Monday, June 29, 2009

The Arc of NC: Legislative Victories!

Legislative Victory!

During this difficult budget crisis, we thought we would share some recent legislative victories that will positively affect people with developmental disabilities.
None of these victories would have been possible without the dedication of advocates across the state. We congratulate you are your work and your quick responses to our action alerts!

Here are the victories:
House Bill 672/Session Law 2009-191: Accountability for State Funding MH/DD/SA

On Friday, June 26th, Governor Bev Perdue signed House Bill 672 into law. This important legislation requires LMEs that use single stream funding on a bi-annual basis to report on the allocation of services dollars and receive public comment during a regularly scheduled board of directors meeting. The bill also provides protection to state dollars used to secure HUD funding for group homes and apartments. The last section of the bill directs the Department of Health and Human Service to analyze the effectives of single stream funding and report back to the General Assembly.

House Bill 673/Session Law 2009-186: Support for Developmental Disability Services

On Friday June 26, 2009 Governor Bev Perdue also signed into law House Bill 673: Support for Developmental Disability Services. This bill will re-establish the waiting list for people with developmental disabilities.

This bill included many of the recommendations from the Institute of Medicine Study on Developmental Disabilities. The bill will re-establish a standardized waiting list for people with developmental disabilities who are seeking services.
The waiting list will collect data for people with developmental disabilities who may qualify for the following targeted services

a. Waiting for residential services.
b. Potentially eligible for CAP-MRDD.
c. In need of other State-funded services and supports for people with developmental disabilities.

The creation of this statewide waiting list does not create an entitlement to services for people on the waiting list.

This legislation also adjusts the reauthorization of person center plans for people with developmental disabilities to quarterly, semi-annually, or annually depending on the services that they are currently receiving. In addition the bill permits the Division of MH/DD/SA to begin the process of combining existing service definition to provide more flexibility with the new Tier 1 CAP/MR-DD waiver.

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