§ 120-221. Task Force on the Coordination of Children's Services.
§ 120‑221. Task Forceon the Coordination of Children's Services.
(a) There is createdthe Task Force on the Coordination of Children's Services, which shall be aTask Force of the Commission. The following members of the Commission shallserve on the Task Force:
(1) Five of theCommission members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, asfollows:
a. The Commissionmember who serves on the House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommitteeon Health and Human Services, and the Commission member who is a member of theHouse of Representatives and who also serves on the Legislative OversightCommittee on Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance AbuseServices,
b. The Commissionmember who is a local health director,
c. The Commissionmember who is the parent of a child at risk for behavioral, social, health, orsafety problems or academic failure, and
d. The Commissionmember who is the director of a county department of social services.
(2) Five of theCommission members appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, asfollows:
a. The Commissionmember who is a member of the Senate and serves on the Joint LegislativeEducation Oversight Committee, and the Commission member who serves on theSenate Appropriations Committee on Justice and Public Safety,
b. The Commissionmember who represents a local board of education,
c. The Commissionmember who is a representative of Action for Children of North Carolina, and
d. The Commissionmember who is the director of an area authority or county program.
(3) One designee of eachof the following ex officio Commission members:
a. The Secretary ofHealth and Human Services,
b. The Superintendentof Public Instruction, and
c. The Secretary ofAdministration.
(4) Each cochair of theCommission shall appoint one of the Task Force members as cochair of the TaskForce.
(b) The purpose of theTask Force is to study and recommend changes to the Commission, the Governor,and the General Assembly to improve collaboration and coordination amongagencies that provide services to children, youth, and families with multipleservice needs. Task Force recommendations shall include mechanisms forestablishing clear State leadership, consistent policy direction, and increasedaccountability at the State and local levels. As part of its work, the TaskForce shall:
(1) Identify existingState, regional, and local collaborative bodies (including their charges,scopes of authority, and accountability requirements) that have been created bylegislation, administrative rule, or agency policy and that are charged withserving, protecting, or improving the well‑being of North Carolina'schildren, youth, and families. Once it has identified the collaborative bodies,the Task Force shall consider how they could be consolidated, reorganized, oreliminated in order to improve their effectiveness and accountability, increasethe likelihood that key players will actively participate, and reduceunnecessary duplication of effort. The Task Force shall also consider thecreation of a mechanism for coordination and communication among the State andlocal collaborative bodies, incentives for collaboration, clarification ofroles among agencies, and ways to monitor the extent to which groups arecollaborating.
(2) Study the practicesof agencies currently implementing a system of care platform of practices andmake recommendations regarding whether to adopt those practices statewide andacross child‑serving agencies as the preferred mechanism for providingservices to children, youth, and families. In examining this issue, the TaskForce shall identify those State and local agencies that are currentlyimplementing practices that are consistent with a system of care, those statesthat have implemented a system of care as a statewide policy initiative, andthe extent to which a system of care is cost‑effective.
(3) The Task Force shallalso examine the following principles that are associated with a system of careand determine whether to recommend the adoption of a State policy that reflectsthese principles:
a. Services forchildren should promote success, safety, and permanence.
b. Services should bechild‑ and family‑centered, giving priority to keeping childrenwith their families, in their home, school, and community.
c. Services shouldactively promote early identification and intervention.
d. Services should bedesigned to protect the rights of children.
e. Services shall beintegrated and comprehensive, addressing the child's physical, educational,social, and emotional needs through a single child and family team.
f. Services shall beoutcomes‑accountable and tied to a unified child and family plan.
g. Agency resources andservices shall be shared and coordinated.
h. Services shall beprovided as close to home as appropriate in the least restrictive settingconsistent with what is known to be effective.
i. Services shall beculturally competent.
j. Services shalladdress the unique strengths, needs, and potential of each child and family,and shall be sufficiently flexible to meet highly individualized child andfamily needs.
k. Management of thechild‑serving system is a responsibility shared among all public andprivate child‑serving agencies that should be held collectivelyaccountable for outcomes.
(4) In reviewing principlesrelating to a system of care, the Task Force shall determine whether theyarticulate goals that are measurable and if not, determine whether they couldbe modified to reflect measurable goals.
(5) Study any otherissues the Task Force determines would improve coordination and collaborationamong child‑serving agencies.
(c) The Task Forceshall report at least annually to the Commission or more frequently at therequest of the cochairs of the Commission, and shall also report on April 1 ofeach year to the House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Healthand Human Services, the Senate Appropriations Committee on Health and HumanServices, the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Mental Health,Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services, and the FiscalResearch Division. (2007‑323,s. 10.10(i).)