GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1995

S	1 

SENATE BILL 1240

Short Title:  Coalition 2001 '96 Funds.	(Public)

─────────────────────────────────────── 
Sponsors: Senators Winner, Carpenter, Conder, Lucas, Martin of Guilford, Martin of Pitt; Gulley and Dannelly.

─────────────────────────────────────── 
Referred to:  Appropriations.

─────────────────────────────────────── 

May 21, 1996

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR MENTAL HEALTH, DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES, AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE SERVICES, AS REQUESTED BY COALITION 2001.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services, Department of Human Resources, the sum of fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) for the 1996-97 fiscal year for mental health, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse programs and services, as requested by Coalition 2001.  These funds shall be allocated as follows:
(1)	Mental Health:
a.	Residential Services - $905,000 to provide required start-up and operating dollars to support HUD Grant Housing, as requested by the Mental Health Association of North Carolina, for persons with severe and persistent mental illness.  Of these funds, $545,000 shall be allocated for adult residences and $360,000 shall be allocated for children's residences;
b.	Services for the Deaf Mentally Ill - $125,000 to provide interpreters to enable the deaf mentally ill to take advantage of a variety of mental health services in the community, including individual and group therapy day treatment and residential services, as required by the 504 Settlement Agreement between the North Carolina Association of the Deaf and the Division;
c.	Supportive Housing/Independent Living - $505,000 to provide supportive services and skills training to implement essential community-based projects aimed at developing personal skills needed by the client to live independently and cope effectively in the community.  This allocation shall be divided equally among the four mental health regions and shall be concentrated in the one to two area programs per region that serve the region's areas of greatest need;
d.	Vocational Services - $300,000 to provide expanded and enhanced transitional and supported employment services that are focused on the unique needs of individuals with mental illness.  These services shall be developed in conjunction with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation; and
e.	Continuity of Care/System of Care -  $3,165,000 to provide community-based essential clinical treatment, case management and day services to some of the 90,000 adults and 40,000 children with severe and long-term mental illness, in order to provide the most effective treatment in the least restrictive setting and avoiding higher institutional costs of treatment.  Of these funds, $2,165,000 shall be allocated for adults' services and $1,000,000 shall be allocated for children's services;
(2)	Developmental Disabilities:
a.	Residential Subsidy Slots - $190,000 to provide 60 residential subsidy slots at $3,167 per slot, to facilitate the movement of 100 or more individuals in the 1996-97 fiscal year;
b.	Supported Living - $1,240,000 to provide seven additional supported living programs and to expand 12 existing supported living programs, which programs shall be person-centered and designed to meet specific individual needs and shall provide individuals the ability to access flexible services and enable individuals with developmental disabilities to live in local housing and access local services;
c.	Traumatic Brain Injury - $830,000 to provide persons with traumatic brain injury with a systematic, coordinated system of local services, which services shall be used, in large part to provide local services' support for up to 17 individuals with significant physical or behavioral difficulties caused by traumatic brain injury whose cost of care exceed Medicaid reimbursement and the ability of local programs to pay and to establish a State registry;
d.	Vocational Services - $1,170,000 to expand programs targeted at increasing the capacity for supportive employment by reducing the 1,200 person waiting list by 300;
e.	Guardianship - $100,000 to provide guardianship services for an additional 30 to 40 individuals identified and waiting for guardianship services;
f.	Assistive Technology - $160,000 for the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation to provide services to over 700 individuals annually that provide technical assistance and consultation to consumers and families who need to use technical equipment to help them be more independent;
g.	Developmental Day Child Care - $910,000 to enhance the quality of care, therapeutic services, and education of over 3,000 children with developmental disabilities in the 80 specialized developmental day child care centers and to allow for the enrollment in this child care of additional children in order to provide an inclusive, normal child care setting for more children in need of this care; and
h.	Respite - $400,000 to provide respite services to families to enable them to continue providing care in the home for children and adults with severe developmental disabilities;
(3)	Substance Abuse:
a.	Maternal Substance Abuse Services - $750,000 to develop substance abuse 24-hour services for women with substance abuse problems and for their young children in areas with significant need and evidence of organizational capacity in up to three residential services programs;
b.	Substance Abuse Intensive Outpatient Services - $1,000,000 to develop or enhance substance abuse intensive outpatient or day treatment services for adults in areas with inadequate services and evidence of organizational capacity in up to 10 programs;
c.	Child and Adolescent Substance Abuse Services - $1,250,000 to develop or enhance substance abuse treatment and case management services for children and adolescents in areas with inadequate service access, lack of provider capacity, and evidence of organizational commitment in up to 10 programs;
d.	Substance Abuse Public-Private Partnership Initiative - $1,500,000 to expand area program capacity to purchase substance abuse services from licensed nonprofit or for-profit providers in the State, in accordance with the Division's rules for the Substance Abuse Public-Private Partnership Initiative.  The allocation of these funds shall make support of Harvest House residential treatment program for farm workers a priority; and
e.	Support Services for Housing for Substance Abusers - $500,000 to develop or expand support services for substance abusers, as outlined in the Division's Strategic Housing Plan.
Sec. 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 1996.