SECTION 2.2-2649. Office of Children's Services established; powers and duties

A. The Office of Children's Services is hereby established to serve as the administrative entity of the Council and to ensure that the decisions of the council are implemented. The director shall be hired by and subject to the direction and supervision of the Council pursuant to § 2.2-2648 .

B. The director of the Office of Children's Services shall:

1. Develop and recommend to the state executive council programs and fiscal policies that promote and support cooperation and collaboration in the provision of services to troubled and at-risk youths and their families at the state and local levels;

2. Develop and recommend to the Council state interagency policies governing the use, distribution and monitoring of moneys in the state pool of funds and the state trust fund;

3. Develop and provide for the consistent oversight for program administration and compliance with state policies and procedures;

4. Provide for training and technical assistance to localities in the provision of efficient and effective services that are responsive to the strengths and needs of troubled and at-risk youths and their families;

5. Serve as liaison to the participating state agencies that administratively support the Office and that provide other necessary services;

6. Provide an informal review and negotiation process pursuant to subdivision D 19 of § 2.2-2648 ;

7. Implement, in collaboration with participating state agencies, policies, guidelines and procedures adopted by the State Executive Council;

8. Consult regularly with the Virginia Municipal League, the Virginia Coalition of Private Provider Associations, and the Virginia Association of Counties about implementation and operation of the Children's Services Act (§ 2.2-2648 et seq.);

9. Hire appropriate staff as approved by the Council;

10. Identify, disseminate, and provide annual training for CSA staff and other interested parties on best practices and evidence-based practices related to the Children's Services Act Program;

11. Perform such other duties as may be assigned by the State Executive Council;

12. Develop and implement uniform data collection standards and collect data, utilizing a secure electronic database for CSA-funded services, in accordance with subdivision D 16 of § 2.2-2648 ;

13. Develop and implement a uniform set of performance measures for the Children's Services Act program in accordance with subdivision D 17 of § 2.2-2648 ;

14. Develop, implement, and distribute management reports in accordance with subdivision D 18 of § 2.2-2648 ;

15. Report to the Council all expenditures associated with serving children who receive pool-funded services. The report shall include expenditures for (i) all services purchased with pool funding; (ii) treatment, foster care case management, community-based mental health services, and residential care funded by Medicaid; and (iii) child-specific payments made through the Title IV-E program;

16. Report to the Council on the nature and cost of all services provided to the population of at-risk and troubled children identified by the State Executive Council as within the scope of the CSA program;

17. Develop and distribute model job descriptions for the position of Children's Services Act Coordinator and provide technical assistance to localities and their coordinators to help them to guide localities in prioritizing coordinator's responsibilities toward activities to maximize program effectiveness and minimize spending; and

18. Develop and distribute guidelines, approved by the State Executive Council, regarding the development and use of multidisciplinary teams, in order to encourage utilization of multidisciplinary teams in service planning and to reduce Family Assessment and Planning Team caseloads to allow Family Assessment and Planning Teams to devote additional time to more complex and potentially costly cases.

C. The director of the Office of Children's Services, in order to provide support and assistance to the Children's Policy and Management Teams (CPMTs) and Family Assessment and Planning Teams (FAPTs) established pursuant to the Children's Services Act (§ 2.2-2648 et seq.), shall:

1. Develop and maintain a web-based statewide automated database, with support from the Department of Information Technology or its successor agency, of the authorized vendors of the Children's Services Act (CSA) services to include verification of a vendor's licensure status, a listing of each discrete CSA service offered by the vendor, and the discrete CSA service's rate determined in accordance with § 2.2-2648 ; and

2. Develop, in consultation with the Department of General Services, CPMTs, and vendors, a standardized purchase of services contract, which in addition to general contract provisions when utilizing state pool funds will enable localities to specify the discrete service or services they are purchasing for the specified client, the required reporting of the client's service data, including types and numbers of disabilities, mental health and intellectual disability diagnoses, or delinquent behaviors for which the purchased services are intended to address, the expected outcomes resulting from these services and the performance timeframes mutually agreed to when the services are purchased.

2000, c. 2.2-2648 , § 2.1-746.1; 2001, c. 2.2-2648 ; 2002, c. 2.2-2648 ; 2003, c. 2.2-2648 ; 2008, cc. 2.2-2648 , 2.2-2648 ; 2009, c. 2.2-2648 ; 2012, cc. 2.2-2648 , 2.2-2648 ; 2013, c. 2.2-2648 ; 2015, c. 2.2-2648 .