Virginia Law

Article 16. State Executive Council for Children's Services.

A. The State Executive Council for Children's Services (the Council) is established as a supervisory council, within the meaning of § 2.2-2100, in the executive branch of state government.

B. The Council shall consist of one member of the House of Delegates to be appointed by the Speaker of the House and one member of the Senate to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules; the Commissioners of Health, of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, and of Social Services; the Superintendent of Public Instruction; the Executive Secretary of the Virginia Supreme Court; the Director of the Department of Juvenile Justice; the Director of the Department of Medical Assistance Services; the Commissioner of the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services; a juvenile and domestic relations district court judge, to be appointed by the Governor and serve as an ex officio nonvoting member; the chairman of the state and local advisory team established in § 2.2-5201; five local government representatives chosen from members of a county board of supervisors or a city council and a county administrator or city manager, to be appointed by the Governor; two private provider representatives from facilities that maintain membership in an association of providers for children's or family services and receives funding as authorized by the Children's Services Act (§ 2.2-5200 et seq.), to be appointed by the Governor, who may appoint from nominees recommended by the Virginia Coalition of Private Provider Associations; a representative who has previously received services through the Children's Services Act, to be appointed by the Governor with recommendations from entities including the Departments of Education and Social Services and the Virginia Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness; and two parent representatives. The parent representatives shall be appointed by the Governor for a term not to exceed three years and neither shall be an employee of any public or private program that serves children and families. The Governor's appointments shall be for a term not to exceed three years and shall be limited to no more than two consecutive terms, beginning with appointments after July 1, 2009. Legislative members and ex officio members of the Council shall serve terms coincident with their terms of office. Appointments to fill vacancies, other than by expiration of a term, shall be for the unexpired terms. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments. Legislative members shall not be included for the purposes of constituting a quorum.

C. The Council shall be chaired by the Secretary of Health and Human Resources or a designated deputy who shall be responsible for convening the council. The Council shall meet, at a minimum, quarterly, to oversee the administration of this article and make such decisions as may be necessary to carry out its purposes. Legislative members shall receive compensation as provided in § 30-19.12 and nonlegislative citizen members shall receive compensation for their services as provided in §§ 2.2-2813 and 2.2-2825.

D. The Council shall have the following powers and duties:

1. Hire and supervise a director of the Office of Children's Services;

2. Appoint the members of the state and local advisory team in accordance with the requirements of § 2.2-5201;

3. Provide for the establishment of interagency programmatic and fiscal policies developed by the Office of Children's Services, which support the purposes of the Children's Services Act (§ 2.2-5200 et seq.), through the promulgation of regulations by the participating state boards or by administrative action, as appropriate;

4. Provide for a public participation process for programmatic and fiscal guidelines and dispute resolution procedures developed for administrative actions that support the purposes of the Children's Services Act (§ 2.2-5200 et seq.). The public participation process shall include, at a minimum, 60 days of public comment and the distribution of these guidelines and procedures to all interested parties;

5. Oversee the administration of and consult with the Virginia Municipal League and the Virginia Association of Counties about state policies governing the use, distribution and monitoring of moneys in the state pool of funds and the state trust fund;

6. Provide for the administration of necessary functions that support the work of the Office of Children's Services;

7. Review and take appropriate action on issues brought before it by the Office of Children's Services, Community Policy and Management Teams (CPMTs), local governments, providers and parents;

8. Advise the Governor and appropriate Cabinet Secretaries on proposed policy and operational changes that facilitate interagency service development and implementation, communication and cooperation;

9. Provide administrative support and fiscal incentives for the establishment and operation of local comprehensive service systems;

10. Oversee coordination of early intervention programs to promote comprehensive, coordinated service delivery, local interagency program management, and co-location of programs and services in communities. Early intervention programs include state programs under the administrative control of the state executive council member agencies;

11. Oversee the development and implementation of a mandatory uniform assessment instrument and process to be used by all localities to identify levels of risk of Children's Services Act (CSA) youth;

12. Oversee the development and implementation of uniform guidelines to include initial intake and screening assessment, development and implementation of a plan of care, service monitoring and periodic follow-up, and the formal review of the status of the youth and the family;

13. Oversee the development and implementation of uniform guidelines for documentation for CSA-funded services;

14. Review and approve a request by a CPMT to establish a collaborative, multidisciplinary team process for referral and reviews of children and families pursuant to § 2.2-5209;

15. Oversee the development and implementation of mandatory uniform guidelines for utilization management; each locality receiving funds for activities under the Children's Services Act shall have a locally determined utilization management plan following the guidelines or use of a process approved by the Council for utilization management, covering all CSA-funded services;

16. Oversee the development and implementation of uniform data collection standards and the collection of data, utilizing a secure electronic client-specific database for CSA-funded services, which shall include, but not be limited to, the following client specific information: (i) children served, including those placed out of state; (ii) individual characteristics of youths and families being served; (iii) types of services provided; (iv) service utilization including length of stay; (v) service expenditures; (vi) provider identification number for specific facilities and programs identified by the state in which the child receives services; (vii) a data field indicating the circumstances under which the child ends each service; and (viii) a data field indicating the circumstances under which the child exits the Children's Services Act program. All client-specific information shall remain confidential and only non-identifying aggregate demographic, service, and expenditure information shall be made available to the public;

17. Oversee the development and implementation of a uniform set of performance measures for evaluating the Children's Services Act program, including, but not limited to, the number of youths served in their homes, schools and communities. Performance measures shall be based on information: (i) collected in the client-specific database referenced in subdivision 16, (ii) from the mandatory uniform assessment instrument referenced in subdivision 11, and (iii) from available and appropriate client outcome data that is not prohibited from being shared under federal law and is routinely collected by the state child-serving agencies that serve on the Council. If provided client-specific information, state child serving agencies shall report available and appropriate outcome data in clause (iii) to the Office of Children's Services. Outcome data submitted to the Office of Children's Services shall be used solely for the administration of the Children's Services Act program. Applicable client outcome data shall include, but not be limited to: (a) permanency outcomes by the Virginia Department of Social Services, (b) recidivism outcomes by the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice, and (c) educational outcomes by the Virginia Department of Education. All client-specific information shall remain confidential and only non-identifying aggregate outcome information shall be made available to the public;

18. Oversee the development and distribution of management reports that provide information to the public and CPMTs to help evaluate child and family outcomes and public and private provider performance in the provision of services to children and families through the Children's Services Act program. Management reports shall include total expenditures on children served through the Children's Services Act program as reported to the Office of Children's Services by state child-serving agencies on the Council and shall include, but not be limited to: (i) client-specific payments for inpatient and outpatient mental health services, treatment foster care services and residential services made through the Medicaid program and reported by the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services and (ii) client-specific payments made through the Title IV-E foster care program reported by the Virginia Department of Social Services. The Office of Children's Services shall provide client-specific information to the state agencies for the sole purpose of the administration of the Children's Services Act program. All client-specific information shall remain confidential and only non-identifying aggregate demographic, service, expenditure, and outcome information shall be made available to the public;

19. Establish and oversee the operation of an informal review and negotiation process with the Director of the Office of Children's Services and a formal dispute resolution procedure before the State Executive Council, which include formal notice and an appeals process, should the Director or Council find, upon a formal written finding, that a CPMT failed to comply with any provision of this Act. "Formal notice" means the Director or Council provides a letter of notification, which communicates the Director's or the Council's finding, explains the effect of the finding, and describes the appeal process, to the chief administrative officer of the local government with a copy to the chair of the CPMT. The dispute resolution procedure shall also include provisions for remediation by the CPMT that shall include a plan of correction recommended by the Council and submitted to the CPMT. If the Council denies reimbursement from the state pool of funds, the Council and the locality shall develop a plan of repayment;

20. Deny state funding to a locality, in accordance with subdivision 19, where the CPMT fails to provide services that comply with the Children's Services Act (§ 2.2-5200 et seq.), any other state law or policy, or any federal law pertaining to the provision of any service funded in accordance with § 2.2-5211;

21. Biennially publish and disseminate to members of the General Assembly and community policy and management teams a state progress report on comprehensive services to children, youth and families and a plan for such services for the next succeeding biennium. The state plan shall:

a. Provide a fiscal profile of current and previous years' federal and state expenditures for a comprehensive service system for children, youth and families;

b. Incorporate information and recommendations from local comprehensive service systems with responsibility for planning and delivering services to children, youth and families;

c. Identify and establish goals for comprehensive services and the estimated costs of implementing these goals, report progress toward previously identified goals and establish priorities for the coming biennium;

d. Report and analyze expenditures associated with children who do not receive pool funding and have emotional and behavioral problems;

e. Identify funding streams used to purchase services in addition to pooled, Medicaid, and Title IV-E funding; and

f. Include such other information or recommendations as may be necessary and appropriate for the improvement and coordinated development of the state's comprehensive services system; and

22. Oversee the development and implementation of mandatory uniform guidelines for intensive care coordination services for children who are at risk of entering, or are placed in, residential care through the Children's Services Act program. The guidelines shall: (i) take into account differences among localities, (ii) specify children and circumstances appropriate for intensive care coordination services, (iii) define intensive care coordination services, and (iv) distinguish intensive care coordination services from the regular case management services provided within the normal scope of responsibility for the child-serving agencies, including the community services board, the local school division, local social services agency, court service unit, and Department of Juvenile Justice. Such guidelines shall address: (a) identifying the strengths and needs of the child and his family through conducting or reviewing comprehensive assessments including, but not limited to, information gathered through the mandatory uniform assessment instrument; (b) identifying specific services and supports necessary to meet the identified needs of the child and his family, building upon the identified strengths; (c) implementing a plan for returning the youth to his home, relative's home, family-like setting, or community at the earliest appropriate time that addresses his needs, including identification of public or private community-based services to support the youth and his family during transition to community-based care; and (d) implementing a plan for regular monitoring and utilization review of the services and residential placement for the child to determine whether the services and placement continue to provide the most appropriate and effective services for the child and his family.

1992, cc. 837, 880, § 2.1-746; 1995, c. 800; 1996, c. 1024; 1998, c. 622; 1999, c. 669; 2000, cc. 900, 937; 2001, c. 844; 2002, c. 410; 2003, cc. 483, 498; 2004, c. 836; 2005, c. 930; 2008, cc. 39, 170, 277; 2009, cc. 274, 712, 813, 840; 2010, c. 346; 2011, cc. 397, 413; 2012, cc. 223, 746; 2014, c. 406; 2015, c. 366; 2016, c. 443; 2023, c. 567.

A. The Office of Children's Services is hereby established to serve as the administrative entity of the Council and to ensure that the decisions of the council are implemented. The director shall be hired by and subject to the direction and supervision of the Council pursuant to § 2.2-2648.

B. The director of the Office of Children's Services shall:

1. Develop and recommend to the state executive council programs and fiscal policies that promote and support cooperation and collaboration in the provision of services to troubled and at-risk youths and their families at the state and local levels;

2. Develop and recommend to the Council state interagency policies governing the use, distribution and monitoring of moneys in the state pool of funds and the state trust fund;

3. Develop and provide for the consistent oversight for program administration and compliance with state policies and procedures;

4. Provide for training and technical assistance to localities in the provision of efficient and effective services that are responsive to the strengths and needs of troubled and at-risk youths and their families;

5. Serve as liaison to the participating state agencies that administratively support the Office and that provide other necessary services;

6. Provide an informal review and negotiation process pursuant to subdivision D 19 of § 2.2-2648;

7. Implement, in collaboration with participating state agencies, policies, guidelines and procedures adopted by the State Executive Council;

8. Consult regularly with the Virginia Municipal League, the Virginia Coalition of Private Provider Associations, and the Virginia Association of Counties about implementation and operation of the Children's Services Act (§ 2.2-5200 et seq.);

9. Hire appropriate staff as approved by the Council;

10. Identify, disseminate, and provide annual training for CSA staff and other interested parties on best practices and evidence-based practices related to the Children's Services Act Program;

11. Perform such other duties as may be assigned by the State Executive Council;

12. Develop and implement uniform data collection standards and collect data, utilizing a secure electronic database for CSA-funded services, in accordance with subdivision D 16 of § 2.2-2648;

13. Develop and implement a uniform set of performance measures for the Children's Services Act program in accordance with subdivision D 17 of § 2.2-2648;

14. Develop, implement, and distribute management reports in accordance with subdivision D 18 of § 2.2-2648;

15. Report to the Council all expenditures associated with serving children who receive pool-funded services. The report shall include expenditures for (i) all services purchased with pool funding; (ii) treatment, foster care case management, community-based mental health services, and residential care funded by Medicaid; and (iii) child-specific payments made through the Title IV-E program;

16. Report to the Council on the nature and cost of all services provided to the population of at-risk and troubled children identified by the State Executive Council as within the scope of the CSA program;

17. Develop and distribute model job descriptions for the position of Children's Services Act Coordinator and provide technical assistance to localities and their coordinators to help them to guide localities in prioritizing coordinator's responsibilities toward activities to maximize program effectiveness and minimize spending;

18. Develop and distribute guidelines, approved by the State Executive Council, regarding the development and use of multidisciplinary teams, in order to encourage utilization of multidisciplinary teams in service planning and to reduce Family Assessment and Planning Team caseloads to allow Family Assessment and Planning Teams to devote additional time to more complex and potentially costly cases; and

19. Provide for the effective implementation of the Children's Services Act (§ 2.2-5200 et seq.) in all localities by (i) regularly monitoring local performance measures and child and family outcomes; (ii) using audit, performance, and outcomes data to identify local programs that need technical assistance; and (iii) working with local programs that are consistently underperforming to develop a corrective action plan for submission to the Office and the Council.

C. The director of the Office of Children's Services, in order to provide support and assistance to the Children's Policy and Management Teams (CPMTs) and Family Assessment and Planning Teams (FAPTs) established pursuant to the Children's Services Act (§ 2.2-5200 et seq.), shall:

1. Develop and maintain a web-based statewide automated database, with support from the Department of Information Technology or its successor agency, of the authorized vendors of the Children's Services Act (CSA) services to include verification of a vendor's licensure status, a listing of each discrete CSA service offered by the vendor, and the discrete CSA service's rate determined in accordance with § 2.2-5214; and

2. Develop, in consultation with the Department of General Services, CPMTs, and vendors, a standardized purchase of services contract, which in addition to general contract provisions when utilizing state pool funds will enable localities to specify the discrete service or services they are purchasing for the specified client, the required reporting of the client's service data, including types and numbers of disabilities, mental health and intellectual disability diagnoses, or delinquent behaviors for which the purchased services are intended to address, the expected outcomes resulting from these services and the performance timeframes mutually agreed to when the services are purchased.

2000, c. 937, § 2.1-746.1; 2001, c. 844; 2002, c. 410; 2003, c. 485; 2008, cc. 38, 277; 2009, c. 275; 2012, cc. 476, 507; 2013, c. 1; 2015, c. 366; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 226.