‘An Act To Establish the Volunteer Advocate Program and the Volunteer Advocate Program Council’
| HP0620 LD 897 |
Session - 126th Maine Legislature C "A", Filing Number H-462, Sponsored by
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LR 265 Item 2 |
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| Bill Tracking, Additional Documents | Chamber Status | ||
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following:
‘An Act To Establish the Volunteer Advocate Program and the Volunteer Advocate Program Council’
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the summary and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §12004-I, sub-§66-A is enacted to read:
| Mental Health and Intellectual Disability | Volunteer Advocate Program Council | Expenses Only | 34-B MRSA §1223, sub-§12 |
Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §3477, sub-§1, ¶C, as amended by PL 2011, c. 291, §2, is further amended to read:
Sec. 3. 22 MRSA §3477, sub-§1, ¶D, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 291, §2, is amended to read:
Sec. 4. 22 MRSA §3477, sub-§1, ¶E is enacted to read:
Sec. 5. 34-B MRSA §1223, sub-§9, ¶G is enacted to read:
Sec. 6. 34-B MRSA §1223, sub-§12 is enacted to read:
(1) The Governor shall appoint the members of the council based on recommendations of the board. Members serve for terms of 3 years and may be reappointed for up to 3 full terms. In making appointments, the Governor shall endeavor to ensure adequate representation from different regions of the State.
(2) Council members must be volunteer advocates. A member of the board, a member of any other state advisory council and a state employee or contractor may not serve as a council member.
(3) A vacancy on the council must be filled as soon as practicable by appointment for the unexpired term in the same manner as the original appointment under subparagraph (1). A member serves until a successor is appointed.
(1) To recruit, approve, train, assign, supervise and support volunteer advocates for consumers of services for persons with intellectual disabilities or autism and to supervise the program coordinator; and
(2) To maintain and update a policy and training manual for volunteer advocates. The manual must include a policy regarding protection of confidential information and conflicts of interest. Every 2 years, beginning January 15, 2014, the council shall submit a copy of the manual, and any updates, to the board and the department for review and comment.
(1) A volunteer advocate must be provided access to all living and program areas used by a consumer and to records related to a consumer for whom the volunteer advocate serves as volunteer advocate, other than personnel records of persons providing services to the consumer. A volunteer advocate must be provided access to the personnel of any institution, facility, agency or other provider that is serving a consumer that the volunteer advocate represents and that is administered, licensed or funded by a state agency. This subparagraph does not permit a volunteer advocate access to information or records relating to a person or persons for whom the volunteer advocate does not serve as the designated volunteer advocate.
(2) The program and program staff must be provided access as described in subparagraph (1) for all consumers who participate in the program.
(3) A volunteer advocate has the right to be notified of and attend all personal planning meetings for the consumer to whom the volunteer advocate is assigned and to file grievances on that consumer's behalf.
Sec. 7. 34-B MRSA §5001, sub-§1-B, as amended by PL 2011, c. 542, Pt. A, §74, is repealed.
Sec. 8. 34-B MRSA §5001, sub-§8 is enacted to read:
Sec. 9. 34-B MRSA §5206, sub-§7, as amended by PL 2011, c. 542, Pt. A, §93, is further amended to read:
Sec. 10. 34-B MRSA §5461, sub-§8-C, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 389, §3, is amended to read:
Sec. 11. 34-B MRSA §5470-B, sub-§2, ¶D, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 356, §21 and affected by §31, is amended to read:
Sec. 12. 34-B MRSA §5470-B, sub-§8, ¶B, as amended by PL 2011, c. 542, Pt. A, §114, is further amended to read:
Sec. 13. 34-B MRSA §5470-B, sub-§10 is enacted to read:
Sec. 14. 34-B MRSA §5604, sub-§3, ¶A, as amended by PL 2011, c. 657, Pt. EE, §7, is further amended to read:
Sec. 15. Staggered terms. Notwithstanding the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 34-B, section 1223, subsection 12, paragraph A, subparagraph (1), of the initial members of the Volunteer Advocate Program Council, the Governor shall designate 2 appointees to serve for one-year terms, 2 appointees to serve for 2-year terms and 2 appointees to serve for 3-year terms. An initial term of one year or 2 years may not be considered a full term for the purposes of limiting the number of terms for which a member may serve.’
summary
This amendment is the majority report of the committee. This amendment changes the name of the Volunteer Advocate Program Board to the Volunteer Advocate Program Council, places the council within the Maine Developmental Services Oversight and Advisory Board established pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 34-B, section 1223 and gives to the board the responsibility of making recommendations to the Governor for appointments to the council. This amendment adds a person who serves as a volunteer advocate under the Volunteer Advocate Program to the list of persons who are required to report to the Department of Health and Human Services known or suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation of an incapacitated or dependent adult. The amendment allows council members to serve 3 terms and changes the budget of the council to a portion of the budget of the Maine Developmental Services Oversight and Advisory Board in the same proportion as was provided to the volunteer correspondent program. The amendment adds to the duties of the council supervision of the program coordinator. The amendment removes from the provision on fund-raising the statement on use of funds to defray the State's budget expenditure for the program. The amendment adds to the council's duties the duty to exercise operational control of the program. The amendment adds rulemaking and bylaw and policy responsibilities for the Maine Developmental Services Oversight and Advisory Board. The amendment adds to the duties of the council the duty to provide an annual report to the board, the department and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over health and human services matters on the activities of the council and the operations of the program. The amendment clarifies that a volunteer advocate is available to a person who requests the assignment of an advocate and allows a consumer to restrict the advocate's access to people, facilities and records. The amendment changes existing provisions of law on personal planning for persons with intellectual disabilities or autism, enacting a definition of "volunteer advocate," eliminating references to volunteer correspondents and substituting references to volunteer advocates.