§38-9A-3. Regional support councils.

(a) Each regional support council shall be composed solely of individuals with developmental disabilities and their family members. Membership shall not exceed 20 members per council, with at least one member to be appointed from each of the affiliated councils, and at least two at-large members who are not members of any community council. A quorum of 40 percent of the membership shall be required to conduct business. Membership shall be distributed equitably throughout the geographic region and shall be representative of the prevalent developmental disabilities. Membership terms shall be for a period of three years. The regional councils shall develop policies for ensuring the implementation of the membership requirements in this section.

Successor members to fill expiring terms shall be made by the regional councils for a term of three years each.

(b) The members of each council shall serve on a voluntary basis, but shall be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in council participation within the guidelines determined by the state council. The guidelines shall reflect the intent of this chapter to value and actively support a diversity of consumer and family participation.

(c) The regional councils shall adopt, subject to the approval of the State Support Council, policies and procedures within its respective region regarding:

(1) Development of a planning process that includes collection and evaluation of data and requests for the program that is coordinated with other service planning efforts.

(2) Development of appropriation requests for individual and family support within the region.

(3) Fiscal accountability procedures, including provisions for an annual independent audit.

(4) Program specifications for the region that shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

a. Criteria for allocation of funds to individuals, families, and support programs.

b. Eligibility determination for persons with developmental disabilities and families with whom an individual with a developmental disability resides.

c. Methodologies for allocating resources to individuals and families within the funds available.

(5) Coordination of the individual and family support program and the use of its funds equitably throughout the region, with other publicly funded programs.

(6) Resolution of grievances and complaints filed pertaining to actions of the individual and family support program, and an appeals process.

(7) Quality assurance and quality improvement guidelines pursuant to subsection (f) that include, at a minimum, a measurement of the extent of consumer and family satisfaction with the services and support of the program.

(8) Annual evaluation of services, including, but not limited to, consumer satisfaction.

(9) Development and implementation of a public awareness, education, and outreach program.

(10) Development of a constitution and bylaws.

(11) Sanction of the community council.

(d) The council shall meet at least quarterly.

(e)(1) The council may dispense financial assistance and individual and family support to eligible persons who have developmental disabilities, and to eligible families of those persons. Any financial assistance provided to individuals or families pursuant to this chapter based on funds provided by the Department of Mental Health shall be made in compliance with rules promulgated by the department.

(2) The council may also choose to fund support programs operated by local agencies.

(f) The councils shall adopt a quality improvement plan that does all of the following:

(1) Adheres to the principles of Section 38-9A-2.

(2) Addresses the policies and procedures required by subsection (c).

(3) Includes fundamental quality assurance activities.

(4) Incorporates concepts of continuous quality improvement.

(5) Utilizes consumer and family satisfaction assessment data as a quality indicator.

(6) Is evaluated annually to assess its effectiveness in improving the following:

a. Consumer and family satisfaction with the IFS services and support.

b. The efficiency and effectiveness of the councils in operations and performance.

c. The compliance of the councils with the requirements of this chapter.

(7) Is revised annually based on results of subdivision (6).

(Acts 1993, No. 93-334, p. 507, §3; Acts 1997, No. 97-421, p. 709, §1.)