State Codes and Statutes
Statutes > Connecticut > Title17a > Chap319 > Sec17a-22jSec. 17a-22j. Behavioral Health Partnership Oversight Council. Members. Duties. Annual report. (a) There is established a Behavioral Health Partnership Oversight Council which shall advise the Commissioners of Children and Families and Social Services on the planning and implementation of the Behavioral Health Partnership.
(b) The council shall consist of the following members:
(1) Four appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives; two of whom are representatives of general or specialty psychiatric hospitals; one of whom is an adult with a psychiatric disability; and one of whom is an advocate for adults with psychiatric disabilities;
(2) Four appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, two of whom are parents of children who have a behavioral health disorder or have received child protection or juvenile justice services from the Department of Children and Families; one of whom has expertise in health policy and evaluation; and one of whom is an advocate for children with behavioral health disorders;
(3) Two appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives; one of whom is a primary care provider serving children pursuant to the HUSKY Plan; and one of whom is a child psychiatrist serving children pursuant to the HUSKY Plan;
(4) Two appointed by the majority leader of the Senate; one of whom is either an adult with a substance use disorder or an advocate for adults with substance use disorders; and one of whom is a representative of school-based health clinics;
(5) Two appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives; one of whom is a provider of community-based behavioral health services for adults; and one of whom is a provider of residential treatment for children;
(6) Two appointed by the minority leader of the Senate; one of whom is a provider of community-based services for children with behavioral health problems; and one of whom is a member of the advisory council on Medicaid managed care;
(7) Four appointed by the Governor; two of whom are representatives of general or specialty psychiatric hospitals and two of whom are parents of children who have a behavioral health disorder or have received child protection or juvenile justice services from the Department of Children and Families;
(8) The chairpersons and ranking members of the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to human services, public health, appropriations and the budgets of state agencies, or their designees;
(9) A member of the Community Mental Health Strategy Board, established pursuant to section 17a-485b, as selected by said board;
(10) The Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services, or said commissioner's designee;
(11) Seven nonvoting ex-officio members, one each appointed by the Commissioners of Social Services, Children and Families, Mental Health and Addiction Services and Education to represent his or her department and one appointed by the State Comptroller, the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management and the Office of Health Care Access to represent said offices;
(12) One or more consumers appointed by the chairpersons of the council, to be nonvoting ex-officio members; and
(13) One representative from the administrative services organization and from each Medicaid managed care organization, to be nonvoting ex-officio members.
(c) All appointments to the council shall be made no later than July 1, 2005, except that the chairpersons of the council may appoint additional consumers to the council as nonvoting ex-officio members. Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority.
(d) The chairpersons of the advisory council on Medicaid managed care shall select the chairpersons of the Behavioral Health Partnership Oversight Council from among the members of such oversight council. Such chairpersons shall convene the first meeting of the council, which shall be held not later than August 1, 2005. The council shall meet at least monthly thereafter.
(e) The Joint Committee on Legislative Management shall provide administrative support to the chairpersons and assistance in convening the council's meetings.
(f) The council shall make specific recommendations on matters related to the planning and implementation of the Behavioral Health Partnership which shall include, but not be limited to: (1) Review of any contract entered into by the Departments of Children and Families and Social Services with an administrative services organization, to assure that the administrative services organization's decisions are based solely on clinical management criteria developed by the clinical management committee established in section 17a-22k; (2) review of behavioral health services pursuant to Title XIX and Title XXI of the Social Security Act to assure that federal revenue is being maximized; and (3) review of periodic reports on the program activities, finances and outcomes, including reports from the director of the Behavioral Health Partnership on achievement of service delivery system goals, pursuant to section 17a-22i. The council may conduct or cause to be conducted an external, independent evaluation of the Behavioral Health Partnership.
(g) On or before March 1, 2006, and annually thereafter, the council shall submit a report to the Governor and, in accordance with section 11-4a, to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to human services, public health and appropriations and the budgets of state agencies, on the council's activities and progress.
(P.A. 05-280, S. 95; P.A. 06-188, S. 28, 29; P.A. 08-95, S. 1.)
History: P.A. 05-280 effective July 13, 2005; P.A. 06-188 amended Subsec. (b) to increase the number of nonvoting ex-officio members from four to seven and provide for appointment of the additional members by the Commissioner of Education, the State Comptroller and the Office of Health Care Access in Subdiv. (5), to add new Subdiv. (6) authorizing chairpersons of council to appoint one or more consumers to the council and to redesignate existing Subdiv. (6) as Subdiv. (7), and amended Subsec. (c) to allow for appointment of additional consumers to council after July 1, 2005; P.A. 08-95 amended Subsec. (b) by adding new Subdivs. (1) to (6) transferring council membership appointment authority from chairpersons of advisory council on Medicaid managed care to legislative leaders of General Assembly, by adding new Subdiv. (7) providing Governor with authority to appoint four members to the council, by renumbering existing Subdivs. (1) to (3) and (5) to (7) as Subdivs. (8) to (13) and by deleting former Subdiv. (4).
