49-6-6101 - Improvement and coordination of services. - Tennessee Statutes

49-6-6101. Improvement and coordination of services.

The state departments of education and mental health and developmental disabilities shall take the following actions to improve and coordinate services for behavioral/emotionally disordered children. Any policy change required as a result of these actions will be presented to the state board of education for review and approval:

     (1)  Delineation of each state and local agency's responsibilities;

     (2)  Development of joint agency planning and training, especially between Tennessee's state and local agencies of mental health, mental retardation and education;

     (3)  Development of a systematic process for securing funding for a continuum of related service options;

     (4)  Development of a definition of the target population;

     (5)  Development of ongoing needs assessment process that addresses:

          (A)  The complex and diverse needs of the children and their families; and

          (B)  The resources of schools, mental health/mental retardation providers, and public/private agencies;

     (6)  Prepare an inventory of a continuum of existing services and options, known private or public agencies and families;

     (7)  Development of an interagency agreement on the principles to be included in a plan of care as they relate to intervention or treatment goals. The plan of care shall have:

          (A)  Child involvement if developmentally appropriate;

          (B)  Measurable outcomes;

          (C)  Identification of agency or agencies that shall monitor the plan of care;

          (D)  Family involvement; and

          (E)  Sensitivity to unique cultural needs; and

     (8)  Development of interagency training plan in the area of truancy prevention.

[Acts 1994, ch. 985, § 4.]