H. B. No. 250: Children's Advisory Council; reenact and extend for one year.

SECTION 7. The Chairman of the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee, the Chairman of the House Public Health and Welfare Committee, the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, three (3) members of the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee to be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor and three (3) members of the House Public Health and Welfare Committee to be appointed by the Speaker of the House, shall conduct a hearing to study and make recommendations to the Legislature regarding the development and funding of a coordinated interagency system of necessary services and care for (a) children and youth up to age twenty-one (21) with serious emotional/behavioral disturbance or mental illness who require services from a multiple services and multiple programs system; (b) children suspended or expelled from a local school district for serious and chronic misconduct; (c) children with alcohol and drug abuse problems; (d) children with co-occurring disorders (mental illness and alcohol and drug abuse problems); (e) neglected, abused or delinquent children with serious emotional or behavioral problems that would be subject to the jurisdiction of the Department of Human Services or the youth court; and (f) those children with special mental health needs for whom the necessary array of specialized services and supports is not available in the state, in the most fiscally responsible (cost efficient) manner possible, based on an individualized plan of care which takes into account other available interagency programs, including, but not limited to, Early Intervention Act of Infants and Toddlers, Section 41-87-1 et seq., Early Periodic Screening Diagnosis and Treatment, Section 43-13-117(5), and waivered program for targeted case management services for children with special needs, Section 43-13-117(31), and is tied to clinically appropriate outcomes. Some of the outcomes are to reduce the number of inappropriate out-of-home placements inclusive of those out-of-state and to reduce the number of inappropriate school suspensions and expulsions for this population of children.

The joint committee shall meet on a date determined jointly by the Chairmen of the Senate and House Public Health and Welfare Committees who shall serve as co-chairmen. The joint hearing shall be limited to a two-day period.

The joint committee may make a written report of its findings and recommendations, and mail copies of the report to each member of the Legislature not later than December 1, 2000. The joint committee may consult and seek advice from various groups in the state in order to understand the effect of any existing laws or any changes in law being considered by the committee.

For attending meetings of the joint committee, each member shall be paid per diem, mileage and expense allowance in the amount authorized for committee meetings when the Legislature is not in session, from the contingent expense fund of the member's respective house. However, no per diem compensation, mileage allowance or expense allowance shall be paid for attending meetings of the joint committee while the Legislature is in session, and no per diem compensation, mileage allowance or

expense allowance shall be paid without prior approval of the proper committee in the member's respective house.