AB700: Bill Text

LRB-3506/1

DAK:wlj:rs

2007 - 2008 LEGISLATURE

2007 Assembly BILL 700

January 15, 2008 - Introduced by Joint Legislative Council. Referred to Committee on Children and Family Law.

AB700,2,10 An Act to repeal 46.56 (1) (i) 1. to 3., 46.56 (1) (k), 46.56 (3) (d) 2. (intro.), 46.56 (8) (L), 46.56 (8) (p) and (q), 46.56 (14) (c) 8. and 46.56 (15) (e); to renumber and amend 46.56 (1) (c), 46.56 (1) (f), 46.56 (1) (g), 46.56 (3) (d) 1., 46.56 (3) (d) 2. a. and b., 46.56 (6) (a) 3., 46.56 (6) (a) 4., 48.02 (9s) and 938.02 (9s); to consolidate, renumber and amend 46.56 (1) (i) (intro.) and 4.; to amend 20.435 (7) (co), 38.14 (12), 46.215 (1) (q), 46.22 (1) (b) 1. i., 46.56 (title), 46.56 (1) (a), 46.56 (1) (b), 46.56 (1) (e), 46.56 (1) (h), 46.56 (1) (L), 46.56 (1) (m), 46.56 (1) (n), 46.56 (1) (o), 46.56 (1) (p), 46.56 (2), 46.56 (3) (a), 46.56 (3) (b) 1., 2., 4., 5. and 7., 46.56 (4) (a) to (e), 46.56 (5) (a), (b) and (d) to (i), 46.56 (6) (title), (a) (intro.), 1. and 2., 46.56 (6) (b), 46.56 (6) (c), 46.56 (7), 46.56 (8) (title), 46.56 (8) (a) to (g) and (h) (intro.), 2., 3., 4., 5. and 6., 46.56 (8) (i) to (k), 46.56 (8) (m) to (o), 46.56 (8) (r) and (s), 46.56 (9), 46.56 (10) to (13), 46.56 (14) (a), 46.56 (14) (a), 46.56 (14) (b) (intro.), 46.56 (14) (b) 1. and 3., 46.56 (14) (c) (intro.) and 1., 46.56 (14) (c) 3. and 4., 46.56 (14) (c) 6. and 7., 46.56 (14) (d), 46.56 (15) (a) and (b) (intro.), 46.56 (15) (b) 2. to 4., 46.56 (15) (c) and (d), 46.56 (15) (f), 48.33 (1) (c), 48.345 (6m), 49.45 (25) (bm) 2., 51.42 (3) (ar) 14., 51.437 (4m) (m), 51.437 (4r) (a) 3., 115.817 (5) (c), 116.03 (13m), 120.12 (19), 938.33 (1) (c) and 938.34 (6m); to repeal and recreate 46.56 (14) (c) 2. and 59.53 (7); and to create 46.56 (1) (ar), 46.56 (1) (bm), 46.56 (1) (de), (dm) and (ds), 46.56 (1) (hm), 46.56 (1) (nm), 46.56 (1) (op), 46.56 (1) (q), 46.56 (3) (a) 8., 46.56 (3) (b) 8. to 17., 46.56 (3) (d) 5. to 9., 46.56 (5) (j), 46.56 (6) (cr), 46.56 (6) (d) and (e), 46.56 (8) (h) 7. and 8., 46.56 (15) (b) 1r. and 46.56 (15) (b) 5. of the statutes; relating to: children with severe disabilities or who are involved in multiple systems of care, or both, and their families and making an appropriation.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

This bill is explained in the Notes provided by the Joint Legislative Council in the bill.

For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

Joint Legislative Council prefatory note: This bill is prepared for the joint legislative council's special committee on strengthening Wisconsin families.

Under current law, s. 46.56, stats., governs the integrated services programs (ISP) for children with severe disabilities. A "child with severe disabilities" is defined as follows:

"46.56 (1) (c) "Child with severe disabilities" means an individual who has not attained 18 years of age and whose mental, physical, sensory, behavioral, emotional or developmental disabilities, or whose combination of multiple disabilities meets all of the following conditions:

1. Is severe in degree.

2. Has persisted for at least one year or is expected to persist for at least one year.

3. Causes substantial limitations in the child's ability to function in the family, the school or the community and with the child's ability to cope with the ordinary demands of life.

4. Causes the child to need services from 2 or more service systems.".

The ISP began in 1989. As of November 2006, 18 counties operated ISPs. The statute requires a county that operates an ISP to establish a coordinating committee comprised of representatives from multiple systems of care. The coordinating committee must prepare interagency agreements that participating organizations in the ISP agree to follow in creating and operating the ISP. The interagency agreement's components are also outlined by statute. The ISP must have one or more service coordination agencies. The service coordination agency must identify a service coordinator for each child with severe disabilities who participates in the program. Referrals into the ISP may come from many different types of public agencies or organizations, or from the child or the child's family. A treatment team is developed which includes representatives of all service providers working with the family, as well as the family members and the child.

In 2002, the department of health and family services developed a request for proposals for counties to develop coordinated services teams (CSTs). The CST model is based on the ISP model of integrated services for children and families with multiple needs. As of January 2007, 25 counties operate CSTs.

This bill makes several changes to s. 46.56. Specifically, the bill does the following:

• Expands the ISP's coverage to include not just children with severe disabilities, but also other children who are involved with multiple systems of care, as well as their families, and changes the name of the program to the CST initiative.

• To reflect the expansion of the program's focus, changes the terms "integrated services", "integrated service plan", and "interdisciplinary team" to "coordinated services", "coordinated services plan of care", and "coordinated services team", respectively.

• Includes tribes as entities that may administer the CST initiative.

• Provides funding to begin to phase in the remaining counties and tribes that do not currently operate either an ISP or a CST initiative, to enable these counties and tribes to establish the CST initiative.

• Amends the definition of CST to emphasize the process by which the child's family, service providers, and informal resource persons work together to respond to the needs of the child and family, rather than by describing the characteristics of the individuals on the team.

• Expands the required and optional representatives that serve on the coordinating committee in a county or tribe. The coordinating committee is the entity that:

— prepares interagency agreements for the creation and operation of a CST initiative.

— assesses how the CST initiative relates to other service coordination programs operating at the county, tribal, or local level.

— assists the administering agency in developing the application for CST funding.

— reviews determinations by the service coordination agency regarding program eligibility, appropriate family resources, and funding of services.

• Expands the duties of the coordinating committee to include:

— establishing operational policies and procedures.

— ensuring quality, including adherence to core values as adopted by the state advisory committee.

— developing a plan for orientation of new coordinating committee members and CST members to the CST process.

— identifying and addressing gaps in services.

— ensuring agency and partner agency satisfaction.

• Creates the role of project coordinator, and defines the project coordinator's duties, which are to:

— bring together parents and staff from agencies and organizations to comprise the coordinating committee, and support their activities.

— work with the coordinating committee to maintain support agency participation as established in the interagency agreement.

— work with the coordinating committee and service coordination agency to receive and review referrals and assure provision of service coordination services.

— work with the coordinating committee and service coordination agency to assure service coordination for all groups working with the child and the child's family.

— guide the development of groups of people working with the child and the child's family to ensure compliance with the basic principles of the CST initiative's core values.

— review plans of care.

— assist the coordinating committee and family teams in establishing consistent measure for initiative development, implementation, evaluation, and monitoring of the project and outcomes.

— facilitate public education and awareness of issues and programming for families and children.

— ensure ongoing support and training related to the CST process to families and providers.

— provide support to service providers in developing strategies to enhance existing programs, to increase resources, and to establish new resources.

— ensure that local and state agencies submit data and reports in an accurate and timely manner.

• Increases the appropriation to DHFS to provide grants to counties for CST initiatives by $1,466,000 in general purpose revenue in 2008-09.