General Assembly |
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January Session, 2013 |
*_____SB00169KID___031213____* |
AN ACT CONCERNING THE MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS OF CHILDREN.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 10-203a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2013):
(a) Not later than January 1, [2007] 2014, the Department of Education shall (1) develop guidelines for addressing the physical and mental health needs of students in a comprehensive manner that coordinates services, [including services provided by municipal parks and recreation departments,] and (2) make available to each local and regional board of education a copy of the guidelines. The department shall develop the guidelines after consultation with (A) the chairpersons and ranking members of [(i)] the joint standing [committee] committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education, [and (ii) the select committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to children] children and public health, (B) at least one state-wide nonprofit organization with expertise in child wellness or physical exercise, [and] (C) the Connecticut Recreation and Parks Association, (D) the members of the General Assembly who served as the chairpersons of the mental health services working group of the Bipartisan Task Force on Gun Violence Prevention and Children's Safety appointed on January 15, 2013, by the president pro tempore, majority leader and minority leader of the Senate and the speaker, majority leader and minority leader of the House of Representatives, and (E) the persons who served as members of the Sandy Hook Advisory Commission established by the Governor on January 3, 2013. The guidelines shall not be deemed to be regulations, as defined in section 4-166. Local and regional boards of education may establish and implement plans based on the guidelines in accordance with subsection (c) of this section.
(b) The guidelines shall include, but need not be limited to: (1) Plans for engaging students in daily physical exercise during regular school hours and strategies for engaging students in daily physical exercise before and after regular school hours in coordination with municipal parks and recreation departments, (2) plans for assessing student mental health needs and strategies for addressing those needs, (3) strategies for coordinating school-based health education, programs and services, [(3)] (4) procedures for assessing the need for community-based services such as services provided by school-based health clinics, municipal parks and recreation departments, family resource centers and after-school programs, and [(4)] (5) procedures for maximizing monetary and other resources from local, state, [and] federal and private sources to address the physical and mental health needs of students.
(c) Not later than April 1, [2007] 2014, each local and regional board of education may (1) establish a comprehensive and coordinated plan to address the physical and mental health needs of students, and (2) base its plan on the guidelines developed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section. The board may implement such plan for the [2007-2008] 2014-2015 school year and may have a plan in place for each school year thereafter.
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2013) (a) There is established a community-wide public health collaborative pilot program focused on reducing the impact of mental or emotional trauma on children. The program shall be developed by the Department of Education, the members of the General Assembly who served as members of the mental health services working group of the Bipartisan Task Force on Gun Violence Prevention and Children's Safety, appointed on January 15, 2013, by the president pro tempore, majority leader and minority leader of the Senate and the speaker, majority leader and minority leader of the House of Representatives and the persons who served as members of the Sandy Hook Advisory Commission, established by the Governor on January 3, 2013, in conjunction with an advisory committee selected pursuant to subsection (c) of this section and comprised of (1) representatives of state agencies and departments, community organizations, private provider agencies operating programs that impact the well-being of children and child advocacy organizations, (2) parents, guardians or caretakers of children that have experienced mental or emotional trauma, (3) health care professionals that serve children and families, and (4) child care providers.
(b) The program shall: (1) Provide funding to (A) increase the availability of social, emotional, behavioral and mental health support in school-based health clinics, (B) expand the availability of social, emotional, behavioral and mental health support in the pilot communities by identifying a network of mental health care providers and physicians, (C) screen children from birth through grade twelve for evidence of mental or emotional trauma, and (D) coordinate community support initiatives and outreach for children from birth through grade twelve suffering from mental or emotional trauma; (2) ensure children receive the necessary emotional and mental health support they need for academic and life success; and (3) establish results-based accountability measures to track progress towards the goals and objectives outlined in the program, including, but not limited to, (A) the number of substantiated reports of children from birth through grade twelve who are victims of abuse or neglect in the pilot communities, (B) the number of incidents of violence involving children from birth through grade twelve in the pilot communities, and (C) the level of academic achievement of children in kindergarten to grade twelve, inclusive, including, but not limited to, the grade distribution, number of disciplinary incidents reported and high school graduation rate in each pilot community.
(c) Not later than January 1, 2014, the chairpersons of the mental health services working group of the Bipartisan Task Force on Gun Violence Prevention and Children's Safety shall (1) appoint the members of the advisory committee described in subsection (a) of this section, and (2) identify three pilot communities of varying social and economic demographics in which to implement the program.
(d) Not later than January 1, 2015, and annually thereafter, each pilot community shall submit a report on the progress of the program, including the results-based accountability measures, to the Department of Education, the chairpersons and ranking members of the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education, children and public health, the members of the General Assembly who served as members of the mental health services working group of the Bipartisan Task Force on Gun Violence Prevention and Children's Safety and the persons who served as members of the Sandy Hook Advisory Commission, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes.
(e) Each pilot community may designate an intermediary organization to receive and distribute funding pursuant to this section. On or before August 1, 2014, each pilot community shall notify the Department of Education as to whether an intermediary, local board of education or municipality shall receive and distribute funding pursuant to this section.
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2013) The sum of six million dollars is appropriated to the Department of Education for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2014, for purposes of section 2 of this act.
Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2013) (a) The Commissioner of Children and Families, in cooperation with the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services shall, within available appropriations, develop and implement a plan to improve children's mental health. The plan shall include recommendations for short-term and long-term initiatives for providing comprehensive mental health assessments, early intervention and treatment services for children from birth through grade twelve.
(b) Such plan shall include recommendations to: (1) Coordinate provider services and interagency referral networks for children from birth through grade twelve to maximize resources and minimize duplication of services; (2) create guidelines, in cooperation with the Commissioner of Education, for incorporating social and emotional development standards into elementary and secondary school education programs; (3) appropriate funds for children's mental health assessments, early intervention and treatment services to state and local agencies; (4) improve state and local integration and coordination of federal, state and local funds for children's mental health care; (5) develop a qualified network of mental health care providers to recognize, diagnose and provide mental health care services to children from birth through grade twelve and the families of such children; (6) gather information on best practices and model programs and disseminate such information to individuals, state and local agencies, community-based organizations and other public and private organizations; (7) create a children's mental health care system, in coordination with a working group of representatives of state agencies and departments, community organizations, private provider agencies operating programs that impact the well-being of children and families, parents and other caretakers of children, child advocacy organizations and health care professionals; and (8) establish results-based accountability measures to track progress towards the goals and objectives outlined in the program.
(c) Not later than July 1, 2014, the Commissioner of Children and Families shall submit, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, the plan to the General Assembly and the Governor. Not later than July 1, 2015, and annually thereafter, the Commissioner of Children and Families shall submit, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, a progress report on the program and recommendations for revisions thereof.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: | ||
Section 1 |
October 1, 2013 |
10-203a |
Sec. 2 |
October 1, 2013 |
New section |
Sec. 3 |
October 1, 2013 |
New section |
Sec. 4 |
October 1, 2013 |
New section |
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In sections 1(a), 2(a) and 2(d), "the members of the General Assembly who served as" was added prior to "the chairpersons of the mental health services working group of the Bipartisan Task Force on Gun Violence Prevention and Children's Safety" and "the persons who served as members of" was added prior to "the Sandy Hook Advisory Commission" for accuracy; in section 2(a), "selected pursuant to subsection (c) of this section and" was added for clarity; in section 2(b), "community" was changed to "pilot communities" for clarity and consistency and "inclusive" was deleted for clarity; in section 2(c), "described in subsection (a) of section 2 of this act" was added for clarity; in section 2(d), "2014" was changed to "2015" for accuracy; in section 2(e), "including but not limited to, the United Way or Community Foundation" was deleted for statutory consistency; in section 4(a), (b) and (c), "program" was changed to "plan" for accuracy and consistency; in section 4(b) "include recommendations to" was added for clarity and statutory consistency; and technical revisions were made for clarity and consistency.
KID |
Joint Favorable Subst. |