Section 41.43. Family support services

(a)   The  commissioner  of  the  office  of  mental  retardation  and
  developmental disabilities, directly or  through  contract,  and  within
  amounts  made  available  therefor,  shall  establish a family-directed,
  statewide system of comprehensive family support services.  The  purpose
  of  family  support  services  will  be to enhance a family's ability to
  provide in-home care  to  their  family  members  with  a  developmental
  disability.
    (b) In administering family support services, the commissioner may, to
  the  extent  practicable, establish standards for outcome assessment and
  performance reviews of the goods  and  services  obtained  whether  such
  goods  and  services  are purchased pursuant to contract with the state,
  through reimbursement of families, through the issuance of  vouchers  to
  families for the purchase of goods and services, or through other means.
    (c) For purposes of this section, family supports are goods, services,
  and  subsidies,  determined  by  the  family and the commissioner of the
  office of mental retardation and developmental disabilities,  which  are
  provided  to  meet  the  goals  of:  (i)  providing  a  quality  of life
  comparable, to the extent practicable, to  that  of  similarly  situated
  families without a family member having a developmental disability; (ii)
  maintaining  family  unity;  (iii) preventing premature or inappropriate
  out-of-home placement; (iv) reuniting families; (v) enhancing  parenting
  skills;  and  (vi)  maximizing the potential of the family member with a
  developmental disability.
    (d) The mental retardation  and  developmental  disabilities  advisory
  council  created  by  section  13.05  of  this chapter shall establish a
  committee pursuant to the provisions of paragraph one of subdivision (c)
  of section 13.05 of this chapter, comprised of members selected  by  the
  commissioner, to be called the committee on family support services. The
  committee shall (i) provide information to the commissioner on the needs
  of  families  caring  at  home  for a family member with a developmental
  disability; (ii) advise the commissioner on policies related  to  family
  supports and services; and (iii) offer advice to the commissioner on the
  design,  implementation  and  monitoring  of  family  support  services.
  Members of the committee shall  include  persons  with  a  developmental
  disability,  family  members of persons with a developmental disability,
  and professionals and others with an interest in  the  care  of  persons
  with  developmental  disabilities.  A majority of the committee shall be
  family members of persons with developmental disabilities. Members shall
  only receive reimbursement for  expenses  incurred  in  connection  with
  their duties on the committee.
    (e)  The  commissioner,  in  consultation with the committee on family
  support services,  shall  submit  by  January  first,  nineteen  hundred
  ninety-three,  and  annually  thereafter  for four years, reports to the
  governor and the legislature concerning family  support  services.  Such
  reports shall include, but not be limited to, the following: an analysis
  of  family  support  services  provided  by  contract agencies and those
  provided by the  state,  the  amounts  and  sources  of  funds  expended
  annually  for  family support services by region and by type of service,
  the number of  families  receiving  services,  the  number  of  families
  estimated  to  be  in  need  of  family support services, the results of
  consumer and family member assessments of family support services, and a
  description of  any  new  initiatives  and  recommendations  for  future
  action.