1. To the extent funding is available, the department shall perform the following duties:

 a. Prepare and administer the comprehensive mental health and disability services plan as provided in section 225C.6B, including state mental health and intellectual disability plans for the provision of disability services within the state and the state developmental disabilities plan. The department shall take into account any related planning activities implemented by the state board of regents or a body designated by the board for that purpose, the department of management or a body designated by the director of the department for that purpose, the department of education, the department of workforce development and any other appropriate governmental body, in order to facilitate coordination of disability services provided in this state. The state mental health and intellectual disability plans shall be consistent with the state health plan, and shall take into account mental health and disability services regional service system management plans.
 b. Assist mental health and disability services region governing boards and regional administrators in planning for community-based disability services.
 c. Assist the state board in planning for community-based children‘s behavioral health services.
 d. Emphasize the provision of evidence-based outpatient and community support services by community mental health centers and local intellectual disability providers as a preferable alternative to acute inpatient services and services provided in large institutional settings.
 e. Encourage and facilitate coordination of mental health and disability services with the objective of developing and maintaining in the state a mental health and disability service delivery system to provide services to all persons in this state who need the services, regardless of the place of residence or economic circumstances of those persons. The department shall work with the commission and other state agencies, including but not limited to the departments of corrections and education, and the state board of regents, to develop and implement a strategic plan to expand access to qualified mental health workers across the state.
 f. Encourage and facilitate applied research and preventive educational activities related to causes and appropriate treatment for disabilities. The department may designate, or enter into agreements with, private or public agencies to carry out this function.
 g. Coordinate community-based services with those of the state mental health institutes and state resource centers.
 h. Administer state programs regarding the care, treatment, and supervision of persons with mental illness or an intellectual disability, except the programs administered by the state board of regents.
 i. Administer and distribute state appropriations in connection with the mental health and disability services regional service fund established by section 225C.7A.
 j. Act as compact administrator with power to effectuate the purposes of interstate compacts on mental health.
 k. Establish and maintain a data collection and management information system oriented to the needs of patients, providers, the department, and other programs or facilities in accordance with section 225C.6A. The system shall be used to identify, collect, and analyze service outcome and performance measures data in order to assess the effects of the services on the persons utilizing the services. The department shall annually submit to the commission information collected by the department indicating the changes and trends in the mental health and disability services system. The department shall make the outcome data available to the public.
 l. Encourage and facilitate coordination of children’s behavioral health services with the objective of developing and maintaining in the state a children’s behavioral health system to provide behavioral health services to all children in this state who need the services, regardless of the place of residence or economic circumstances of those children. The department shall work with the state board and other state agencies including but not limited to the department of education to develop and implement a strategic plan to expand access to qualified mental health workers across the state.
 m. Establish and maintain a data collection and management information system oriented to the needs of children utilizing the children’s behavioral health system, providers, the department, and other programs or facilities in accordance with section 225C.6A. The system shall be used to identify, collect, and analyze service outcome and performance measures data in order to assess the effects of the services on the children utilizing the services. The department shall annually submit to the state board information collected by the department indicating the changes and trends in the children’s behavioral health system. The department shall make the outcome data available to the public.
 n. Prepare a budget and reports of the department’s activities.
 o. Establish suitable agreements with other state agencies to encourage appropriate care and to facilitate the coordination of disability services.
 p. Provide consultation and technical assistance to patients’ advocates appointed pursuant to section 229.19, in cooperation with the judicial branch and the certified volunteer long-term care ombudsmen certified pursuant tosection 231.45.
 q. Provide technical assistance to agencies and organizations, to aid them in meeting standards which are established, or with which compliance is required, under statutes administered by the department, including but not limited to chapters 227 and 230A.
 r. Recommend to the commission minimum accreditation standards for the maintenance and operation of community mental health centers, services, and programs under section 230A.110. The department’s review and evaluation of the centers, services, and programs for compliance with the adopted standards shall be as provided in section 230A.111.
 s. Recommend to the commission minimum standards for supported community living services. The department shall review and evaluate the services for compliance with the adopted standards.
 t. In cooperation with the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing, recommend minimum standards under section 227.4 for the care of and services to persons with mental illness or an intellectual disability residing in county care facilities. The department shall also cooperate with the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing in recommending minimum standards for care of and services provided to persons with mental illness or an intellectual disability living in a residential care facility regulated under chapter 135C.
 u. Recommend minimum standards for the maintenance and operation of public or private facilities offering disability services, which are not subject to licensure by the department or the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing.
 v. Provide technical assistance concerning disability services and funding to mental health and disability services region governing boards and regional administrators.
 w. Coordinate with the mental health planning and advisory council created pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 300x-3 to ensure the council membership includes representation by a military veteran who is knowledgeable concerning the behavioral and mental health issues of veterans.
 x. Enter into performance-based contracts with regional administrators as described in section 225C.57. A performance-based contract shall require a regional administrator to fulfill the statutory and regulatory requirements of the regional service system under this chapter. A failure to fulfill the requirements may be addressed by remedies specified in the contract, including but not limited to suspension of contract payments or cancellation of the contract. The contract provisions may include but are not limited to requirements for the regional service system to attain outcomes within a specified range of acceptable performance in any of the following categories:

 (1) Access standards for the required core services.
 (2) Penetration rates for serving the number of persons expected to be served.
 (3) Utilization rates for inpatient and residential treatment.
 (4) Readmission rates for inpatient and residential treatment.
 (5) Employment of the persons receiving services.
 (6) Administrative costs.
 (7) Data reporting.
 (8) Timely and accurate claims processing.
 (9) School attendance.
 y. Provide information through the internet concerning waiting lists for services implemented by mental health and disability services regions.
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Terms Used In Iowa Code 225C.4

  • Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
  • children: means a person or persons under eighteen years of age. See Iowa Code 225C.2
  • Commission: means the mental health and disability services commission. See Iowa Code 225C.2
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Council: means the council on health and human services. See Iowa Code 225C.2
  • Department: means the department of health and human services. See Iowa Code 249L.2
  • Department: means the department of health and human services. See Iowa Code 225C.2
  • Director: means the director of health and human services. See Iowa Code 225C.2
  • Disability services: means services and other support available to a person with mental illness, an intellectual disability or other developmental disability, or brain injury. See Iowa Code 225C.2
  • following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Intellectual disability: means a diagnosis of intellectual disability or intellectual developmental disorder, global developmental delay, or unspecified intellectual disability or intellectual developmental disorder which diagnosis shall be made only when the onset of the person's condition was during the developmental period and based on an assessment of the person's intellectual functioning and level of adaptive skills. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Internet: means the federated international system that is composed of allied electronic communication networks linked by telecommunication channels, that uses standardized protocols, and that facilitates electronic communication services, including but not limited to use of the world wide web; the transmission of electronic mail or messages; the transfer of files and data or other electronic information; and the transmission of voice, image, and video. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Mental health and disability services region: means a mental health and disability services region formed in accordance with section 225C. See Iowa Code 225C.2
  • Mental health and disability services regional service system: means the mental health and disability service system for a mental health and disability services region. See Iowa Code 225C.2
  • persons with mental illness: include persons with psychosis, persons who are severely depressed, and persons with any type of mental disease or mental disorder, except that mental illness does not refer to intellectual disability, or to insanity, diminished responsibility, or mental incompetency as defined and used in the Iowa criminal code or in the rules of criminal procedure, Iowa court rules. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Regional administrator: means the same as defined in section 225C. See Iowa Code 225C.2
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the said district and territories. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • State board: means the children's behavioral health system state board created in section 225C. See Iowa Code 225C.2
  • supported community living services: means services provided in a noninstitutional setting to adult persons with mental illness, an intellectual disability, or developmental disabilities to meet the persons' daily living needs. See Iowa Code 225C.21
 2. The department may:

 a. Apply for, receive, and administer federal aids, grants, and gifts for purposes relating to disability services or programs.
 b. Establish and supervise suitable standards of care, treatment, and supervision for persons with disabilities in all institutions under the control of the director.
 c. Appoint professional consultants to furnish advice on any matters pertaining to disability services. The consultants shall be paid as provided by an appropriation of the general assembly.
 d. Administer a public housing unit program to apply for, receive, and administer federal assistance, grants, and other public or private funds for purposes related to providing housing in accordance with section 225C.45.
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