Section 464-A. Legislative findings

The  legislature  hereby  finds,
  determines, and declares that:
    1. In rural areas there is a necessity to promote different approaches
  to human services delivery if programs are to properly  address  diverse
  community  and  individual needs and such unique rural conditions as low
  population density; a large proportion of elderly persons;  the  absence
  of  economies of scale; geographic isolation; inadequate transportation;
  fluctuating service demands; and general lack of  suitable  alternatives
  for service delivery.
    2.  The  human  services  delivery  system  in  rural  areas  is often
  fragmented, consisting of  isolated  providers  with  limited  financial
  resources  and limited information-sharing networks. Many such providers
  are currently providing  identical  or  similar  services  to  the  same
  clientele  in  the  same  area,  often without being aware of a possible
  duplication of effort.
    3. A full range of coordinated and integrated human services is  vital
  to  the  health  and well-being of residents of rural areas of the state
  who are or may in the future be  confronted  with  such  intense  social
  problems   as  domestic  violence,  teenage  pregnancy,  migrant  health
  problems, nutritional deficiencies, suicide, hunger, unemployment,  lack
  of suitable shelter, crime, drug and alcohol abuse and poverty.
    4.  A  proper  response to intense social problems in some rural areas
  would be to encourage greater sharing of information and resources among
  human services providers in such  rural  areas,  thereby  enhancing  the
  cost-effectiveness  and  delivery  of  services required to address such
  social problems.  Such cooperative undertakings could be accomplished if
  a program of financial incentives and state-level  technical  assistance
  were made available to encourage providers in rural areas to embark upon
  such  cooperative  arrangements  and  networking  of  the  services they
  provide.