2016 Colorado Revised Statutes
Title 24 - Government - State
Administration
Article 1.9 - Collaborative Management of Multi-Agency Services Provided to Children and Families
§ 24-1.9-102. Memorandum of understanding - local-level interagency oversight groups - individualized service and support teams - coordination of services for children and families - requirements - waiver

(1) (a) Local representatives of each of the agencies specified in this paragraph (a) and county departments of social services may enter into memorandums of understanding that are designed to promote a collaborative system of local-level interagency oversight groups and individualized service and support teams to coordinate and manage the provision of services to children and families who would benefit from integrated multi-agency services. The memorandums of understanding entered into pursuant to this subsection (1) shall be between interested county departments of social services and local representatives of each of the following agencies or entities:

(I) The local judicial districts, including probation services;

(II) The health department, whether a county or district public health agency;

(III) The local school district or school districts;

(IV) Each community mental health center;

(V) Each behavioral health organization;

(VI) The division of youth corrections;

(VII) A designated managed service organization for the provision of treatment services for alcohol and drug abuse pursuant to section 27-80-107, C.R.S.; and

(VIII) A domestic abuse program as defined in section 26-7.5-102, C.R.S., if representation from such a program is available.

(a.5) In addition to the parties specified in paragraph (a) of this subsection (1), the memorandums of understanding entered into pursuant to this subsection (1) may include family resource centers created pursuant to article 18 of title 26, C.R.S.

(b) The general assembly strongly encourages the agencies specified in paragraphs (a) and (a.5) of this subsection (1) to enter into memorandums of understanding that are regional.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (b) of this subsection (1), the agencies specified in paragraphs (a) and (a.5) of this subsection (1) may enter into memorandums of understanding involving only one or more county departments of social services, not necessarily by region, as may be appropriate to ensure the effectiveness of local-level interagency oversight groups and individualized service and support teams in the county or counties.

(d) In developing the memorandums of understanding, the general assembly strongly encourages the parties to the memorandums of understanding to seek input, support, and collaboration from key stakeholders in the private and nonprofit sector, as well as parent advocacy or family advocacy organizations that represent family members or caregivers of children who would benefit from multi-agency services.

(e) Nothing shall preclude the agencies specified in paragraphs (a) and (a.5) of this subsection (1) from including parties in addition to the agencies specified in paragraphs (a) and (a.5) of this subsection (1) in the memorandums of understanding developed for purposes of this section.

(1.5) The department of human services shall ensure a uniform system of collaborative management that results in statewide consistency with respect to the requirements for program memorandums of understanding pursuant to this article.

(2) (a) Each memorandum of understanding entered into shall include, but is not limited to, the requirements specified in paragraphs (b) to (j) of this subsection (2). On or before October 1, 2004, utilizing moneys in the performance incentive cash fund created in section 26-5-105.5 (3.2) (a), C.R.S., the state department of human services, in conjunction with the judicial department, shall develop and make available to the parties specified in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of this section, a model memorandum of understanding based on the requirements specified in paragraphs (b) to (j) of this subsection (2).

(b) Identification of services and funding sources. The memorandum of understanding shall specify the legal responsibilities and funding sources of each party to the memorandum of understanding as those responsibilities and funding sources relate to children and families who would benefit from integrated multi-agency services, including the identification of the specific services that may be provided. Specific services that may be provided may include, but are not limited to: Prevention, intervention, and treatment services; family preservation services; family stabilization services; out-of-home placement services; services for children at imminent risk of out-of-home placement; probation services; services for children with mental illness; public assistance services; medical assistance services; child welfare services; and any additional services which the parties deem necessary to identify.

(c) Definition of the population to be served. The memorandum of understanding must include a functional definition of "children and families who would benefit from integrated multi-agency services". The collaborative management program target population consists of at-risk children and youth from birth to twenty-one years of age, or families of children or youth, who would benefit from a multi-system integrated service plan that may include prevention, intervention, and treatment services.

(d) Creation of an oversight group. The memorandum of understanding shall create a local-level interagency oversight group and identify the oversight group's membership requirements, procedures for selection of officers, procedures for resolving disputes by a majority vote of those members authorized to vote, and procedures for establishing any necessary subcommittees of the interagency oversight group. Each interagency oversight group shall include a local representative of each party to the memorandum of understanding specified in paragraphs (a) and (a.5) of subsection (1) of this section, each of whom shall be a voting member of the interagency oversight group. In addition, the interagency oversight group may include, but is not limited to, the following advisory nonvoting members:

(I) Representatives of interested local private sector entities; and

(II) Family members or caregivers of children who would benefit from integrated multi-agency services or current or previous consumers of integrated multi-agency services.

(e) Establishment of collaborative management processes. The memorandum of understanding shall require the interagency oversight group to establish collaborative management processes to be utilized by individualized service and support teams authorized pursuant to paragraph (f) of this subsection (2) when providing services to children and families served by the parties to the memorandum of understanding. The collaborative management processes required to be established by the interagency oversight group shall address risk-sharing, resource-pooling, performance expectations, outcome-monitoring, and staff-training, and shall be designed to do the following:

(I) Reduce duplication and eliminate fragmentation of services provided to children or families who would benefit from integrated multi-agency services;

(II) Increase the quality, appropriateness, and effectiveness of services delivered to children or families who would benefit from integrated multi-agency services to achieve better outcomes for these children and families; and

(III) Encourage cost-sharing among service providers.

(f) Authorization to create individualized service and support teams. The memorandum of understanding shall include authorization for the interagency oversight group to establish individualized service and support teams to develop a service and support plan and to provide services to children and families who would benefit from integrated multi-agency services.

(g) Authorization to contribute resources and funding. The memorandum of understanding shall specify that each party to the memorandum of understanding has the authority to contribute time, resources, and funding to solve problems identified by the local-level interagency oversight group in order to create a seamless, collaborative system of delivering multi-agency services to children and families, upon approval by the head or director of each agency or department specified in paragraphs (a) and (a.5) of subsection (1) of this section.

(h) Reinvestment of moneys saved to serve additional children and families. (I) The memorandum of understanding shall require the interagency oversight group to create a procedure, subject to approval by the head or director of each agency or department specified in paragraphs (a) and (a.5) of subsection (1) of this section, to allow any moneys resulting from waivers granted by the federal government and any state general fund savings realized as a result of the implementation of the collaborative system of management of multi-agency services provided to children and families related to the funding sources specified by the parties to the memorandum of understanding pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subsection (2) to be reinvested by the parties to the memorandum of understanding to provide appropriate services as defined in paragraph (b) of this subsection (2) to children and families, who would benefit from integrated multi-agency services, as the population is defined by the memorandum of understanding pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subsection (2).

(II) A county that has implemented a collaborative management process for services to children and families, which services are not included as services to be provided to children and families who would benefit from integrated multi-agency services in the memorandum of understanding pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subsection (2), and that underspends the general fund portion of its capped or targeted allocation may use the portion of general fund savings realized, as referenced in this section, of its underspent capped or targeted allocation for provision of existing services for such children and families in the county.

(i) Performance-based measures. The department of human services and the persons specified in section 24-1.9-103 (2) (b) shall develop performance measures for the system of collaborative management, which measures may be modified biennially to ensure that the measures remain valid. The memorandum of understanding must identify performance measures developed pursuant to this paragraph (i). If the parties to the memorandum of understanding meet the identified performance measures, the memorandum of understanding must require the interagency oversight group to create a procedure, subject to the approval of the head or director of each agency or department specified in paragraphs (a) and (a.5) of subsection (1) of this section, to allow any incentive moneys received by the department of human services and allocated pursuant to section 24-1.9-104 to be reinvested by the parties to the memorandum of understanding to provide appropriate services to children and families who would benefit from integrated multi-agency services, as such population is defined by the memorandum of understanding pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subsection (2). The parties to a memorandum of understanding shall report annually to the department of human services on the performance measures identified in the parties' memorandum of understanding pursuant to this paragraph (i).

(j) Confidentiality compliance. The memorandum of understanding shall include a provision specifying that state and federal law concerning confidentiality shall be followed and that records used or developed by the interagency oversight group or its members or the individualized service and support teams that relate to a particular person are to be kept confidential and may not be released to any other person or agency except as provided by law.

(3) Each department or division, section, unit, or agency within a department that is a party to the memorandum of understanding shall enter into the memorandum of understanding and all revisions to the memorandum. Revisions to the memorandum shall be developed as necessary to reflect department reorganizations or statutory changes affecting the departments that are parties to the memorandum.

(4) The departments and agencies that provide oversight to the parties to the memorandum of understanding specified in paragraphs (a) and (a.5) of subsection (1) of this section are authorized to issue waivers of any rules to which the departments and agencies are subject and that would prevent the departments from effective implementation of the memorandums of understanding; however, the departments and agencies are prohibited from waiving a rule in violation of federal law or that would compromise the safety of a child.