Chapter 540 Oregon Laws 2009

AN ACT

HB 2144

Relating to systems of care for youth.

Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:

SECTION 1. As used in sections 1 to 5 of this 2009 Act:

          (1) “Cultural competence” means accepting and respecting diversity and differences in a continuous process of self-assessment and reflection on one’s personal and organizational perceptions of the dynamics of culture.

          (2) “Family” includes, with respect to a youth:

          (a) A biological or legal parent;

          (b) A sibling;

          (c) An individual related by blood, marriage or adoption;

          (d) A foster parent;

          (e) A legal guardian;

          (f) A caregiver;

          (g) An individual with a significant social relationship with the youth; and

          (h) Any person who provides natural, formal or informal support to the youth that the youth identifies as important.

          (3) “Family-run organization” means a private nonprofit entity organized for the purpose of serving families with a youth who has a serious emotional disorder that:

          (a) Has a governing board in which a majority of the members are family members of a youth with a serious emotional disorder; and

          (b) Gives a preference to family members in hiring decisions for the entity.

          (4) “Identified population” means youth who have or are at risk of developing emotional, behavioral or substance use related needs, and who are involved with two or more systems of care.

          (5) “Partner agency” includes the Department of Education, Oregon Youth Authority, Department of Human Services, State Commission on Children and Families and other appropriate agencies involved in the system of care.

          (6) “Services and supports” means public, private and community resources that assist youth in the achievement of positive outcomes.

          (7) “System of care” means a coordinated network of services including education, child welfare, public health, primary care, pediatric care, juvenile justice, mental health treatment, substance use treatment, developmental disability services and any other services and supports to the identified population that integrates care planning and management across multiple levels, that is culturally and linguistically competent, that is designed to build meaningful partnerships with families and youth in the delivery and management of services and the development of policy and that has a supportive policy and management infrastructure.

          (8) “Wraparound” means a definable, team-based planning process involving a youth and the youth’s family that results in a unique set of community services and services and supports individualized for that youth and family to achieve a set of positive outcomes.

          (9) “Youth” means an individual 18 years of age or younger.

SECTION 2. Partner agencies shall participate in a wraparound initiative based upon all of the following core values and principles:

          (1) Family and youth perspectives must be intentionally elicited and prioritized during all system of care and wraparound initiative activities.

          (2) The system of care must:

          (a) Include prevention and early intervention services as well as address the complex needs of the identified population;

          (b) Value youth as experts, respect their voice and treat youth as equal partners in creating system change at the individual, community and state levels;

          (c) Give families the primary decision-making role in the mental health care of their youth as well as in developing policies and procedures governing the care of all youth in their community and in this state including:

          (A) Choosing services and supports and service providers;

          (B) Setting goals for youth;

          (C) Designing and implementing programs for youth;

          (D) Monitoring outcomes for youth; and

          (E) Evaluating the effectiveness of all efforts to promote the mental health and well-being of youth;

          (d) Offer peer-delivered services within the array of services and supports available to meet the needs of youth and families;

          (e) Be community based and include community partners, one of which must be a family-run organization with the ability to provide peer-delivered services and supports and participate in the system of care coordination and decision-making;

          (f) Create a community of support for each youth and family that honors the youth and family’s sense of its own culture;

          (g) Ensure that individuals are treated respectfully, compassionately and effectively in a manner that recognizes, affirms and values the worth of youth, families and communities;

          (h) Protect and preserve the dignity of youth, families and communities; and

          (i) Provide a means for eliciting feedback from individuals affected by the system of care regarding whether the individuals perceive that they are being treated respectfully, compassionately, effectively and with dignity.

SECTION 3. To the extent practicable within available resources, by the year 2015 partner agencies, individually and collectively, shall:

          (1) Implement and sustain the wraparound initiative by:

          (a) Connecting services and supports, including peer-delivered services and supports, across the lifespan and all social, emotional, cognitive and physical developmental stages.

          (b) Building local governance structures to implement systems of care at the local level that conform to the core values and principles described in section 2 of this 2009 Act.

          (c) Managing care through system coordination at the local level.

          (d) Storing coordinated service-related information in an electronic record.

          (e) Establishing an array of services and supports that is readily accessible by the identified population and their families.

          (f) Authorizing services and supports that are based on the strengths and needs of the individual youth.

          (g) Supporting communities in the expansion of creative services and supports to suit local needs.

          (h) Establishing a workforce development process to translate policy into practice efficiently and effectively for improved accessibility and delivery of services and supports.

          (i) Establishing key roles and responsibilities among multiple partner agencies, community partners and family-run organizations involved in the system of care.

          (j) Establishing at least three local system of care sites.

          (2) Ensure cultural competence in the provision of services by:

          (a) Implementing uniform standards to allow state and local agencies to describe the culturally appropriate services and supports available in a system of care.

          (b) Providing youth and families with understandable and effective system of care services in a manner compatible with their cultural beliefs, practices, literacy skills and language.

          (c) Developing and implementing a process to review practices accepted by diverse communities.

          (d) Identifying ways to continually improve culturally competent system of care services and implementing a statewide system of care that reflects culturally competent practices.

          (3) Collect and evaluate data by:

          (a) Creating one or more committees to review and select outcome or performance measures and benchmarks for the wraparound initiative.

          (b) Creating standard agreements for sharing data without compromising confidentiality.

          (c) Supporting the acquisition of information technology that allows local entities to share real-time data and that allows the state to evaluate the quality, accountability and success of local implementation and the wraparound initiative as a whole.

          (d) Implementing workforce development strategies designed to maximize efficiencies and the sharing of knowledge across systems, and achieve identified outcomes and performance measures.

SECTION 4. Agencies participating in the wraparound initiative described in section 2 of this 2009 Act shall have the authority to:

          (1) Combine state, federal and private resources into a single funding pool to support implementation of a system of care and integrated service delivery at the local level.

          (2) Seek federal approval or waiver of federal requirements as necessary to facilitate the pooling of resources under this section.

          (3) In collaboration, adopt rules to implement the wraparound initiative.

SECTION 5. (1) There is established the Children’s Wraparound Initiative Advisory Committee consisting of members representing:

          (a) Partner agencies;

          (b) Local service providers;

          (c) Youth and the family of youth who have current or past involvement with at least two partner agencies; and

          (d) Organizations that advocate for youth.

          (2) The majority of members of the committee shall be representatives of youth or the family of youth and advocacy organizations.

          (3) The committee shall advise and assist in the implementation of the wraparound initiative described in section 2 of this 2009 Act.

          (4) The Department of Human Services, in consultation with the committee, shall report biennially to the Governor and the Legislative Assembly on the progress toward and projected costs of full implementation of the wraparound initiative.

Approved by the Governor June 25, 2009

Filed in the office of Secretary of State June 25, 2009

Effective date January 1, 2010

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