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2012 Special Session I

Budget Amendments - HB1301 (Committee Approved)

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DOJ Savings Flexibility (language only)

Item 314 #3s

Item 314 #3s

Health And Human Resources
Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, Department of

Language
Page 234, after line 30, insert:
“L.1.  The Commissioner of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services may achieve savings to address the requirements of the settlement agreement between the federal Department of Justice and the Commonwealth, if approved by the Court, from the following sources:  (A) reductions in the census at State Intellectual Disabilities Training Centers for people who choose to accept the waiver slots and leave the Centers; and (B) (1) the closure of one or more Intellectual Disabilities Training Center, if the General Assembly decides to close one or more Centers after considering alternatives to closure, or (2) The consolidation of the residents in the Intellectual Disabilities Training Centers into fewer buildings and utilization of any excess property for other purposes through leases or the sale of such property, if the General Assembly chooses to leave the training centers open.  The Commissioner is not limited to paying for the settlement agreement from these savings.
M.  The Commissioner may take into consideration the costs of all reasonable options, the wishes of the affected parties, the capacity of the community to develop and provide quality care in a specific time period for any residents who leave the Intellectual Disabilities Training Centers, and whether such care will provide comparable safety and well-being for those residents and others with similar disabilities who presently reside in the community when deciding between the options under paragraph B(1) and (2).”


Explanation
(This language amendment allows the Commissioner of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to generate savings to implement the proposed DOJ agreement with the Commonwealth, if it is approved, from two additional sources. The first source of savings would come from reducing the census at one of the five State Intellectual Disabilities Training Centers for people who choose to accept the waiver slots and leave the Centers. The second source of savings would come from the closure of one Intellectual Disabilities Training Center, if the General Assembly decides to close a Center after considering alternatives to closure, or the consolidation of the residents in the Intellectual Disabilities Training Centers into fewer buildings and utilization of any excess property for other purposes through leases or the sale of such property, if the General Assembly chooses to leave the training centers open. Budget language allows the Commissioner to take into consideration the costs of all reasonable options, the wishes of the affected parties, the capacity of the community to develop and provide quality care in a specific time period for any residents who leave the Intellectual Disabilities Training Centers, and whether such care will provide comparable safety and well-being for those residents and others with similar disabilities who presently reside in the community when deciding between the options under paragraph B(1) and (2).)