH_*
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
(PH)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 294
February Session, 2016
LCO No. 1893
*01893_______PH_*
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
(PH)
AN ACT CONCERNING SERVICES FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Department" means the Department of Developmental Services;
(2) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Developmental Services;
(3) "Waiting list" means a list maintained by the commissioner that includes the names of individuals with intellectual disability who (A) have requested residential or day support services from the department, and (B) the commissioner has determined to be in urgent need for the services requested.
(4) "Level of need assessment" means the department's method, using any standardized assessment or screening tool, to (A) determine the level of services from the department that an individual with intellectual disability requires for the management of the individual's behavior, health condition and to complete activities of daily living, as defined in section 19a-693 of the general statutes, (B) determine an individual's priority status, and (C) assign an individual an estimated funding amount for services.
(5) "Priority status" means the code assigned to an individual with intellectual disability for whom services from the department have been requested that identifies the level of urgency of the individual's need for services.
(b) Immediately after the department completes a level of need assessment for an individual with intellectual disability, or not later than September 30, 2016, for an individual who had a level of need assessment prior to that date, the department shall provide to the individual's parent, conservator, guardian or other legal representative a complete copy of the level of need assessment including, but not limited to, scoring results, comments, a summary report and any other related information or documents.
(c) (1) Not later than September 30, 2016, the commissioner shall notify, in writing, each individual with intellectual disability who is receiving services from the department, and the individual's parent, conservator, guardian or other legal representative of the individual's priority status and the amount of funding budgeted for each service provided by the department.
(2) Not later than fifteen days after the commissioner makes a change to the priority status of an individual with intellectual disability, the commissioner shall notify the individual's parent, conservator, guardian or other legal representative, in writing, of such change by certified mail, return receipt requested.
(d) (1) On and after July 1, 2017, the commissioner shall update the waiting list not less than once every three years.
(2) The commissioner or any other department employee shall not remove, from the waiting list, the name of any individual with intellectual disability who is receiving services from a private entity or a state agency for the individual's intellectual disability without the written consent of the individual's parent, conservator, guardian or other legal representative.
(3) The commissioner shall remove the name of an individual with intellectual disability from the waiting list at the request of the individual's parent, conservator, guardian or other legal representative only after the parent, conservator, guardian or other legal representative submits a written request to the commissioner to remove such individual's name. Such request shall include an acknowledgment clearly stating the consequences of removing such individual's name from the waiting list and shall be signed by the individual's parent, conservator, guardian or other legal representative.
(e) Whenever the commissioner extends an offer of funding for services to an individual with intellectual disability, the commissioner shall extend such offer in writing to the individual's parent, conservator, guardian or other legal representative. The notice extending the offer of funding shall include a date by which such offer shall be accepted or rejected and the consequences of accepting or rejecting such offer, including, but not limited to, the individual's right to receive additional services or maintain his or her place on the department's waiting list.
Sec. 2. Section 23 of public act 15-1 of the December special session is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
[Not later than December 31, 2016, the] (a) The Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management [, in consultation with the Commissioner of Developmental Services, shall submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and the budgets of state agencies and public health on] shall develop a plan to implement the closure of facilities operated by the Department of Developmental Services, including, but not limited to, Southbury Training School and regional centers, in order to achieve targeted savings. In developing such plan, the secretary shall consult with the Commissioner of Developmental Services and other stakeholders that include, but need not be limited to, residents of Southbury Training School, family members and legal representatives of such residents, parents and legal representatives of individuals with intellectual disability who are receiving community support services from the department, the Connecticut Council on Developmental Disabilities, The Arc Connecticut and other providers of services to individuals with intellectual disability.
(b) Not later than December 31, 2016, the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management shall submit a report on the plan, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and the budgets of state agencies and public health. Such report shall include, but not be limited to, a list of the individuals and organizations with whom the secretary consulted in developing the plan and a summary of the comments received from each such individual and organization.
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) On and after October 1, 2016, the Commissioners of Social Services, Developmental Services and Mental Health and Addiction Services shall notify, in writing, any individual with intellectual disability, who is receiving state-assisted care and who is soon to become ineligible for state-assisted care, and the individual's parent, conservator, guardian or other legal representative, of the date the individual will be ineligible to receive state-assisted care. Such notice shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, not later than ninety days prior to the date the individual will become ineligible for state-assisted care or will stop receiving such care, whichever is earlier.
(b) Said commissioners shall assist any such individual and the individual's parent, conservator, guardian or other legal representative to identify and secure private funding for care or services required by the individual relating to his or her intellectual disability.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Sec. 2 from passage PA 15-1 of the December Sp. Sess., Sec. 23
Sec. 3 from passage New section
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
from passage
New section
Sec. 2
from passage
PA 15-1 of the December Sp. Sess., Sec. 23
Sec. 3
from passage
New section
Statement of Purpose:
To require the Commissioner of Developmental Services to take certain actions relating to the Department of Developmental Services' waiting list, to require the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management to consult with stakeholders on a plan to close facilities operated by the department and to require advance notice when an individual with intellectual disability's eligibility for state-assisted care will end.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]