A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to create a position within the department of health and human services to oversee administration and coordination of education and employment programs for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Part 13 of Article 3 of Chapter 143B of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 143B‑179.1.  Director of Education and Employment Opportunities for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
(a)	Establishment of the Position. – There is established within the Department of Health and Human Services the position of Director of Education and Employment Opportunities for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. The Director shall have professional, administrative, technical, and clerical personnel as may be necessary to assist in carrying out his or her duties. The Director shall oversee the interagency coordination of education and employment programs and services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
(b)	Appointment and Staff. – The Director of Education and Employment Opportunities for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities shall be appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services at a salary established by the Secretary within the funds available for that purpose. The Director may be removed from the position by the Secretary. The Director shall report directly to the Deputy Secretary for Human Services. The Director shall be exempt from the provisions of Chapter 126 of the General Statutes, except for Articles 6 and 7 of Chapter 126 of the General Statutes.
All other staff shall be appointed, supervised, and directed by the Director and shall be subject to the provisions of Chapter 126 of the General Statutes. Except for the Director, salaries and compensation of all staff shall be fixed in the manner provided by law for fixing and regulating salaries and compensation by other State agencies.
(c)	Duties. – The Director of Education and Employment Opportunities for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities shall be the coordinator and point of contact for access to education and employment programs and services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and, in doing so, shall have at least the following duties and responsibilities:
(1)	Establish a statewide vision for inclusive postsecondary education and quality employment for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to be used by State agencies that serve those individuals.
(2)	Work in collaboration with other divisions within the Department of Health and Human Services, including the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services, the North Carolina Community College System, The University of North Carolina, the Department of Public Instruction, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Labor, and other stakeholders to promote interagency cooperation and implement policies that maximize opportunities for postsecondary education and employment for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities resulting in improved outcomes for those individuals.
(3)	Facilitate the alignment of service definitions among State agencies and the employment stakeholder community to promote competitive integrated employment and to effectively track outcomes for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
(4)	Conduct cost analyses of education and employment services and programs to identify duplication of efforts across State agencies and other organizations and to ensure effective use of the funds available from State and federal sources.
(5)	Develop strategies to increase employer awareness and incentives to support competitive integrated employment.
(6)	Facilitate the creation and maintenance of a central depository of information on the education and employment programs and services available to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families, including a systems map to connect individuals to resources specific to North Carolina. This information shall be accessible to the public and shared by State agencies, local school administrative units, and community organizations as part of the delivery of all programs and services for those individuals.
(7)	Develop best practices for increasing information sharing and connecting students with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families to available support services and opportunities as part of the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process for transitioning out of secondary school, including planning for available options as early as elementary and middle school.
(8)	Work with universities and colleges to coordinate higher education disability services with State agencies and community organizations to increase access for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities to personal assistance and residential services and supports in an academic setting.
(9)	Coordinate the expansion throughout the State of preemployment, postsecondary education, and supported employment models with proven success leading to competitive integrated employment.
(10)	Assist with the implementation of initiatives targeted to increase employment of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities by State agencies.
(11)	Identify barriers to increasing postsecondary education and employment opportunities and coordinate initiatives to address barriers, including program credentialing, transportation access, individual financial assistance, and development of employer partnerships.
(12)	Develop methods to collect and evaluate data relevant to secondary and postsecondary education and employment for individuals with intellectual and development disabilities in compliance with State and federal law, including utilizing the North Carolina Longitudinal Data System established under Chapter 116E of the General Statutes.
(13)	Serve as an ex officio member on the Council on Developmental Disabilities of the Department of Health and Human Services.
(14)	Serve as an ex officio member on the Council on Educational Services for Exceptional Children.
(d)	Reporting Requirement. – By March 1 of each year, the Director of Education and Employment Opportunities for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities shall report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee and the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services on the interagency coordination of education and employment programs and services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including the evaluation of available programs and services and outcomes in attaining postsecondary education and employment."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 143B‑179 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143B‑179.  Council on Developmental Disabilities – members; selection; quorum; compensation.
(a)	The Council on Developmental Disabilities of the Department of Health and Human Services shall consist of 31 members appointed by the Governor and two ex officio members. The composition of the Council shall be as follows:
(1)	Eleven members from the General Assembly and State government agencies as follows: One person who is a member of the Senate, one person who is a member of the House of Representatives, one representative of the Department of Public Instruction, one representative of the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety, and six representatives of the Department of Health and Human Services.
(2)	Sixteen members designated as consumers of service for the developmentally disabled. A consumer of services for the developmentally disabled is a person who (i) has a developmental disability or is the parent or guardian of such a person, or (ii) is an immediate relative or guardian of a person with mentally impairing developmental disability, and (iii) is not an employee of a State agency that receives funds or provides services under the provisions of Part B, Title 1, P.L. 98‑527, as amended, the Developmental Disabilities Act of 1984, is not a managing employee (as defined in Section 1126(b) of the Social Security Act) of any other entity that receives funds or provides services under that Part, and is not a person with an ownership or control interest (within the meaning of Section 1124(a)(3) of the Social Security Act) with respect to such an entity. Of these 16 members, at least one third shall be persons with developmental disabilities and at least another one third shall be the immediate relatives or guardians of persons with developmental disabilities that impair their intellectual functioning, of whom at least one shall be an immediate relative or guardian of an institutionalized developmentally disabled person.
(3)	Five members at large as follows: One representative of the university affiliated facility, one representative of the State protection and advocacy system, one representative of a local agency, one representative of a nongovernmental agency or nonprofit group concerned with services to persons with developmental disabilities, and one representative from the public at large.
(4)	The Secretary of Health and Human Services or the Secretary's designee.
(5)	The Director of Education and Employment Opportunities for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
The appointments of all members, with the exception of those from the General Assembly and State agencies shall be for terms of four years and until their successors are appointed and qualify. Any appointment to fill a vacancy on the Council created by the resignation, dismissal, death, or disability of a member shall be for the balance of the unexpired term.
The Governor shall make appropriate provisions for the rotation of membership on the Council.
(b)	The Governor shall have the power to remove any appointed member of the Council from office in accordance with the provisions of G.S. 143B‑16.
The Governor shall designate one member of the Council to serve as chairman at his pleasure.
Members of the Council shall receive per diem and necessary travel and subsistence expenses in accordance with the provisions of G.S. 138‑5.
A majority of the Council shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
All clerical and other services required by the council shall be supplied by the Secretary of Health and Human Services."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 126‑5(c1) is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(36)	The Director of Education and Employment Opportunities for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 115C‑112.1(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	The Council shall consist of a minimum of 25 members to be appointed as follows: five ex officio members; one individual with a disability and one representative of a private school appointed by the Governor; one member of the Senate and one parent of a child with a disability between the ages of birth and 26 appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate; one member of the House of Representatives and one parent of a child with a disability appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and 14 members appointed by the State Board of Education. The State Board shall appoint members who represent individuals with disabilities, teachers, local school administrative units, institutions of higher education that prepare special education and related services personnel, administrators of programs for children with disabilities, charter schools, parents of children with disabilities, a State or local official who carries out activities under the federal McKinney‑Vento Homeless Assistance Act, vocational, community, or business organizations concerned with the provision of transition services, and others as required by IDEA. The majority of members on the Council shall be individuals with disabilities or parents of children with disabilities. The Council shall designate a chairperson from among its members. The designation of the chairperson is subject to the approval of the State Board of Education. The Board shall adopt rules to carry out this subsection.
Ex officio members of the Council shall be the following:
(1)	The Secretary of Health and Human Services or the Secretary's designee.
(2)	The Secretary of Public Safety or the Secretary's designee.
(3)	The Deputy Commissioner for the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice or the Deputy Commissioner's designee.
(4)	The Superintendent of Public Instruction or the Superintendent's designee.
(5)	The Director of Education and Employment Opportunities for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
The term of appointment for all members except those appointed by the State Board of Education is two years. The term for members appointed by the State Board of Education is four years. No person appointed by the State Board shall serve more than two consecutive four‑year terms.
Each Council member shall serve without pay, but shall receive travel allowances and per diem in the same amount provided for members of the North Carolina General Assembly."
SECTION 5.  Notwithstanding G.S. 143B‑179.1, as enacted by this act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall appoint a Director of Education and Employment Opportunities for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities by October 1, 2018.
SECTION 6.  Notwithstanding G.S. 143B‑179.1(d), as enacted by this act, the Director of Education and Employment Opportunities for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, after consultation with other divisions within the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Public Instruction, shall submit an initial report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee and the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services by March 1, 2019, with the following information:
(1)	A list of all State agencies, departments, divisions, councils, commissions, and units of State and local government with authority to (i) direct, manage, or provide funding; (ii) engage with federal agencies; and (iii) direct organizational or individual planning related to the preparation for and support of postsecondary education and employment for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
(2)	A list of current funding streams, including Medicaid and Medicaid waivers, federal funds other than from Medicaid, State funds, local funds, public and private grants, and all other sources of funding currently used or that are available for activities related to the preparation for and support of postsecondary education and employment for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
(3)	Data sets collected by State agencies, departments, divisions, councils, commissions, and units of State and local government, including local school administrative units and charter schools, and any other entities receiving public or publicly managed funds related to the preparation for and support of postsecondary education and employment for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This information shall include barriers to uniform collection and evaluation of relevant data among agencies.
(4)	Strategies to improve the coordination of (i) funding; (ii) data collection, evaluation, and reporting; and (iii) operational efficiencies for the purpose of allowing the fair assessment of outcomes, use of funds, gaps and overlaps in services and supports related to the preparation for and support of postsecondary education, and employment for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
SECTION 7.  For the 2018‑2019 fiscal year, there is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Health and Human Services the sum of up to one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) in recurring funds for the salary and benefits of the Director of Education and Employment Opportunities for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and any necessary staff to the Director and for the Director's operating costs and the sum of up to eighteen thousand dollars ($18,000) in nonrecurring funds for furniture and equipment costs in establishing the position.
SECTION 8.  The University of North Carolina General Administration shall study whether the waiting list for university‑based, postsecondary education opportunities for individuals with IDD could be reduced or eliminated if full‑time students who are enrolled in a two‑year (four semester) or four‑year (eight semester) certificate of accomplishment program approved as a Comprehensive Transition Program (CTP) by the U.S. Department of Education at a constituent institution of The University of North Carolina were categorized the same as full‑time students who are enrolled in four‑year degree programs. The study shall assess the impact of this change on the reduction or elimination of waiting lists for CTPs and the associated costs. The University of North Carolina shall report findings and recommendations resulting from the study to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee and the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services not later than October 31, 2019.
SECTION 9.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2018.