FILED ON: 10/17/2013

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3715

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Thirteen

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An Act to permit the Department of Developmental Services provide services to adults with developmental disabilities.

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. Section 1 of chapter 123B as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition, is hereby amended

by inserting the following definition, following line 17:

“Person with a developmental disability”, a person with a severe, chronic disability of an

individual 5 years of age or older that:

(1) Is attributable to a mental or physical impairment’s resulting from intellectual disability, Autism or Prader-Eilli Syndrome;

(2) Is manifested before the individual attains age 22;

(3) Is likely to continue indefinitely;

(4) Results in substantial functional limitations in three or more of the following areas of

major life activity;

(i) Self-care;

(ii) Receptive and expressive language;

(iii) Learning;

(iv) Mobility;

(v) Self-direction;

(vi) Capacity for independent living; and

(vii) Economic self-sufficiency.

(5) Reflects the individual's need for a combination and sequence of special,

interdisciplinary, or generic services, supports, or other assistance that is of lifelong or

extended duration and is individually planned and coordinated, except that such term,

when applied to infants and young children means individuals from birth to age 5,

inclusive, who have substantial developmental delay or specific congenital or acquired

conditions with a high probability of resulting in developmental disabilities if services are

not provided.

A person who has a developmental disability may be considered to be mentally ill;

provided, however, that no person with a developmental disability shall be considered to

be mentally ill solely by reason of the person’s developmental disability.

SECTION 2:

Section 2 of chapter 123B as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition is hereby amended

by adding the following paragraph, following line 13:

The department shall, in accordance with section two of chapter thirty A and subject to

appropriation, adopt regulations consistent with this chapter which establish procedures

and the highest practicable professional standards for community services for persons

with developmental disabilities.

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SECTION 3:

Section 1 of chapter 19B as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition is hereby amended by

inserting, on line 7, following “persons with an intellectual disability” the words -

or persons with a developmental disability.

Said Section 1 of chapter 19B as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition is hereby further

amended by striking “mental retardation services” on line 23 and inserting in place

thereof the words–services for persons with an intellectual disability

Said Section 1 of chapter 19B as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition is hereby further

amended by striking “intellectual disabilities services” on lines 27 and 28, and inserting

in place thereof the words–

services for persons with an intellectual disability or a developmental disability.

Section 2 of chapter 19B as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition is hereby amended by

striking “mental retardation” on line 2, and inserting in place thereof the wordsof

the department of developmental services

Said Section 2 of chapter 19B as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition is hereby further

amended by striking “mental retardation” on line 18.

Section 2 of chapter 19B as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition is hereby amended by

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striking “for mental retardation in the commonwealth” on line 31 and inserting in place

thereof the words for

persons with intellectual disabilities and services served for people with

developmental disabilities in the commonwealth.

Section 12 of chapter 19B as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition is hereby amended

by striking “mental retardation programs” on line 4 and inserting in place thereof the

words persons

for persons with an intellectual disability

SECTION 3:

Chapter 19B as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition is hereby amended by inserting

after Section 12 the following section:

Section 12A. The department, subject to appropriation, shall establish a

comprehensive program of community developmental disability services, and

shall establish standards for the development of programs at appropriate

geographic areas to ensure access to needed services. The commissioner shall

ensure citizen, consumer and family participation in the oversight of community

developmental disability services at all such levels, including the local level.

Section 13 of chapter 19B as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition is hereby amended

by inserting, on lines 2 and 3, following “community intellectual disability services” the

words—

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and community developmental disability services

Section 13 of chapter 19B as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition is hereby amended

by inserting on lines 8 and 9, following “intellectual disability”, the words—

and developmental disability services

Section 13 of chapter 19B as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition is hereby amended

by inserting, on line 13 following “Intellectual disability services” the words—

and developmental disability services

SECTION 4:

Chapter 19B as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition is hereby amended by the inserting

after Section 15 the following section:

Section 15A. (a) The department shall issue for a term of two years, and may

renew for like terms, a license, subject to revocation by it for cause, to any

program which offers to the public residential or day care services and is

represented as providing treatment of persons with a developmental disability,

and which is deemed by it to be responsible and suitable to meet applicable

licensure standards and requirements, except that: (1) the department may license

those programs providing care but not treatment of persons with an intellectual

disability; and (2) licensing by the department is not required where such

residential or day care treatment is provided within an institution or facility

licensed by the department of public health under the provisions of chapter one

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hundred and eleven. Whether or not a license is issued under clause (1), the

department shall make regulations for the operation of such programs. The

department may grant the type of license which it deems suitable for the program.

The department shall fix reasonable fees for licenses and renewal thereof.

(b) Each program licensed under the provisions of this section shall maintain and

make available to the department such statistical and diagnostic data as may be

required by the department.

(c) Each such program licensed by the department shall be subject to the

supervision, visitation and inspection of the department, and the department may

make regulations for the proper operation of such programs.

(d) The department may refuse to grant, suspend, revoke, limit or restrict the

applicability of or refuse to renew a license granted under this section, subject to

the procedural requirements of section thirteen of chapter thirty A for any

violation of its regulations or standards concerning such program. The department

may temporarily suspend a license prior to a hearing in cases of emergency if it

deems that such suspension would be in the public interest; provided, however,

that upon request of an aggrieved party, a hearing pursuant to section thirteen of

chapter thirty A, shall be held after the license is suspended. Any party aggrieved

by a decision of the department under this section may appeal in accordance with

the provisions of section fourteen of chapter thirty A.

(e) No program for which a license is required under paragraph (a), shall provide

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residential or day care services for the treatment or care of persons with a

developmental disability unless it has obtained a license under the provisions of

this section. The superior court sitting in equity shall have jurisdiction, upon

petition of the department, to restrain any violation of the provisions of this

section or to take such other action as equity and justice may require. Whoever

violates the provisions of this section shall be punished for the first offense by a

fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than

two years.

(f) Each person served by such a program, shall be granted protection from

commercial and private exploitation of any kind. No person shall be video taped,

audio taped, photographed, interviewed or exposed to the public without either

the person’s express written consent, or that of the person’s legal guardian.

Whoever violates the provision of this paragraph shall be punished by a fine of

not more than two thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than two and

one-half years in a house of correction or by imprisonment for not more than five

years in the state prison.

(g) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (a) to (f), inclusive, any child

care center, family child care home, family child care system, family foster care

or group care facility as defined in section 1A of chapter 15D, shall not be subject

to the provisions of this section.

SECTION 5:

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Section 17 of chapter 19B as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition is hereby amended

by striking “mentally retarded persons” on lines 1 and 2 and inserting in place thereof the

wordspersons

with an intellectual disability or a developmental disability

Section 17 of chapter 19B as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition is hereby amended

by striking “mentally regarded person” on line 11 and inserting in place thereof the

words persons with an intellectual disability or a developmental disability

SECTION 6:

Section 18 of chapter 19B as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition is hereby amended

by striking “mentally ill and persons with an intellectual disability” on line 10 and

inserting in place thereof the words persons with mental illness and intellectual or developmental disabilities

Section 18 of chapter 19B as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition is hereby amended

by striking “mentally ill and mentally retarded individuals” on lines 14 and 15 and

inserting in place thereof the words persons with mental illness and intellectual or developmental disabilities

Section 18 of chapter 19B as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition is hereby amended

by striking “a person with an intellectual disability and mentally ill” on lines 16 and 17

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and inserting in place thereof the words a

person with an intellectual or developmental disability and a mental illness

Section 18 of chapter 19B as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition is hereby amended

by inserting, on line 29-30 following “intellectual disability”, the words or

a developmental disability,

SECTION 7.

The department of developmental services shall file an annual report reviewing its progress in the implementation of this act on or before the first business day of February starting with February 3, 2015. The report shall include, but not be limited to: (1) the number of new clients with autism or Prader Willi Syndrome;  (2) the number of individuals, if any, on a waitlist for the services provided for in this act and the reasons for and the expected duration of the waitlist; (3) the number of additional staff hired to assess and evaluate the new clients and services; (4) the number of staff hired to deliver, manage and administer the new services; (5) challenges encountered and met in serving these new clients; (6) challenges that continue and those that are foreseen in the near future; (7) additional costs incurred in serving these new clients; and (8) savings if any realized.