Arkansas Code
Subchapter 5 - Child and Adolescent Service System Program
§ 20-47-505. Child and Adolescent Service System Program Coordinating Council

(a)
(1) There is created a Child and Adolescent Service System Program Coordinating Council that shall meet on a quarterly basis and at other times deemed necessary to perform its functions.
(2) The council shall include the following persons to be selected and appointed by the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Secretary of the Department of Human Services:
(A) At least three (3) parents, parent surrogates, or family members of a child or children with emotional disturbance;
(B) A member of an ethnic minority;
(C) A child advocate;
(D) Child and Adolescent Service System Program coordinators from each of the certified community mental health centers;
(E)
(i) One (1) or more representatives from specific divisions or agencies in the Department of Human Services and the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education.
(ii) Each representative shall have official duties related to the delivery of behavioral health services for children and adolescents with emotional disturbances.
(iii) Specific designations of membership of the council shall be determined through interdepartmental and intradepartmental agreements that will be renewed on an annual basis; and

(F)
(i) At least seven (7) representatives from private or public agencies or organizations that are stakeholders in behavioral health services for children and adolescents with emotional disturbances.
(ii) The commissioner and the secretary shall jointly appoint an appropriate number of stakeholders.

(b) The council shall:
(1) Advise and report to the commissioner and the secretary on matters of policy and programs related to children with emotional disturbances and their families;
(2) Identify and recommend fiscal, policy, training, and program initiatives and revisions based on needs identified in the planning process;
(3) Provide specific guidelines for the development of regional services and plans based on the guiding principles of the system of care;
(4) Review and approve regional plans developed by regional program teams and incorporate the regional plans into the statewide plan;
(5) Ensure that mechanisms for accountability are developed and implemented;
(6) Submit a statewide plan and budget recommendations to the commissioner and the secretary on or before March 15 of each even-numbered year thereafter preceding the legislative session;
(7) Develop and recommend special projects to the commissioner and the secretary;
(8) Provide a written report on a quarterly basis to the House Committee on Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs and the Senate Committee on Children and Youth that summarizes progress implementing this subchapter;
(9) Establish guidelines and procedures for the voting membership, officers, and annual planning of both the council and the regional program planning teams which the council will review and update on an annual basis; and
(10) Make recommendations for corrective action plans to the commissioner and the secretary in the event that a regional program planning team does not produce a timely regional plan that meets a plan of care or fails to implement the approved regional plan.