HCS/SB 266 - This act requires the Department of Mental Health to develop a plan to address the needs of persons who are on a waiting list for services. A new Section 633.032 requires the plan to emphasize the partnership between developmentally disabled individuals and their families, community providers, and state officials. The plan shall include:

- A method for reducing the waiting period to ninety days;

- A description of available services;

- An evaluation of the capacity to serve more individuals;

- A method of adjusting support and service levels based on individual needs;

- A method for determining when out-of-home twenty-four hour care is necessary;

- A description on how the plan will be implemented;

- Any necessary changes to state law;

- An analysis of the monetary effects to providing services to all eligible individuals and their families.

The act requires the plan to be completed by November 1, 2003. The Director of the Department must submit a copy to the General Assembly and the Governor.

A new Section 1 requires the Departments of Mental Health and Social Services to jointly prepare a plan to address the need for mental health services involving:

-all cases in the custody of the Department of Social Services that involve children who only need mental health services and have not been abused, neglected, or abandoned; and

-children or persons under 17 who require mental health services as determined by a court.

The plan shall include an analysis of federal funding, including waivers, an analysis of the budgetary and programmatic impact of providing mental health services to children, and an analysis of the feasability of securing federal funds, including time frames.

The plan must be completed on or before January 1, 2004 and submitted to the General Assembly and the Governor.
LORIE TOWE