(1) In recognition of the varied, extensive, and substantial needs of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including the urgent need to enhance the development of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities, the general assembly, subject to available appropriations and subject to the existence of appropriate services and supports with available resources, hereby declares that the purposes of this article are:
To provide appropriate services and supports to persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities throughout their lifetimes regardless of their age or degree of disability;
To prohibit deprivation of liberty of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities, except when such deprivation is for the purpose of providing services and supports which constitute the least restrictive available alternative adequate to meet the person's needs, and to ensure that these services and supports afford due process protections;
To ensure the fullest measure of privacy, dignity, rights, and privileges to personswith intellectual and developmental disabilities;
To ensure the provision of services and supports to all persons with intellectual anddevelopmental disabilities on a statewide basis;
To enable persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities to remain withtheir families and in the community of their choice, to minimize the likelihood of out-of-home placement, and to enhance the capacity of families to meet the needs of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities;
To provide community services and supports for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities which reflect typical patterns of everyday living;
To encourage state and local agencies to provide a wide array of innovative and costeffective services and supports for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities;
To ensure that persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities receive services and supports which encourage and build on existing social networks and natural sources of support, and result in increased interdependence, contribution to, and inclusion in community life; and
To recognize the efficacy of early intervention services and supports in minimizingdevelopmental delays and reducing the future education costs to our society.
Source: L. 2013: Entire article added with relocations, (HB 13-1314), ch. 323, p. 1744, § 1, effective March 1, 2014.
Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 27-10.5-101 as it existed prior to 2013.