HB2265: Local disability services boards; clarification of assistance to local governments.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§ 51.5-47 and 51.5-48 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 51.5-47. Local boards; appointment; membership and staff.
A. Every county and city shall establish, either singly or in
combination with another political subdivision, a local disability services
board by November 1, 1992 to provide information and resource referral to
local governments regarding federal and state mandated programs such as the
Americans with Disabilities Act, to provide such other assistance and advice to
local governments as may be requested, to better address the unmet and underserved needs of individuals with disabilities, and to provide input to state
agencies on service needs and priorities of persons with physical and sensory
disabilities, to provide
information and resource referral to local governments regarding the Americans
with Disabilities Act, and to provide such other assistance and advice to local
governments as may be requested. Guidelines for the
establishment of local disability services boards shall be developed by the
Disability Services Council. As used in this chapter, the term
"board" means a local disability services board. The board shall be
responsible to the governing body or bodies of the county or city or
combination thereof which established the board.
B. The local governing bodies of the jurisdictions
participating in the board shall determine the number of members on the board
and appoint the members. The membership of a board shall not exceed fifteen.
Membership shall include at least one local official from each of the
participating jurisdictions, two representatives of the business community, and
consumers. Each board shall have no less than thirty percent representation by
individuals or family members of individuals with physical,
visual, or hearingsensory disabilities.
C. Where a local board or commission for the physically and sensory disabled appointed by a local governing body for
individuals with physical and sensory disabilities is already in existence, the local governing body may designate
such board or commission as the local disability services board. In order to be
designated as the local disability services board, the existing board or
commission shall meet the membership representation requirements designated in
subsection B.
D. The Department of Rehabilitative Services shall administer the funds appropriated for local disability services boards, including staff support to the boards and, with appropriate consultation from the Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired and the Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing and other agencies, provide guidance and technical assistance to the local boards. Localities may provide additional staff support to the boards.
E. Localities shall not be mandated to fund any recommendations made by the local board.
§ 51.5-48. Duties and responsibilities of local disability services boards.
The boards shall:
1. Be a clearinghouse for resources and information about the barriers facing people with disabilities to local governments;
2. Facilitate the collaboration and exchange of information with other local service providers regarding services to persons with physical and sensory disabilities and best practices in the delivery of services;
3. Facilitate communication with state and federal agencies regarding local mandates related to fulfilling the needs of those with physical and sensory disabilities;
4. Provide input to local governments during local and regional planning processes including housing, transportation, employment and service delivery to ensure that the barriers facing people with physical and sensory disabilities are considered and addressed;
5. Assess
the local service needsbarriers through consumer, community, public and
private input and advise the appropriate state and local
agencies serving persons with physical and sensory disabilities of their
findings;
26. Develop and make available
for public comment a report with a six-year projection of local service needs
and priorities for persons with physical and sensory disabilities in accordance
with state guidelines. The report and updates to the report shall be submitted
to the Disability Services Council. The first report shall be submitted by June
1, 1993. The reports shall be reviewed by the Council and shall be distributed
to the appropriate state agencies and incorporated into the agencies'
programmatic and fiscal planning for services to persons with physical and
sensory disabilities;
3.
Obtain input from local public and private service providers and utilize such
information in the development of the report;
47. Review and update the report
every three years;
58. Serve
as a catalyst forDevelop or
participate in coalitions and partnerships to address identified barriers and
encourage the development of public and private sector funding sourcesto
overcome them;
69. Develop and
prioritize requests to the rehabilitative
services incentive fundstate
Rehabilitative Services Incentive Fund when local funding
for match is identified; and
710. Administer the incentive
funds, if received, through the designated fiscal agent in accordance with the
approved expenditure plan; and
8. Exchange information with other local boards regarding
services to persons with physical and sensory disabilities and best practices
in the delivery of services.