Virginia Law

A. The purpose of this section is to identify the minimum data needs and process requirements for the state MRA to determine whether or not the applicant or resident with mental retardation or a related condition needs a continuous specialized services program. Minimum data collected must include the individual's comprehensive history and physical examination results to identify the following information or, in the absence of data, must include information that permits a reviewer specifically to assess:

1. The individual's medical problems;

2. The level of impact these problems have on the individual's independent functioning;

3. All current medications used by the individual and the current response of the individual to any prescribed medications in the following drug groups: hypnotics, antipsychotics (neuroleptics), mood stabilizers and antidepressants, antianxiety-sedative agents, and anti-Parkinsonian agents.

4. Self-monitoring of health status;

5. Self-administering and scheduling of medical treatments;

6. Self-monitoring of nutritional status;

7. Self-help development such as toileting, dressing, grooming, and eating;

8. Sensorimotor development, such as ambulation, positioning, transfer skills, gross motor dexterity, visual motor perception, fine motor dexterity, eye-hand coordination, and extent to which prosthetic, orthotic, corrective or mechanical supportive devices can improve the individual's functional capacity;

9. Speech and language (communication) development, such as expressive language (verbal and nonverbal), receptive language (verbal and nonverbal), extent to which nonoral communication systems can improve the individual's function capacity, auditory functioning, and extent to which amplification devices (e.g. hearing aid) or a program of amplification can improve the individual's functional capacity;

10. Social development, such as interpersonal skills, recreation-leisure skills, and relationships with others;

11. Academic/educational development, including functional learning skills;

12. Independent living development such as meal preparation, budgeting and personal finances, survival skills, mobility skills (orientation to the neighborhood, town, city), laundry, housekeeping, shopping, bed making, care of clothing, and orientation skills (for individuals with visual impairments);

13. Vocational development, including present vocational skills;

14. Affective development such as interests, and skills involved with expressing emotions, making judgments, and making independent decisions; and

15. The presence of identifiable maladaptive or inappropriate behaviors of the individual based on systematic observation (including, but not limited to, the frequency and intensity of identified maladaptive or inappropriate behaviors).

B. The state must ensure that a licensed psychologist identifies the intellectual functioning measurement of individuals with MR or a related condition. Based on the data compiled, the MRA, using appropriate personnel as designated by the state, must validate that the individual has MR or is a person with a related condition and must determine whether specialized services for MR/RC are needed. In making this determination, the MHA must make a qualitative judgment on the extent to which the person's status reflects, singly and collectively, the characteristics commonly associated with the need for specialized services, including:

1. Inability to take care of most personal care needs; understand simple commands; communicate basic needs and wants; be employed at a productive wage level without systematic long term supervision or support; learn new skills without aggressive and consistent training; apply skills learned in a training situation to other environments or settings without aggressive and consistent training; demonstrate behavior appropriate to the time, situation or place without direct supervision; and make decisions requiring informed consent without extreme difficulty;

2. Demonstration of severe maladaptive behavior(s) that place the person or others in jeopardy to health and safety; and

3. Presence of other skill deficits or specialized training needs that necessitate the availability of trained MR personnel, 24 hours per day, to teach the person functional skills.