The coordinated, individualized, appropriate child and family driven system of care which shall be established under the two (2) pilot program local coordinating councils shall embody the following principles:
(1) Services are to be child and family driven, with priority given to keeping a child in a safe home. A child and his/her family or his/her primary caregiver shall be fully involved in all aspects of planning, decision making and delivery of services;
(2) Services are to be community based and are to be provided in the least restrictive setting consistent with the unique needs and potential of each child and his/her family. This means that services must be designed to:
(i) Enable children to remain in a safe home with their families whenever possible;
(ii) Enable children placed in foster care or group care to remain in a foster or group care facility in their community, and when no such care is available in their community, to remain in care in as close proximity as possible to their usual residence;
(iii) Enable children placed in residential programs other than foster or group care to receive that care in as close proximity as possible to their usual residence.
(3) Services are to be comprehensive and coordinated, addressing the child's physical, educational, social and emotional needs;
(4) Services are to be culturally and ethnically competent and service effectiveness is to be assessed considering cultural and ethnic competence;
(5) The effectiveness of planning and services for a child is to be assessed based upon the attainment of specific outcomes for each child;
(6) The effectiveness of services provided to children as part of a coordinated, individualized, appropriate child and family driven system of care are to be assessed based upon aggregate performance outcomes for children and families served.
History of Section.
P.L. 1998, ch. 69, § 1; P.L. 1998, ch. 415, § 1.