Bill Text: VA HB1619 | 2019 | Regular Session | Prefiled
Bill Title: Children's Services Act; special education programs.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-02-05 - Left in Appropriations [HB1619 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2019-HB1619-Prefiled.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§2.2-5211 and 2.2-5212 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§2.2-5211. State pool of funds for community policy and management teams.
A. There is established a state pool of funds to be allocated
to community policy and management teams in accordance with the appropriation
act and appropriate state regulations. These funds, as
made available by the General Assembly, shall be expended
for the purpose of providing
public or and
private nonresidential or and
residential services for troubled youths children, youth, and families.
The purposes of this
system of funding are to
state pool shall:
1. Place authority for making program and funding decisions at the community level;
2. Consolidate categorical agency funding and institute community responsibility for the provision of services;
3. Provide greater flexibility in the use of funds to purchase
services based on the strengths and needs of children, youths youth,
and families; and
4. Reduce disparity in accessing services and to reduce
inadvertent fiscal incentives for serving children and youth according to
differing required local match rates for funding streams.
B. The state pool shall consist of funds that to
serve the following target populations identified in subdivisions 1 through 5 of this
subsection in the purchase of residential and nonresidential services for
children and youth:
1. Children and youth (i) placed for purposes of special education in approved private school education programs, previously funded by the Department of Education through private tuition assistance, or (ii) who transfer from an approved private school educational program to a public school special education program established and funded jointly by a local governing body and school division located within Planning District 16 pursuant to a Memorandum of Agreement for the purpose of providing special education, related services, or both, within a public day program, when (a) the public school special education program is able to provide services comparable to those for an approved private school special education program and (b) the student would require placement in an approved private school special education program but for the availability of the public school special education program;
2. Children and youth with disabilities (i) placed by local social services agencies or the Department of Juvenile Justice in private residential facilities or (ii) who reside in a foster home or child care facility and who are placed across jurisdictional lines in private, special education day schools in cases in which the individualized education program indicates that such school is the appropriate placement, where such residential services or private special education services were previously funded by the Department of Education through the Interagency Assistance Fund for Noneducational Placements of Handicapped Children;
3. Children and youth for whom foster care services, as defined in §63.2-905, are being provided;
4. Children and youth placed by a juvenile and domestic relations district court, in accordance with the provisions of §16.1-286, in a private or locally operated public facility or nonresidential program, or in a community or facility-based treatment program in accordance with the provisions of subsection B or C of §16.1-284.1; and
5. Children and youth committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice and placed by it in a private home or in a public or private facility in accordance with §66-14.
C. References to funding sources and current placement
authority for the targeted target
populations of children and youth are described in
subsection B shall be for the purpose of accounting for the
funds in the state
pool only. It
is not intended that children Children
and youth described in subsection B shall not
be categorized by individual funding streams in
order to access for
the purpose of accessing services. The
target population shall be the following:
1. Children and youth
placed for purposes of special education in approved private school educational
programs, previously funded by the Department of Education through private
tuition assistance;
2. Children and youth
with disabilities placed by local social services agencies or the Department of
Juvenile Justice in private residential facilities or across jurisdictional
lines in private, special education day schools, if the individualized
education program indicates such school is the appropriate placement while
living in foster homes or child-caring facilities, previously funded by the
Department of Education through the Interagency Assistance Fund for
Noneducational Placements of Handicapped Children;
3. Children and youth
for whom foster care services, as defined by §63.2-905, are being provided;
4. Children and youth
placed by a juvenile and domestic relations district court, in accordance with
the provisions of §16.1-286, in a private or locally operated public facility
or nonresidential program, or in a community or facility-based treatment
program in accordance with the provisions of subsections B or C of §
16.1-284.1; and
5. Children and youth
committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice and placed by it in a private
home or in a public or private facility in accordance with §66-14.
C. D. The
General Assembly and the governing body of each county and city shall annually
appropriate such sums of money as shall be sufficient to (i) provide special
education services and foster care services for children and youth identified
in subdivisions B 1, B 2, and B 3 and (ii) meet relevant federal mandates for
the provision of these services. The Each
community policy and management team shall anticipate to the best of its
ability the number of children and youth for whom such services will be
required and reserve funds from its state pool allocation to meet these such
needs. Nothing in this section prohibits shall prohibit
local governments from requiring parental or legal financial contributions,
where not specifically prohibited by federal or state law or regulation,
utilizing a standard sliding fee scale based upon ability to pay, as provided
in the appropriation act.
D. When
a community services board established pursuant to §37.2-501, local school
division, local social service agency, court service unit, or the Department of
Juvenile Justice has referred a child and family
to a family assessment and planning team and that team has recommended the
proper level of treatment and services needed by that child and family and has determined
the child's eligibility for funding for services through the state pool of
funds, then the E. Responsibility
of a community services board, the local school division,
local social services agency, or court
service unit or the Department
of Juvenile Justice has
met its fiscal responsibility for that to a
child for the whom services funded through
the state pool
are provided shall be satisfied upon (i) referral of the child and family to a
family assessment and planning team, (ii) recommendation of the proper level of
treatment and services for the child and family by the family assessment and
planning team, and (iii) determination of the child's eligibility for
funding for services through the state pool by the family assessment and
planning team. However, the community services board, the local school division,
local social services agency, court service unit,
or Department of Juvenile Justice shall continue to be responsible for
providing services identified in an
individual family service plans plan that are within the
agency's scope of responsibility and that
are not funded separately from through the state pool.
Further, in any
instance that F. If a
local social services agency
places an individual who is (i) 18 through 21 years
of age, inclusive, who is (ii) eligible for funding from
the state pool and is, and (iii) properly defined as
a school-aged child with disabilities pursuant to §22.1-213 is placed by a local social services agency that
has custody across jurisdictional lines in a group home in
the Commonwealth and the individual's individualized education program (IEP), as prepared by the
placing jurisdiction, indicates that a private day school placement is the
appropriate educational program for such individual, the financial and legal
responsibility for the individual's special education services and IEP services required by the individual's
individualized education program shall remain, in compliance with the provisions of federal law,
Article 2 (§22.1-213) of Chapter 13 of Title 22.1, and Board of Education
regulations, the responsibility of the placing jurisdiction
until the individual reaches the age of 21,
inclusive, or is no longer eligible for special education
services. The financial and legal responsibility for such
special education services shall remain with the placing jurisdiction, in accordance with the requirements of federal
law, Article 2 (§22.1-213) of Chapter 13 of Title 22.1, and Board of Education
regulations, unless the placing jurisdiction has
transitioned all appropriate services with the individual.
E. G. In
any matter properly before a court for which state pool funds are to be
accessed, the court shall, prior to final disposition, and pursuant to §§2.2-5209
and 2.2-5212, refer the matter to the community policy and management team for
assessment by a local family assessment and planning team authorized by
policies of the community policy and management team for assessment to
determine the recommended level of treatment and services needed by the child
and family. The family assessment and planning team making the assessment shall
make a report of the case or forward a copy of the individual family services
plan to the court within 30 days of the court's written referral to the
community policy and management team. The court shall consider the
recommendations of the family assessment and planning team and the community
policy and management team. If, prior to a final disposition by the court, the
court is requested to consider a level of service not identified or recommended
in the report submitted by the family assessment and planning team, the court
shall request the community policy and management team to submit a second
report characterizing comparable levels of service to the requested level of
service. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, the court may make
any disposition as is authorized or required by law. Services ordered pursuant
to a disposition rendered by the court pursuant to this section shall qualify
for funding as appropriated under this section.
§2.2-5212. Eligibility for state pool of funds.
A. In
order to be eligible for funding for services through the state pool of funds,
a A
child, youth, or family with a child,
shall meet one or more of the criteria specified in
subdivisions 1 through 4 and shall be
eligible for funding through the state pool if it is
determined,
through the use of a uniform assessment instrument and in
accordance with process and by
policies of the community policy and management team to
have access to these funds. that the child or youth:
1. The
child or youth has Has
emotional or behavior problems that:
a. Have persisted over a significant period of time or, though only in evidence for a short period of time, are of such a critical nature that intervention is warranted;
b. Are significantly disabling and are present in several community settings, such as at home, in school or with peers; and
c. Require services or resources that are unavailable or inaccessible,
or that are beyond the normal agency services or routine collaborative
processes across agencies, or require coordinated interventions by at least two
agencies.;
2. The
child or youth has Has
emotional or behavior problems, or both, and
currently (i)
is in, or is at imminent risk of entering, purchased residential care. In addition, the child or youth, (ii) requires services or
resources that are beyond normal agency services or routine collaborative
processes across agencies, and (iii)
requires coordinated services by at least two agencies.;
3. The
child or youth requires Requires
placement for purposes of special education in approved private school
educational programs. or transfers from an approved private school education
program to a public school special education program established and funded
jointly by a local government body and school division located within Planning
District 16 pursuant to a Memorandum of Agreement for the purpose of providing
special education, related services, or both, within a public day program, when
(i) the public school special education program is able to provide services
comparable to those of an approved private school special education program and
(ii) the student would require placement in an approved private school special education
program but for the
availability of the public school special education
program; or
4. The
child or youth requires Requires
foster care services as defined in §63.2-905.
B. For purposes of determining eligibility for the state pool of funds, "child" or "youth" means (i) a person younger than 18 years of age or (ii) any individual through 21 years of age who is otherwise eligible for mandated services of the participating state agencies including special education and foster care services.