General Assembly Raised Bill No. 372
February Session, 2020 LCO No. 2013
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
(PH)
AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF DEVELOPMENTAL
SERVICES' LEVEL OF NEED ASSESSMENT.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
1 Section 1. (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a task force
2 to study the Department of Developmental Services' level of need
3 assessment system. Such study shall include, but need not be limited to,
4 (1) an examination of the instrument, policies, procedures, training and
5 education materials related to the department's level of need assessment
6 system and the diverse behavioral and medical issues assessed by such
7 system, and (2) developing recommendations for improvement and
8 greater consistency in the administration and results of such system.
9 (b) The task force shall consist of the following members:
10 (1) Two appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives,
11 one of whom is a psychiatrist with expertise in the diagnosis and
12 treatment of persons with intellectual disability and one of whom is a
13 parent or guardian of a person with intellectual disability who has
14 complex behavioral or medical needs and receives services from a
15 private provider;
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16 (2) Two appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one of
17 whom is a behavioral analyst with expertise in the diagnosis and
18 treatment of persons with intellectual disability and one of whom is a
19 parent or guardian of a person with intellectual disability who receives
20 services from a facility operated by the Department of Developmental
21 Services;
22 (3) One appointed by the majority leader of the House of
23 Representatives, who is the chief executive officer or president of a
24 private provider from the department's designated north or south
25 regions;
26 (4) One appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, who is the
27 chief executive officer or president of a private provider from the
28 department's designated west region;
29 (5) One appointed by the minority leader of the House of
30 Representatives, who is a member of CT DDS Families First;
31 (6) One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, who is a
32 member of The Arc Connecticut;
33 (7) The Commissioner of Developmental Services or the
34 commissioner's designee; and
35 (8) One appointed by the Governor who is a physician with expertise
36 in the diagnosis and treatment of persons with intellectual disability.
37 (c) No member of the task force appointed under subsection (b) of
38 this section may be a member of the General Assembly.
39 (d) All appointments to the task force shall be made not later than
40 thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall be
41 filled by the appointing authority not later than thirty days of a vacancy
42 occurring. If an appointment is not made or a vacancy is not filled within
43 such time, the existing members of the task force may make the
44 appointment or fill the vacancy through a majority vote.
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45 (e) The members of the task force shall select the chairpersons of the
46 task force by a majority vote. Such chairpersons shall schedule the first
47 meeting of the task force, which shall be held not later than sixty days
48 after the effective date of this section. The task force may consult with
49 any individual or organization as the chairpersons deem necessary,
50 including, but not limited to, any individual or organization with
51 expertise in the reliability or the department's level of need assessment
52 system.
53 (f) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the
54 General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public
55 health shall serve as administrative staff of the task force.
56 (g) Not later than January 1, 2021, the task force shall submit a report
57 on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing committee of
58 the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public
59 health, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general
60 statutes, to the Council on Developmental Services established pursuant
61 to section 17a-270 of the general statutes and to each regional advisory
62 and planning council established pursuant to section 17a-273 of the
63 general statutes. The task force shall terminate on the date that it
64 submits such report or January 1, 2021, whichever is later.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Statement of Purpose:
To establish a task force to study the Department of Developmental
Services' level of need assessment system.
[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.]
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