Legal Resources | | GC 7572.5
Chapter 26.5 Interagency Responsibilities for Providing Services to Handicapped Children.
(a) If an assessment is conducted pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 56320) of Chapter 4 of Part 30 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, which determines that a child is seriously emotionally disturbed, as defined in Section 300.8 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and any member of the individualized education program team recommends residential placement based on relevant assessment information, the individualized education program team shall be expanded to include a representative of the county mental health department.
(b) The expanded individualized education program team shall review the assessment and determine whether:
(1) The child's needs can reasonably be met through any combination of nonresidential services, preventing the need for out-of-home care.
(2) Residential care is necessary for the child to benefit from educational services.
(3) Residential services are available that address the needs identified in the assessment and that will ameliorate the conditions leading to the seriously emotionally disturbed designation.
(c) If the review required in subdivision (b) results in an individualized education program that calls for residential placement, the individualized education program shall include all of the items outlined in Section 56345 of the Education Code, and shall also include:
(1) Designation of the county mental health department as lead case manager. Lead case management responsibility may be delegated to the county welfare department by agreement between the county welfare department and the designated county mental health department. The county mental health department shall retain financial responsibility for the provision of case management services.
(2) Provision for a review of the case progress, the continuing need for out-of-home placement, the extent of compliance with the individualized education program, and progress toward alleviating the need for out-of-home care, by the full individualized education program team at least every six months.
(3) Identification of an appropriate residential facility for placement with the assistance of the county welfare department as necessary.
(d) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2011, and, as of January 1, 2012, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2012, deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.
(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 43, Sec 33.)