Sec. 115.004. TASK FORCE PLAN

(a) In developing the five-year plan under this chapter, the task force shall:

(1) identify the party responsible for each action set forth in the plan and set deadlines for implementation of each recommendation;

(2) create benchmarks to measure progress toward goals and objectives;

(3) consult with the Legislative Budget Board to coordinate relevant cost studies and account for long-term savings of short-term child investments;

(4) consult with personnel from other states to identify best practices;

(5) consult with the state demographer and relevant federal agencies to account for future demographic trends;

(6) consult with pediatric specialists and other health care providers to determine best medical practices;

(7) coordinate with mental health and developmental disability advocates; and

(8) develop a timeline for plan implementation.

(b) The plan created under this chapter must provide recommendations to:

(1) maximize the use of federal funds available to this state for the purposes described by Section 115.002;

(2) reduce the number of families who experience crisis due to insufficient and ineffective interventions or services or lack of coordination and planning of interventions or services;

(3) improve families' ability to navigate the system through improved coordination between service providers and increased outreach;

(4) remove barriers to local coordination of services and supports;

(5) evaluate the feasibility of creating an interagency legally authorized representative program to provide support services for children with special needs;

(6) improve early detection and intervention services;

(7) increase the number of community-based options for children with special needs;

(8) improve accountability for each agency represented on the task force and other service providers;

(9) reduce existing fragmentation of service delivery to reflect best practices and eliminate ineffective interventions;

(10) reduce service gaps and overlap;

(11) improve data management;

(12) prevent unnecessary parental relinquishment of custody;

(13) create a core set of quality measures to determine quality of care and improvements to quality of life; and

(14) improve availability of high-quality community-based acute and long-term care services and supports.

Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 835 , Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2009. Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1133 , Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2009.