Section 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, alcohol and  substance  abuse  services,  and
  mental  retardation  and developmental disabilities, and the director 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.