There is hereby established within the executive branch of state government an executive office of health and human services to serve as the principal agency of the executive branch of state government for managing the departments of children, youth and families, health, human services, and behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals. In this capacity, the office shall:

(a)  Lead the state’s four (4) health and human services departments in order to:

(1)  Improve the economy, efficiency, coordination, and quality of health and human services policy and planning, budgeting, and financing.

(2)  Design strategies and implement best practices that foster service access, consumer safety, and positive outcomes.

(3)  Maximize and leverage funds from all available public and private sources, including federal financial participation, grants, and awards.

(4)  Increase public confidence by conducting independent reviews of health and human services issues in order to promote accountability and coordination across departments.

(5)  Ensure that state health and human services policies and programs are responsive to changing consumer needs and to the network of community providers that deliver assistive services and supports on their behalf.

(6)  Administer Rhode Island Medicaid in the capacity of the single state agency authorized under title XIX of the U.S. Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1396a et seq., and exercise such single state agency authority for such other federal and state programs as may be designated by the governor. Except as provided for herein, nothing in this chapter shall be construed as transferring to the secretary the powers, duties, or functions conferred upon the departments by Rhode Island general laws for the management and operations of programs or services approved for federal financial participation under the authority of the Medicaid state agency.

(7)  To act in conjunction with the department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals as the state’s co-designated agency (42 U.S.C. § 300x-30(a)) for administering federal aid and for the purposes of the calculation of expenditures relative to the substance-abuse block grant and federal funding maintenance of effort.

History of Section.
P.L. 2006, ch. 246, art. 38, § 19; P.L. 2007, ch. 73, art. 3, § 1; P.L. 2009, ch. 68, art. 5, § 1; P.L. 2012, ch. 241, art. 18, § 1; P.L. 2015, ch. 141, art. 5, § 20; P.L. 2016, ch. 142, art. 4, § 22; P.L. 2017, ch. 302, art. 9, § 8.