N.Y. Social Services Law § 483-c: Coordinated children's services for children with emotional and/or behavioral disorders

§ 483-c. Coordinated children's services for children with emotional

and/or behavioral disorders. 1. Purpose. The purpose of this section

shall be to establish a coordinated system of care for children with

emotional and behavioral disorders, and their families, who require

assistance from multiple agency systems to appropriately maintain such

children with their families, in their communities and in their local

school systems. Such system of care shall provide for the effective

collaboration among state and local health, mental hygiene, education,

juvenile justice, probation of care and other human services agencies

directed at improving outcomes for children with emotional and/or

behavioral disorders and their families leading to full participation in

their communities and schools. This shall include children with

co-occurring disorders. The absence of coordinated care often results in

inappropriate and costly institutional placements and limited

community-based services that support maintaining the child in the

community. Establishing the coordinated children's services initiative

statewide is intended to improve the manner in which services of

multiple systems are delivered and to eliminate barriers to a

coordinated system of care.

2. Definitions. As used in this section:

(a) "Child with an emotional and/or behavioral disorder" shall mean a

person under eighteen years of age, or a person under twenty-one years

of age who has not completed secondary school, who has a mental illness,

as defined in subdivision twenty of section 1.03 of the mental hygiene

law, or is classified as a student with a disability pursuant to article

eighty-nine of the education law or section 504 of the federal

rehabilitation act, or is considered to have a serious emotional or

behavioral problem, as considered by a tier I and/or tier II team

representative pursuant to this section. Such term shall include

children with co-occurring disorders.

(b) "Individualized family support plan" shall mean a plan developed

in conjunction with the family through a strength-based child and family

assessment containing a summary of the strengths, needs and goals of a

child with an emotional and/or behavioral disorder, and the services and

supports agreed to by the child, family and the tier I team

representatives.

(c) "Family" shall mean, when appropriate, a child with an emotional

and/or behavioral disorder, his or her parents or those in parental

relationship to the child, blood relatives and extended family,

including non-relatives identified by the child and/or parents. Nothing

in this section shall be construed to deny the child, his or her parents

or those persons in parental relationship to the child of any rights

they are otherwise entitled to by law.

(d) "County" shall mean a county, except in the case of a county that

is wholly included within a city, such term shall mean such city.

(e) "Family support representative" shall mean a volunteer who is also

a parent or primary caregiver of a child with an emotional and/or

behavioral disorder. The family support representative shall assist

families throughout the process of developing and implementing an

individualized family support plan as defined in this section.

3. Interagency structure. (a) There shall be established a three

tiered interagency structure, as follows:

(i) State tier III team. There is hereby established a state team

designated as the "tier III team", which shall consist of the chair of

the council, the commissioners of children and family services, mental

health, health, education, alcoholism and substance abuse services, and

the office for people with developmental disabilities, and the director

of the office of probation and correctional alternatives, or their

designated representatives, and representatives of families of children

with emotional and/or behavioral disorders. Other representatives may be

added at the discretion of such team.

(ii) County tier II team. A county, or consortium of counties,

choosing to participate in the coordinated children's services

initiative shall establish an interagency team consisting of, but not

limited to, the local commissioners or leadership assigned by the chief

elected official responsible for the local health, mental hygiene,

juvenile justice, probation and other human services systems. The

education system shall be represented by the district superintendent of

the board of cooperative educational services, or his or her designee,

and in the case of the city of New York, by the chancellor of the city

school district of the city of New York, or his or her designee, and

appropriate local school district representatives as determined by the

district superintendent of the board of cooperative educational services

or such chancellor. Such team shall be sensitive to issues of cultural

competence, and shall include representatives of families of children

with an emotional and/or behavioral disorder. Regional state agency

representatives may participate when requested by such team.

(iii) Family-based tier I team. Tier II teams, in cooperation with a

child with an emotional and/or behavioral disorder and his or her

family, shall establish interagency teams to work with such child and

family to develop an individualized, strength-based family support plan

and coordinate interagency services agreed to in such plan. Such teams

shall include such child and family and, based on the needs of the child

and family, should also include a family support representative,

representatives from the mental hygiene, education, juvenile justice,

probation, health, and other county child and family services systems.

(b) Roles and responsibilities of teams. (i) The state tier III team

shall coordinate statewide implementation of the coordinated children's

services initiative. Such team shall:

(A) coordinate planning across the health, mental hygiene, education,

juvenile justice, probation and human services systems;

(B) address barriers to the effective delivery of local interagency

services;

(C) coordinate the provision of technical assistance and training for

the effective implementation of the coordinated children's services

initiative;

(D) develop an appropriate reporting mechanism to track the outcomes

being achieved. Such mechanism shall be developed in concert with

participating counties; and

(E) report results and recommendations for change to the governor,

legislature and state board of regents, as appropriate.

(ii) The tier II teams shall coordinate the coordinated children's

services initiative at the local level. Such team shall:

(A) coordinate cross-systems training and provide linkages to other

county and school district planning for children;

(B) address local/regional barriers to the coordination of services;

(C) report on state level barriers to the effective delivery of

coordinated services and recommended changes to the state tier III team;

(D) report on outcomes using the mechanism developed by the state tier

III team;

(E) implement the goals and principles of the coordinated children's

services initiative; and

(F) make monies available consistent with subdivision five of this

section.

(iii) Each tier I team shall work collaboratively with the family to

develop an individualized family support plan that is:

(A) family-focused and family driven;

(B) built on child and family strengths; and

(C) comprehensive, including appropriate services and supports from

appropriate systems and natural supports from the community.

4. Goals and principles of operation. (a) Goals. The coordinated

children's services initiative shall enable children with emotional

and/or behavioral disorders, whenever appropriate for the child and

family to:

(i) reside with their families;

(ii) live and participate successfully in their communities;

(iii) attend and be successful in their local school systems; and

(iv) grow towards becoming independent, contributing members of the

community.

(b) Principles of operation. The tier III and II teams shall provide a

system for serving children with emotional and/or behavioral disorders

that is:

(i) community-based, allowing children and families to receive

services close to their home;

(ii) culturally competent;

(iii) individualized and strengths-based in approach;

(iv) family friendly, involving the family as full and active partners

at every level of decision making, including policy development,

planning, treatment and service delivery;

(v) comprehensive, involving all appropriate parties, including but

not limited to the family, child, natural supports, provider agencies

and other necessary community services;

(vi) funded through multiple systems with flexible funding mechanisms

that support creative approaches;

(vii) unconditionally committed to the success of each child; and

(viii) accountable with respect to use of agreed on and measured

outcomes.

5. Funding. Counties and school districts, including boards of

cooperative educational services as requested by component school

districts, choosing to participate in the coordinated children's

services initiative, unless expressly prohibited by law, shall have the

authority to:

(a) combine state and federal resources of the participating county

and educational agencies to provide services to groups or individual

children and their families necessary to maintain children with

emotional and/or behavioral disorders in their homes, communities and

schools, and support families in achieving this goal, as long as the use

of the funds is consistent with the purposes for which they were

appropriated; and

(b) apply flexibility in use of funds, pursuant to an individualized

family-support plan, or for collaborative programs, an agreement among

the county, city and school districts or the board of cooperative

educational services, monies combined pursuant to paragraph (a) of this

subdivision may be used to allow flexibility in determining and applying

interventions that will address the unique needs of the family. The tier

III team shall develop guidelines for the flexible use of funds in

implementing an individualized family support plan.

6. Administration and reports. The council shall be responsible for

the administration of the provisions of this section.

(a) The tier III team shall submit a report to the council detailing

the effectiveness in reaching the goals and objectives of the program

established by this section. Such report shall include recommendations,

based on the experience gained pursuant to the provisions of this

article, for modifying statewide policies, regulations or statutes. The

council shall forward such report to the governor, the legislature and

the state board of regents on or before the first day of July of each

year, including the recommendations of the tier III members regarding

the feasibility and implications of implementing the recommendations.

(b) The tier III team shall have authority to receive funds and work

within agency structures, as agreed to by member agencies, to administer

funds for the purposes of carrying out its responsibilities.

(c) Parents and representatives of families, who are not compensated

for attendance as part of their employment, shall be compensated for

their tier III team participation and reimbursed for actual expenses,

including, but not limited to, child care.

7. Confidentiality. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of state

law to the contrary, tier I, II and III team participants in the

coordinated children's services system shall have access to case record

and related treatment information as necessary to support the purposes

of this section, to the extent permitted by federal law.

(b) Tier I, II and III team participants shall protect the

confidentiality of all individual identifying case record and related

treatment information, and prevent access thereto, by, or the

distribution thereof to, other persons not authorized by State or

federal law.