LCO No. 3495 1 of 6
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 1065
January Session, 2023
LCO No. 3495
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
(PH)
AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF DEVELOPMENTAL
SERVICES' RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING VARIOUS
TECHNICAL REVISIONS TO DEVELOPMENTAL SERVICES
STATUTES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 17a-210a of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 2
(a) There is established an independent [ombudsman] 3
ombudsperson office within the Department of Developmental Services 4
that is responsible for receiving and making recommendations to the 5
commissioner for resolving complaints affecting individuals under the 6
care or supervision of the department or of any public or private agency 7
with which the department has contracted for the provision of services. 8
(b) The director of the [ombudsman] ombudsperson office shall be 9
appointed by the Governor, with the approval of the General Assembly. 10
Said director shall be an elector of the state with expertise and 11
experience in the fields of developmental services and advocacy for the 12
rights of the individuals specified in subsection (a) of this section and 13 Raised Bill No. 1065
LCO No. 3495 2 of 6
shall be exempt from the classified service. 14
(c) [Upon the vacancy of the director of the ombudsman office by the 15
person serving in such position on July 1, 2004, and whenever thereafter 16
the term of such position expires or there is a vacancy in such position, 17
the] The Governor shall appoint the director of the [ombudsman] 18
ombudsperson office from a list of candidates prepared and submitted 19
to the Governor by the Council on Developmental Services, established 20
by section 17a-270. The Governor shall notify the council of the pending 21
expiration of the term of an incumbent [ombudsman] ombudsperson 22
not less than ninety days prior to the final day of the [ombudsman's] 23
ombudsperson's term in office. If a vacancy occurs in the position of 24
[ombudsman] ombudsperson, the Governor shall notify the council 25
immediately of the vacancy. The council shall meet to consider qualified 26
candidates for the position of [ombudsman] ombudsperson and shall 27
submit a list of not more than five candidates to the Governor ranked in 28
order of preference, not more than sixty days after receiving notice from 29
the Governor of the pending expiration of the [ombudsman's] 30
ombudsperson's term or the occurrence of a vacancy. The Governor 31
shall designate, not more than sixty days after receipt of the list of 32
candidates from the council, one candidate from the list for the position 33
of [ombudsman] ombudsperson. If, after the list is submitted to the 34
Governor by the council, any candidate withdraws from consideration, 35
the Governor shall designate a candidate from those remaining on the 36
list. If the Governor fails to designate a candidate within sixty days of 37
receipt of the list from the council, the council shall refer the candidate 38
with the highest ranking on the list to the General Assembly for 39
confirmation. If the General Assembly is not in session at the time of the 40
Governor's or council's designation of a candidate, the candidate shall 41
serve as the acting [ombudsman] ombudsperson until the General 42
Assembly meets and confirms the candidate as [ombudsman] 43
ombudsperson. A candidate serving as acting [ombudsman] 44
ombudsperson shall be entitled to compensation and have all the 45
powers, duties and privileges of the [ombudsman] ombudsperson. An 46
[ombudsman] ombudsperson shall serve a term of four years, not 47 Raised Bill No. 1065
LCO No. 3495 3 of 6
including any time served as acting [ombudsman] ombudsperson, and 48
may be reappointed by the Governor or shall remain in the position 49
until a successor is appointed pursuant to this subsection. Although an 50
incumbent [ombudsman] ombudsperson may be reappointed, the 51
Governor shall also consider additional candidates from a list submitted 52
by the council as provided in this section. 53
(d) The director of the [ombudsman] ombudsperson office shall 54
report monthly to the Council on Developmental Services and, in 55
accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, annually to the joint 56
standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of 57
matters relating to public health. 58
Sec. 2. Section 17a-217 of the general statutes is repealed and the 59
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 60
(a) The Department of Developmental Services shall develop [day 61
care programs,] day camp programs and recreational programs for 62
children and adults with intellectual disability. Any nonprofit 63
organization [which] that establishes or maintains [day care programs,] 64
day camp programs or recreational programs for children or adults with 65
intellectual disability may apply to the Department of Developmental 66
Services for funds to be used to assist in establishing, maintaining or 67
expanding such programs. For the purposes of this section: (1) A [day 68
care program (A) may provide for the care and training of preschool age 69
children to enable them to achieve their maximum social, physical and 70
emotional potential; (B) may provide adolescents and adults with 71
intellectual disability with an activity program which includes training 72
in one or more of the following areas: (i) Self-care, (ii) activities of daily 73
living, (iii) personal and social adjustment, (iv) work habits, and (v) 74
skills, speech and language development; (2) a] day camp program may 75
provide children or adults with intellectual disability with a supervised 76
program of outdoor activities [which] that may be conducted during all 77
or part of the months of June, July, August and September; and [(3)] (2) 78
a recreational program may provide planned and supervised 79
recreational activities for children or adults with intellectual disability, 80 Raised Bill No. 1065
LCO No. 3495 4 of 6
which activities may be of a social, athletic or purely diversionary nature 81
and which programs shall be considered separate and apart from the 82
day camp program described in subdivision [(2)] (1) of this subsection. 83
(b) No grant made under this section to assist in establishing, 84
maintaining or expanding any program set forth in subsection (a) of this 85
section shall exceed the ordinary and recurring annual operating 86
expenses of such program, nor shall any grant be made to pay for all or 87
any part of capital expenditures. The Department of Developmental 88
Services shall: (1) Define minimum requirements to be met by each 89
program in order to be eligible to receive funds as provided for by this 90
section in regard to qualification and number of staff members and 91
program operation, including, but not limited to, physical plant and 92
record keeping; (2) establish procedures to be used in making 93
application for such funds; and (3) adopt regulations, in accordance 94
with chapter 54, governing the granting of funds to assist in the 95
establishment of [day care programs,] day camp programs and 96
recreational programs for persons with intellectual disability. Upon 97
receipt of proper application, the Department of Developmental 98
Services, within available appropriations, may grant such funds, 99
provided the plans for financing and the standards of operation of such 100
programs shall be approved by the department in accordance with the 101
provisions of this section. For the purpose of developing such programs, 102
the department may accept grants from the federal government, a 103
municipality or any other source. 104
Sec. 3. Section 17a-277 of the general statutes is repealed and the 105
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 106
A regional or training school director may place any resident with 107
intellectual disability committed or admitted to such training school, 108
regional facility or other residential facility provided for the care and 109
training of persons with intellectual disability, under the provisions of 110
sections 17a-210 to 17a-247, inclusive, and 17a-273, in a community 111
companion home, community living arrangement, group home, other 112
residential facility or residential program to be cared for in accordance 113 Raised Bill No. 1065
LCO No. 3495 5 of 6
with the following conditions: 114
(1) Such resident shall, despite such transfer, remain subject to the 115
control of the regional or training school director and the director may, 116
at any time, order and provide for the return of any such resident to 117
such training school, regional facility or other residential facility 118
provided for the care and training of persons with intellectual disability; 119
(2) When the transfer of any such resident has been authorized or 120
when, having been transferred to a community companion home, 121
community living arrangement, group home, other residential facility 122
or residential program for persons with intellectual disability, such 123
resident has returned to the training school, regional facility or other 124
residential facility, the regional or training school director shall 125
forthwith so notify the Commissioner of Developmental Services; 126
(3) Such community companion home, community living 127
arrangement, group home, other residential facility or residential 128
program shall be licensed or certified by the Department of 129
Developmental Services, licensed by the Department of Children and 130
Families or certified by the Department of Public Health under such 131
regulations as the departments adopt, in accordance with chapter 54; 132
and 133
(4) The Commissioner of Developmental Services shall, upon request, 134
be given access to the complete record of any resident placed in a 135
community companion home, community living arrangement, group 136
home, other residential facility or residential program pursuant to this 137
section. 138
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage 17a-210a
Sec. 2 from passage 17a-217
Sec. 3 from passage 17a-277
Raised Bill No. 1065
LCO No. 3495 6 of 6
Statement of Purpose:
To make various technical revisions to developmental services statutes.
[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.]