Sec. 1. 34-B MRSA §15003, sub-§9, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 790, Pt. A, §1 and affected by §3, is amended to read:

9. Reports. The department shall report by February 1st and August 1st each year to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over health and human services matters and the committee on the following matters:

A. The operation of the program, including fiscal status of the accounts and funds from all sources, including blended, pooled and flexible funding, related to children's mental health care in the departments; numbers of children and families served and their residences by county; numbers of children transferred to care in this State and the types of care to which they were transferred; any waiting lists; delays in delivering services; the progress of the departments in developing new resources; appeals procedures requested, held and decided; the results of decided appeals and audits; and evaluations done on the program;

B. The experiences of the departments in coordinating program administration and care delivery, including, but not limited to, progress on management information systems; uniform application forms, procedures and assessment tools; case coordination and case management; the use of pooled and blended funding; and initiatives in acquiring and using federal and state funds; and

C. Barriers to improved delivery of care to children and their families and the progress of the departments in overcoming those barriers.

SUMMARY

This bill eliminates the requirement that the Department of Behavioral and Developmental Services report by February 1st each year to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over health and human services matters and the Children's Mental Health Oversight Committee on matters relating to the provision of children's mental health services. The department will still be required to report on these matters no later than August 1st each year.