2012 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 17a - Social and Human Services and Resources
Chapter 319 - Department of Children and Families
Section 17a-4a - Children’s Behavioral Health Advisory Committee. Membership. Reports.

(a) There is established a Children’s Behavioral Health Advisory Committee which shall promote and enhance the provision of behavioral health services for all children in this state.

(b) The Children’s Behavioral Health Advisory Committee shall be composed of the following ex-officio voting members: (1) The Commissioner of Children and Families or the commissioner’s designee; (2) the Commissioner of Social Services or the commissioner’s designee; (3) the executive director of the Children’s Health Council or said director’s designee; (4) the Chief Court Administrator or said administrator’s designee; (5) the Commissioner of Education or the commissioner’s designee; (6) the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services or the commissioner’s designee; (7) the Commissioner of Developmental Services or the commissioner’s designee; (8) the executive director of the Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities or the director’s designee; and the following public members: (A) Two members appointed by the Governor, one of whom shall be a parent of a child who receives behavioral health services and one of whom shall be a provider of behavioral health services; (B) six members, one of whom shall be appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one of whom shall be appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, one of whom shall be appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, one of whom shall be appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives, one of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader of the Senate and one of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives, and all of whom shall be knowledgeable on issues relative to children in need of behavioral health services and family supports; and (C) sixteen members appointed by the Commissioner of Children and Families. The membership of the advisory committee shall fairly and adequately represent parents of children who have a serious emotional disturbance. At least fifty-one per cent of the members of the advisory committee shall be persons who are parents or relatives of a child who has or had a serious emotional disturbance or persons who had a serious emotional disturbance as children and no more than half the members of the committee shall be persons who receive income from a private practice or any public or private agency that delivers behavioral health services.

(c) All appointments to the advisory committee shall be made no later than sixty days after July 1, 2000. Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority. Members shall serve two-year terms and no public member shall serve for more than two consecutive terms.

(d) The advisory committee shall elect two cochairpersons from among its members, one of whom shall be the parent of a child with a serious emotional disturbance. The advisory committee shall meet at least bimonthly. Members of the advisory committee shall serve without compensation, except for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.

(e) Not later than October first of each year, the advisory committee shall submit a status report on local systems of care and practice standards for state-funded behavioral health programs to the Commissioner of Children and Families and the State Advisory Council on Children and Families.

(f) Not later than October first of each odd-numbered year, the advisory committee shall submit recommendations concerning the provision of behavioral health services for all children in the state to the Commissioner of Children and Families and the State Advisory Council on Children and Families. The recommendations shall address, but shall not be limited to, the following: (1) The target population for children with behavioral health needs, and assessment and benefit options for children with such needs; (2) the appropriateness and quality of care for children with behavioral health needs; (3) the coordination of behavioral health services provided under the HUSKY Plan with services provided by other publicly-funded programs; (4) performance standards for preventive services, family supports and emergency service training programs; (5) assessments of community-based and residential care programs; (6) outcome measurements by reviewing provider practice; and (7) a medication protocol and standards for the monitoring of medication and after-care programs.

(P.A. 00-188, S. 2, 5; P.A. 01-19, S. 1, 2; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-2, S. 51, 69; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-9, S. 93, 129, 131; P.A. 03-19, S. 30; P.A. 07-73, S. 2(b); P.A. 12-82, S. 3.)

History: P.A. 00-188 effective July 1, 2000; P.A. 01-19, effective May 15, 2001, and June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-9, effective July 1, 2001, both amended Subsec. (b) to add executive director of the Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities or designee as a committee member; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-2 amended Subsec. (b) to require that the seven state agency heads be ex-officio voting members, to require that all of the appointed members be public members, substituting Subparas. designators (A) to (C) for Subdivs. (8) to (10), to increase, from 50% to 51%, the number of advisory committee members who shall be parents or relatives of a child who has or had a serious emotional disturbance or persons who had a serious emotional disturbance as a child, and to require that no more than half the members be persons who receive income from a private practice or any public or private agency that delivers behavioral health services, amended Subsec. (c) to prohibit public members from serving for more than two consecutive terms, and amended Subsec. (d) to allow advisory committee members to receive necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties, effective July 1, 2001; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-9 revised effective date of June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-2 but without affecting this section; P.A. 03-19 made technical changes in Subsec. (b), effective May 12, 2003; pursuant to P.A. 07-73 “Commissioner of Mental Retardation” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Commissioner of Developmental Services”, effective October 1, 2007; P.A. 12-82 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting “to the State Advisory Council on Children and Families”, amended Subsec. (b)(8)(C) by substituting “Commissioner of Children and Families” for “chairperson of the State Advisory Council on Children and Families” and amended Subsecs. (e) and (f) to add “the Commissioner of Children and Families” as a recipient of required status reports and recommendations.