§ 4301. Definitions
As used in this chapter:
(1) “Child with a disability” means a child who either is eligible for early essential
education or special education under State or federal law, or who is a child or adolescent
with a severe emotional disturbance.
(2) “Coordinated service plan” means a written addendum to each service plan developed
by an individual agency for a child or adolescent with severe emotional disturbances
that shall be developed when the child has needs that require services from more than
one agency. The coordinated services plan shall be designed to meet the needs of
the child within his or her family or in an out-of-home placement, and in the school
and the community. The coordinated services plan shall:
(A) be based upon an appropriate assessment of the individual needs of the child;
(B) identify service needs of the child;
(C) identify services that are currently being provided;
(D) identify public or private agencies that currently provide each needed service, and
how each needed service is funded;
(E) if any service need is not being met, include an explanation of why the service is
not being provided, including lack of funds or the fact that service is not available;
(F) delineate case management responsibilities;
(G) include a reintegration plan when an out-of-home placement is made or recommended;
and
(H) be developed with the opportunity for participation from parents, a guardian, or a
surrogate parent appointed pursuant to Pub. L. No. 94-142.
(3) “Child or adolescent with a severe emotional disturbance” means a person who:
(A) exhibits a behavioral, emotional, or social impairment that disrupts his or her academic
or developmental progress or family or interpersonal relationships;
(B) has impaired functioning that has continued for at least one year or has an impairment
of short duration and high severity;
(C) is under 18 years of age, or is under 22 years of age and eligible for special education
under State or federal law; and
(D) falls into one or more of the following categories, whether or not he or she is diagnosed
with other serious disorders such as developmental disability, severe neurological
dysfunction, or sensory impairments:
(i) children and adolescents who exhibit seriously impaired contact with reality and severely
impaired social, academic, and self-care functioning whose thinking is frequently
confused, whose behavior may be grossly inappropriate and bizarre and whose emotional
reactions are frequently inappropriate to the situation;
(ii) children and adolescents who are classified as management or conduct disordered because
they manifest long-term behavior problems, including developmentally inappropriate
inattention, hyperactivity, impulsiveness, aggressiveness, antisocial acts, refusal
to accept limits, suicidal behavior, or substance abuse;
(iii) children and adolescents who suffer serious discomfort from anxiety, depression, irrational
fears, and concerns whose symptoms may be exhibited as serious eating and sleeping
disturbances, extreme sadness of suicidal proportion, maladaptive dependence on parents,
persistent refusal to attend school, or avoidance of nonfamilial social contact. (Added 1987, No. 264 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; amended 1989, No. 203 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2013, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 213; 2021, No. 20, § 329.)
§ 4302. State interagency team
(a) A State interagency team is created and shall consist of eight members:
(1) The Director of the division responsible for special education for the Agency of Education.
(2) The Agency of Education’s consultant for children and adolescents with a severe emotional
disturbance.
(3) The Director of the division responsible for children’s mental health for the Department
of Mental Health.
(4) The Chief of the Children, Adolescents, and Family Unit in the Division of Children’s
Mental Health Services for the Department of Mental Health.
(5) The Deputy Commissioner for the Family Services Division of the Department for Children
and Families.
(6) The placement consultant for the Family Services Division of the Department for Children
and Families.
(7) A representative of the Secretary of Human Services.
(8) A parent of a child or adolescent with a severe emotional disturbance. The parent
shall receive compensation in accordance with the provisions of 32 V.S.A. § 1010, and the compensation shall be paid for by the Agency of Human Services.
(b) The State interagency team shall have the following powers and duties:
(1) Submit an annual report to the Commissioners of Mental Health and for Children and
Families and the Secretary of Education on the status of programs for children and
adolescents with a severe emotional disturbance, which shall include a system of care
plan. The system of care plan shall identify the characteristics and number of children
and adolescents with a severe emotional disturbance in need of services, describe
the educational, residential, mental health, or other services needed, describe the
programs and resources currently available, recommend a plan to meet the needs of
such children and adolescents, and recommend priorities for the continuation or development
of programs and resources.
(2) Develop and coordinate the provision of services to children and adolescents with
a severe emotional disturbance.
(3) Make recommendations to the local interagency team for resolution of any case of a
child or adolescent with a severe emotional disturbance referred by a local interagency
team under subsection 4303(f) of this chapter.
(4) Recommend to the Secretaries of Human Services and of Education and the Commissioners
of Mental Health and for Children and Families any fiscal, policy, or programmatic
change at the local, regional, or State level necessary to enhance the State’s system
of care for children and adolescents with a severe emotional disturbance and their
families. (Added 1987, No. 264 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; amended 1989, No. 187 (Adj. Sess.), § 5; 1995, No. 174 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2013, No. 92 (Adj. Sess.), § 295, eff. Feb. 14, 2014; 2013, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 69, eff. May 20, 2014.)
§ 4303. Local interagency teams
(a) There shall be at least one local interagency team for each administrative district
established by the Department for Children and Families whose permanent membership
shall include:
(1) The person from the designated community mental health agency for that district responsible
for coordinating children’s services.
(2) The person managing the family services district office of the Department for Children
and Families for that district.
(3) A special education administrator from a school district in that district.
(4) A person designated by the Secretary of Human Services.
(5) A parent of a child or adolescent with a severe emotional disturbance. The parent
shall receive compensation in accordance with the provisions of 32 V.S.A. § 1010, and the compensation shall be paid for by the Agency of Human Services.
(b) In addition to the permanent members, the local interagency team reviewing the case
of a child or adolescent shall include as ad hoc members the special education administrator
of the school district serving the child or adolescent and the parents of the child
or adolescent. The local interagency team may appoint on an ad hoc basis, other persons
determined to be necessary for the effectiveness of the team.
(c) The local interagency team shall appoint one of its permanent members to be chair.
If the local interagency team cannot agree on a chair, one will be appointed by the
State interagency team.
(d) A referral may be made by a local agency, service provider, or parent concerning a
child or adolescent with a severe emotional disturbance when agreement cannot be reached
with respect to the provision of appropriate services for the child or adolescent.
When a referral is made, the local interagency team shall:
(1) make recommendations concerning the following matters upon which agreement cannot
be reached: assessment of the child, coordinated service planning, and the provision
of services for the child or adolescent;
(2) review the coordinated services plan for the child or adolescent and amend the plan
if necessary.
(e) The local interagency team may meet at the request of any agency or parent to serve
as a forum for consideration of general issues relating to implementation of the provisions
of this chapter.
(f) After all attempts have been made without success to resolve any matter considered
under subsection (d) or (e) of this section the matter shall be referred to the State
interagency team.
(g) The local interagency team annually shall inform all local agencies and service providers
for children and adolescents with severe emotional disturbances of the provisions
of this chapter and any implementing rules or procedures. (Added 1987, No. 264 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; amended 1989, No. 203 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 2, 3; 2013, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 70, eff. May 20, 2014.)
§ 4304. Repealed. 1987, No. 264 (Adj. Sess.), § 17, eff. Jan. 15, 1992.
§ 4304a. Advisory Board
(a) An advisory board is created to advise the Secretary of Education and the Commissioners
of Mental Health and for Children and Families about children and adolescents with
a severe emotional disturbance and their families.
(b) The Advisory Board shall also advise the Secretary and the Commissioners on the development
of the system of care plan described in subsection 4305(c) of this title.
(c) The State interagency team shall recommend to the Governor a list of potential Board
members. The Governor shall appoint from that list three parents of children or adolescents
with a severe emotional disturbance, three advocates from organizations working on
behalf of children and adolescents with a severe emotional disturbance, and three
professionals in related fields or service organizations.
(d) Members of the Board shall serve for a term of three years, beginning April 1 of the
year of appointment or until their successors are appointed. Initially one-third of
the members shall be appointed to one-year terms, one-third to two-year terms, and
one-third to three-year terms. Thereafter, members shall be appointed for three-year
terms.
(e) The Board shall elect a chair from among its members. The Board shall meet annually
at the call of the Chair, and other meetings may be called by the Chair at such times
and places as the Chair deems necessary.
(f) The members of the Board who are employees of the State shall receive no additional
compensation for their services, but actual and necessary expenses shall be allowed
State employees and shall be charged to their departments. The members of the Board
who are not State employees shall receive compensation as provided in 32 V.S.A. § 1010, and that compensation shall be paid by the Agency of Human Services. (Added 1993, No. 203 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1997, No. 147 (Adj. Sess.), § 138b; 1995, No. 174 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2013, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 71, eff. May 20, 2014; 2015, No. 23, § 59.)
§ 4305. Coordinated system of care
(a)(1) Services provided by or through the Departments of Mental Health and for Children
and Families and the Agency of Education to children and adolescents with a severe
emotional disturbance shall be pursuant to a coordinated services plan, developed
in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
(2) Nothing in the provisions of this chapter shall be construed to grant an entitlement
to any child or adolescent with a severe emotional disturbance to receive any educational,
residential, mental health, or other service until and unless the General Assembly
further provides that such children and adolescents or any subgroup thereof are so
entitled.
(b)(1) The State Board of Education, the Department of Mental Health, and the Department
for Children and Families shall jointly adopt rules implementing the provisions of
this chapter. Such rules shall:
(A) provide guidelines for local interagency teams for development of procedures, with
public participation, relating to:
(i) referral, assessment, development, annual review, and revision of coordinated service
plans, and time frames for these activities;
(ii) fixing responsibility for case management; and
(iii) notice to parents and guardians and other agencies;
(B) protect the rights of children and adolescents and their parents and guardians concerning
consent and confidentiality; and
(C) ensure that matters unresolved after State interagency team review are subject to
procedures for notice, hearing, and decisions of contested cases consistent with the
provisions of 3 V.S.A. chapter 25.
(2) Local interagency teams shall submit procedures developed in accordance with the rules
adopted under subdivision (1)(A) of this subsection to the Advisory Board for review
and comment. Thereafter, the proposed procedures shall be submitted to the Secretary
and the Commissioners, who shall approve the procedures if all the elements specified
in subdivision (1)(A) of this subsection are satisfied.
(c) The Commissioners of Mental Health and for Children and Families and the Secretary
of Education shall jointly submit to the General Assembly a report on the status of
programs for children and adolescents with a severe emotional disturbance and their
families, which shall include a system of care plan. The report shall be submitted
together with the general appropriation bill provided for by 32 V.S.A. § 701. The system of care plan shall:
(1) identify the characteristics and number of children and adolescents with a severe
emotional disturbance in need of appropriate services, describe the educational, residential,
mental health or other treatment services needed, describe currently available programs
and resources, recommend a plan to meet the needs of such children, recommend priorities
for the continuation or development of programs and resources, and make an assessment
of the success of such programs; and
(2) provide information as available on the extent to which children and adolescents with
a severe emotional disturbance have not received services, the characteristics and
number of those children and adolescents who have not received services and recommendations
on how to address their identified needs.
(d) Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed to diminish the rights of children
with disabilities, their parents, guardians, or surrogate parents under federal or
State law, including confidentiality, consent for services and evaluation, and parental
involvement.
(e) Nothing contained in this chapter shall entitle children and adolescents with a severe
emotional disturbance to special education services unless they are otherwise eligible
for such services under State or federal law.
(f) Except as otherwise provided in chapters 51, 52, and 53 of this title, the receipt
of appropriate services for a child or adolescent with a severe emotional disturbance
or the child or adolescent’s family, including an out-of-home placement, shall not
be conditioned on placement of the child or adolescent in the legal custody, protective
supervision, or protection of the Department for Children and Families. (Added 1987, No. 264 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; amended 1989, No. 187 (Adj. Sess.), § 5; 1989, No. 203 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 4, 5; 1995, No. 137 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1995, No. 174 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2013, No. 92 (Adj. Sess.), § 296, eff. Feb. 14, 2014; 2013, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 72, eff. May 20, 2014; 2015, No. 23, § 60.)