Substitute House Bill No. 6900
Public Act No. 23-90
AN ACT CONCERNING THE TRANSFORMING CHILDREN'S
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH POLICY AND PLANNING COMMITTEE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 2-137 of the general statutes is repealed and the
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) There is established a Transforming Children's Behavioral [and
Mental] Health Policy and [Oversight] Planning Committee. The
committee shall evaluate the availability and efficacy of prevention,
early intervention, and [mental] behavioral health treatment services
and options for children from birth to age eighteen and make
recommendations to the General Assembly and executive agencies
regarding the governance and administration of the [mental] behavioral
health care system for children. The committee shall be within the
Legislative Department. For purposes of this section, "behavioral
health" means mental health and substance use disorders, as well as
overall psychological well-being.
(b) The committee shall consist of the following members:
(1) The chairpersons and ranking members of the joint standing
committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters
relating to public health, human services, children and appropriations Substitute House Bill No. 6900
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and the budgets of state agencies, or their designees;
(2) Three appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives,
one of whom shall be a member of the General Assembly and two of
whom shall be providers of [mental, emotional or] behavioral health
services for children in the state;
(3) Three appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one
of whom shall be a member of the General Assembly and two of whom
shall be representatives of private advocacy groups that provide
services for children and families in the state;
(4) (A) Two appointed by the chairperson of the committee selected
by the speaker of the House of Representatives pursuant to subsection
(e) of this section, one of whom shall be a child or youth advocate; and
(B) two appointed by the chairperson of the committee selected by the
president pro tempore of the Senate pursuant to subsection (e) of this
section, one of whom shall be a child or youth advocate;
[(4)] (5) Two appointed by the majority leader of the House of
Representatives, who shall be representatives of children's hospitals;
[(5)] (6) One appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, who shall
be a representative of public school superintendents in the state;
[(6)] (7) Two appointed by the minority leader of the House of
Representatives, who shall be representatives of families with children
who have been diagnosed with [mental, emotional or] behavioral health
disorders;
[(7)] (8) Two appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, who
shall be providers of [mental or] behavioral health services;
[(8)] (9) The Commissioners of Children and Families, Correction,
Developmental Services, Early Childhood, Education, Insurance, Substitute House Bill No. 6900
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Mental Health and Addiction Services, Public Health and Social
Services, or their designees;
[(9)] (10) The executive director of the Office of Health Strategy, or
the executive director's designee;
[(10)] (11) The Child Advocate, or the Child Advocate's designee;
[(11)] (12) The Healthcare Advocate, or the Healthcare Advocate's
designee;
[(12)] (13) The executive director of the Court Support Services
Division of the Judicial Branch, or the executive director's designee;
[(13)] (14) The executive director of the Commission on Women,
Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity, or the executive director's
designee;
[(14)] (15) The Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, or
the secretary's designee; and
[(15)] (16) One representative from each administrative services
organization under contract with the Department of Social Services to
provide such services for recipients of assistance under the HUSKY
Health program, who shall be ex-officio, nonvoting members.
(c) Any member of the committee appointed under subdivisions (1)
to [(7)] (8), inclusive, of subsection (b) of this section may be a member
of the General Assembly.
(d) Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority.
(e) The chairpersons of the committee shall be (1) the Secretary of the
Office of Policy and Management, or the secretary's designee, and [a
member] (2) two members of the General Assembly, [selected jointly]
one each selected by the speaker of the House of Representatives and Substitute House Bill No. 6900
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the president pro tempore of the Senate from among the members
serving pursuant to subdivision (1), (2) or (3) of subsection (b) of this
section. [shall be co-chairpersons of the committee. Such co-
chairpersons] The three chairpersons shall schedule the first meeting of
the committee, which shall be held not later than [sixty days after May
4, 2022] September 1, 2023.
(f) Members of the committee shall serve without compensation,
except for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their
duties.
(g) Not later than [January] December 1, 2023, the committee shall
report, in accordance with 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, public
health, human services and children, and the [Secretary of the] Office of
Policy and Management, regarding the following:
(1) Any statutory and budgetary changes needed concerning the
[mental] behavioral health system of prevention, development and
treatment that the committee recommends to (A) improve
developmental [, mental health] and behavioral health outcomes for
children; (B) improve transparency and accountability with respect to
state-funded services for children and youth with an emphasis on goals
identified by the committee for community-based programs and
facility-based interventions; and (C) promote the efficient sharing of
information by state and state-funded agencies to ensure the regular
collection and reporting of data regarding children and families' access
to, utilization of and benefit from services necessary to promote public
health and [mental and] behavioral health outcomes for children and
youth and their families; [.]
(2) The gaps in services identified by the committee with respect to
children and families involved in the [mental] behavioral health system, Substitute House Bill No. 6900
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and recommendations to address such gaps in services;
(3) Strengths and barriers identified by the committee that support or
impede the [mental] behavioral health needs of children and youth with
specific recommendations for reforms;
(4) An examination of the way state agencies can work collaboratively
through school-based efforts and other processes to improve [mental
health and] developmental and behavioral health outcomes for
children;
(5) An examination of disproportionate access and outcomes across
the [mental] behavioral health care system for children of color;
(6) An examination of disproportionate access and outcomes across
the [mental] behavioral health care system for children with
developmental disabilities;
(7) A plan to ensure a quality assurance framework for facilities and
programs that are part of the [mental] behavioral health care system and
are operated privately or by the state that includes data regarding
efficacy and outcomes; and
(8) A governance structure for the children's [mental] behavioral
health system that will best facilitate the public policy and healthcare
goals of the state to ensure that all children and families, in urban, rural
and all other areas of the state, can access high-quality [mental]
behavioral health care.
(h) The committee [shall] may complete its duties under this section
after requesting consultation with one or more organizations that focus
on [the quality of services for children or research related to the well-
being of children, including, but not limited to, The Child Health and
Development Institute or Connecticut Voices for Children] children's
behavioral health. The committee may accept administrative support Substitute House Bill No. 6900
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and technical and research assistance from any [such] organization. [The
committee shall work in collaboration with any results-first initiative
implemented pursuant to any section of the general statutes or any
public or special act.]
(i) The committee shall be given access to data collected by the state
on matters related to children's behavioral health from the relevant state
agencies or directly from contracted administrative service
organizations, as applicable.
(j) The committee [shall] may include two or more subcommittees
chaired by a member of the committee to inform its recommendations.
The subcommittees may focus on: Workforce-related issues, school-
based health, prevention, and intermediate or acute care. [All] Any
subcommittees [shall] may examine gaps, reimbursement rates, parity
in the outcomes of services [and] or the efficacy of services.
(k) The committee shall, annually, establish a [time frame] work plan
for reviewing and making follow-up reports on the status or progress of
the committee's recommendations and activities. [Each report
submitted by the committee pursuant to this subsection] The work plan
shall include specific recommendations to improve outcomes related to
children's [mental, emotional or] behavioral health and a timeline
indicating dates by which specific tasks or outcomes should be
achieved.
(l) The committee shall develop a strategic plan that integrates the
recommendations identified pursuant to subsection (g) of this section.
[The plan may include short-term, medium-term and long-term goals.]
In developing the plan, the committee [shall] may collaborate with any
state agency with responsibilities relating to the [mental] behavioral
health system.
(m) Not later than [August 1, 2023] December 1, 2024, the committee Substitute House Bill No. 6900
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shall report, in accordance with section 11-4a, such plan, together with
an account of progress made toward the full implementation of such
plan, and any recommendations concerning the implementation of
identified goals in the plan to the joint standing committees of the
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to
appropriations and the budgets of state agencies, public health, human
services and children, and the [Secretary of the] Office of Policy and
Management.