HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3949        FILED ON: 1/14/2009

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 177

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Nine

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An Act creating a means for tracking the unmet need of individuals with developmental disabilities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts..

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. There is hereby established a system of tracking the unmet service needs of individuals with developmental disabilities in Massachusetts.  The system will consist of a central electronic database, using open-source software, operated and maintained by The Office of Disabilities and Community Services at the Executive Office of Health and Human Services.  The content of the database will consist of data prepared by the following agencies, including but not limited to: the Massachusetts Department of Mental Retardation, the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind and the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.  Each of the agencies required to submit data will do so annually by means of a standard reporting form which will include statistics regarding the number of individuals with developmental disabilities who apply for services with said agencies, the number of individuals with developmental disabilities receiving services, and the number of individuals with developmental disabilities who apply for services with said agencies and are unsuccessful in receiving services.  The Office of Disabilities and Community Services will enter the standard report form content into the electronic database and generate annual reports to be made available on-line to the public.