Section 17. The department shall provide transportation for persons with an intellectual disability or a developmental disability with respect to educational, habilitational or day care services provided pursuant to section thirteen. The department shall take appropriate steps to ensure the safety of all persons transported under this section. If the department determines that said persons cannot be transported safely without the assistance of monitors, said transporting shall include provision for monitors. Nothing in this section shall preclude the ability of parents to serve as unpaid monitors when their children are being transported.
The department may provide reimbursement for transportation costs to a competitively employed individual with an intellectual disability or a developmental disability who because of age or receipt of a high school diploma is no longer eligible for services provided under chapter seventy-one B and who is unable to use public transportation, or any other transportation such as car pools or available family transportation, due to the location of the person's residence or place of employment or due to the person's disability.
The amount of such reimbursement shall be determined by the department on a sliding fee scale. The department shall promulgate rules and regulations that limit reimbursements to reasonable transportation costs.