GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1993 SESSION
CHAPTER 487
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1. G.S. 143B-179.5 reads as rewritten:
"§
143B-179.5. Interagency Coordinating Council for Handicapped Children
from Birth to Five Years of Age; with Disabilities and Their
Families; establishment, composition, organization; duties, compensation,
reporting.
(a) There is established
an Interagency Coordinating Council for Handicapped Children
from Birth to Five Years of Age with Disabilities and Their Families in
the Department of Human Resources.
(b) The Interagency
Coordinating Council for Early Intervention Services shall have 26
members, appointed by the Governor, for terms of two years and until their
successors are appointed and qualify. Governor. Effective July 1,
1994, the Governor shall designate 13 appointees to serve for two years and 13
appointees to serve for one year. Thereafter, the terms of all Council
members shall be two years. The Governor shall have the power to
remove any member of the Council from office in accordance with the provisions
of G.S. 143B-16. Any appointment to fill a vacancy on the Council created
by the resignation, dismissal, death, or disability of a member shall be for
the balance of the unexpired term. Members may be appointed to succeed
themselves for one term and may be appointed again, after being off the Council
for one term.
The composition of the Council and the designation of the
Council's chair shall be as follows: specified in the
'Individuals with Disabilities Education Act' (IDEA), P.L. 102-119, the federal
early intervention legislation, except that two members shall be members of the
Senate, appointed from recommendations of the President Pro Tempore of the
Senate and two members shall be members of the House of Representatives, appointed
from recommendations of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(1) At least
three members who are parents of infants or toddlers eligible for services
pursuant to G.S. 122C-3(13a) or of handicapped children aged three through six;
(2) At least
three other members who are providers of early intervention services;
(3) Two members
of the Senate, appointed from recommendations of the President Pro Tempore and
two members of the House of Representatives, appointed from recommendations of
the Speaker;
(4) At least one
other member who is a person involved in staff development;
(5) Other
members who represent the Department of Public Instruction, the Department of
Human Resources, the Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources,
and other appropriate agencies involved in the provision of or payment for
early intervention services to infants and toddlers and their families; and
(6) At least
eight members to represent the public at large.
(c) At the first meeting
following the appointments, the Council shall elect a parent and a professional
as cochairs, who The chair may establish those standing and ad hoc
committees and task forces as may be necessary to carry out the functions of
the Council and appoint Council members or other individuals to serve on these
committees and task forces. The Council shall meet at least
quarterly. A majority of the Council shall constitute a quorum for the
transaction of business.
(d) The Council shall advise the Departments of Human Resources, and Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, and other appropriate agencies in carrying out their early intervention services, and the Department of Public Instruction, and other appropriate agencies, in their activities related to the provision of special education services for preschoolers. The Council shall specifically address in its studies and evaluations that it considers necessary to its advising:
(1) The identification of sources of fiscal and other support for the early intervention system;
(2) The development of policies related to the early intervention services;
(3) The preparation of applications for available federal funds;
(4) The resolution of interagency disputes; and
(5) The promotion of interagency agreements.
(e) Members of the Council and parents on ad hoc committees and task forces of the Council shall receive travel and subsistence expenses in accordance with the provisions of G.S. 138-5.
(f) The Council shall prepare and submit an annual report to the Governor and to the General Assembly on the status of the early intervention system for eligible infants and toddlers and on the status of special education services for preschoolers.
All clerical and other services required by the Council shall be supplied by the Secretary of Human Resources and the Superintendent of Public Instruction, as specified by the interagency agreement authorized by G.S. 122C-112(a)(13)."
Sec. 2. G.S. 122C-112(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a) The Secretary shall:
(1) Enforce the provisions of this Chapter and the rules of the Commission and the Secretary;
(2) Assist counties and area authorities in the establishment and operation of community-based programs within catchment areas specified in rules adopted by the Commission;
(3) Operate State facilities and adopt rules pertaining to their operation;
(4) Promote a unified system of services for the citizens of this State by coordinating services provided in State facilities and area facilities;
(5) Approve the plans and budgets of an area authority and adopt rules pertaining to the content and format of these plans and budgets;
(6) Adopt rules governing the expenditure of all area authority funds;
(7) Adopt rules for the establishment of single portal designation and approve an area as a single portal area;
(8) Except as provided in G.S. 122C-26(4), adopt rules establishing procedures for waiver of rules adopted by the Secretary under this Chapter;
(9) Notify the clerks of superior court of changes in the designation of State facility regions and of facilities designated under G.S. 122C-252;
(10) Promote public awareness and understanding of mental health, mental illness, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse;
(11) Administer and enforce rules that are conditions of participation in federal or State financial aid;
(12) Carry out G.S. 122C-361; and
(13) Ensure, in cooperation with other appropriate agencies, that all types of early intervention services specified in the 'Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), P.L. 102-119, the federal early intervention legislation, are available to all eligible infants and toddlers and their families to the extent funded by the General Assembly.
The Secretary shall coordinate Coordinate and facilitate the
development and administration of the early intervention system for eligible
infants and toddlers and shall assign among the cooperating agencies the
responsibility, including financial responsibility, for services. The
Secretary shall be advised by the Interagency Coordinating Council for Handicapped
Children from Birth to Five Years of Age, with Disabilities and
Their Families, established by G.S. 143B-179.5, and may enter into formal
interagency agreements to establish the collaborative relationships with the
Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, the Department of
Public Instruction, other appropriate agencies, and other public and private
service providers necessary to administer the system and deliver the services.
The Secretary shall adopt rules to implement the early intervention system, in cooperation with all other appropriate agencies."
Sec. 3. G.S. 122C-146 reads as rewritten:
"§ 122C-146. Fee for service.
The area authority and its contractual agencies shall prepare
fee schedules for services and shall make every reasonable effort to collect
appropriate reimbursement for costs in providing these services from
individuals or entities able to pay, including insurance and third-party
payment, except that individuals may not be charged for services involving
multidisciplinary evaluations, intervention plan development, and case
management services free services, as required in 'The Amendments to the
Education of the Handicapped Act', P.L. 99-457, provided to eligible
infants and toddlers and their families. This exemption from charges does
not exempt insurors or other third-party payors from being charged for payment
for these services. services, if the person who is legally
responsible for any eligible infant or toddler is first advised that the person
may or may not grant permission for the insurer or other payor to be billed for
the free services. However, no individual may be refused services
because of an inability to pay. All funds collected from fees from area
authority operated services shall be used for the fiscal operation or capital
improvements of the area authority's programs. The collection of fees by
an area authority may not be used as justification for reduction or replacement
of the budgeted commitment of local tax revenue."
Sec. 4. This act is effective upon ratification.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 23rd day of July, 1993.
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Dennis A. Wicker
President of the Senate
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Daniel Blue, Jr.
Speaker of the House of Representatives