Substitute House Bill No. 5556 mandates the Commissioners of Children and Families, Developmental Services, Education, Social Services, and Mental Health and Addiction Services to create a system aimed at addressing service gaps for young individuals aged 17 to 22 who have co-occurring mental health and intellectual disabilities, including autism spectrum disorder. The bill specifies that these young persons must have urgent needs for community placement or state agency services and may qualify for support from multiple state agencies. The system must include memoranda of understanding among the commissioners, resource calculations for each agency, an inventory of residential behavioral health options, and psychiatric residential treatment options, including a request for proposals for a small facility eligible for Medicaid reimbursement.

The bill requires a joint report from the commissioners by October 1, 2026, detailing any necessary state appropriations, progress made in closing service gaps, and future recommendations. The effective date for the implementation of this act is set for July 1, 2026. Notably, the bill introduces new legal language to establish this system while also making minor adjustments for consistency, such as changing "young adults" to "young persons" and "agency" to "state agency." The fiscal impact of the bill is projected to be neutral, as the involved agencies possess the expertise to fulfill the requirements without incurring additional costs.