(a) Overview.
  (1) Pursuant to the Texas Human Resources Code, §41.0011, this memorandum of understanding has been developed by the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (TDPRS), Texas Commission for the Blind (TCB), Texas Department of Health (TDH), Texas Department of Human Services (TDHS), Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation (TXMHMR), Texas Education Agency (TEA), Texas Interagency Council on Early Childhood Intervention (ECI), Texas Juvenile Probation Commission (TJPC), Texas Rehabilitation Commission (TRC), and Texas Youth Commission (TYC), hereinafter referred to as "the agencies," in consultation with advocacy and consumer groups.
  (2) The memorandum, as adopted by rule by each agency, provides for the implementation of a system of community resource coordination groups, hereinafter referred to as coordination groups, to coordinate services for children and youths who need services from more than one agency, hereinafter referred to as "children and youths with multi-agency needs" or, more briefly, as "children and youths."
  (3) All coordination groups established pursuant to this memorandum must conform to the Model of Community Resource Coordination Groups (CRCG model) approved by the Commission on Children, Youth, and Family Services on April 27, 1990. This model is adopted by reference and may be obtained from:
    (A) TDPRS, 701 West 51st St., Austin, Texas 78751;
    (B) TCB, 4800 North Lamar Boulevard, Austin, Texas 78756;
    (C) TDH, 1100 West 49th Street, Austin, Texas 78756
    (D) TDHS, 701 West 51st St., Austin, Texas 78751;
    (E) TXMHMR, 909 West 45th St., Austin, Texas 78756;
    (F) TEA, 1701 North Congress, Austin, Texas 78701;
    (G) ECI, 1100 West 49th St., Austin, Texas 78756;
    (H) TJPC, 2015 South I.H. 35, Austin, Texas 78741;
    (I) TRC, 4900 North Lamar Blvd., Austin, Texas 78751; or
    (J) TYC, 4900 North Lamar Blvd., Austin, Texas 78751.
  (4) As specified in subsection (c)(5) of this section, this memorandum also requires the agencies, the coordination groups, and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, hereinafter referred to as "the commission," to work together to ensure that the commission's strategic plan for delivering health and human services in Texas includes appropriate plans for delivering coordinated services to children and youths.
(b) Role of the family. Although the primary purpose of this memorandum is to establish a system for interagency coordination of services to children and youths, the agencies:
  (1) recognize the importance of the family in the life of each child and youth whom the agencies serve; and
  (2) are committed to providing services pursuant to this memorandum in the most normal and least restrictive environments possible.
(c) Each agency's financial and statutory responsibilities.
  (1) Each agency's financial and statutory responsibilities for children and youth are described in Health and Human Services in Texas: A Reference Guide, published by the commission.
  (2) Each agency agrees to provide coordination groups with relevant additional information about its financial and statutory responsibilities when such information is necessary for the groups to meet their responsibilities. The additional information may include, but is not limited to, descriptions of subcategories of funding for different types of service such as investigation, risk prevention, family preservation, emergency shelter, diagnosis and evaluation, residential care, follow-up services after a stay in residential care, and information and referral assistance.
  (3) Whenever necessary in particular cases, coordination groups are responsible for further clarifying the agencies' financial and service responsibilities.
  (4) The agencies agree to seek the resources needed to comply with this memorandum.
  (5) To the extent that operating under this memorandum helps the agencies to identify structural problems, gaps, and inefficiencies in the state's systems for delivering health and human services to children and youths with multi-agency needs, the agencies agree to give the commission information about the problems, gaps, and inefficiencies so identified. The agencies also agree to ask the coordination groups to provide such information. The commission, in turn, will appropriately incorporate information provided by the agencies and the coordination groups into the commission's strategic plan.
(d) Children and youths with multi-agency needs. For the purpose of this memorandum, a "child or youth with multi-agency needs" is a person who:
  (1) is less than 22 years old;
  (2) meets an agency's statutory age-limitations for eligibility;
  (3) is now receiving services or has received them in the past; and
  (4) needs services that require interagency coordination.
(e) Interagency cost-sharing.
  (1) The agencies agree to share the cost of providing needed services when:
    (A) a coordination group confirms that a referring agency cannot provide all of the services needed; and
    (B) the needed services are within the financial capabilities and statutory responsibilities of one or more of the other agencies.
  (2) Cost-sharing includes, but is not limited to:
    (A) provision of services by more than one agency; and
    (B) provision of services by:
      (i) one or more agencies; and
      (ii) one or more third parties under purchase-of-service contracts with one or more agencies.
(f) Eliminating duplication of services. Within the limits of existing legal authority, each coordination group must make reasonable efforts to eliminate duplication of services relating to the assessment and diagnosis, treatment, residential placement and care, and case management of children and youths with multi-agency needs. Each agency agrees to notify the governor's office about federal laws and regulations that cause duplication of services. Each agency also agrees to notify its board about rules that cause duplication of services, and to pursue amendments to state laws, rules, and policies when necessary to eliminate such duplication.
(g) Interagency dispute resolution.
  (1) Each agency must designate a negotiator who is not a member of any coordination group to resolve disputes. The negotiator must have:
    (A) decision-making authority over the agency's representative on the coordination group; and
    (B) the ability to interpret policy and commit funds.
  (2) When two or more members of a coordination group disagree about their respective agencies' service responsibilities, the coordination group must send the designated negotiators for those agencies written notification that a dispute exists. Within 45 days after receiving the written notification, the negotiators must confer together to resolve the dispute.
  (3) When an interagency dispute cannot be resolved in the manner described in paragraph (2) of this subsection, the aggrieved party may refer the dispute to the Health and Human Services commissioner.
(h) Composition of coordination groups. Each coordination group must include one appointed representative from each participating state agency, and as many as five local representatives from the private sector. The private-sector representatives must be selected by their peers from private-sector agencies serving youths in the geographical area the coordination group serves. The private-sector representatives have the same status as state-agency representatives. The organizations they represent are considered member agencies of the coordination group, and they are encouraged to present cases from the private sector.
(i) Case identification and referral. Each coordination group must implement the procedures for identifying and referring cases specified in the CRCG model. Any member of a coordination group may refer the case of any eligible child or youth to the coordination group if the referring member's agency cannot otherwise provide or arrange all the services the child or youth needs.
(j) Convening coordination group meetings. Any member of a coordination group may convene a coordination group meeting pursuant to subsection (i) of this section. Each coordination group must establish procedures for scheduling meetings.
(k) Permissible nonattendance. A member agency's representative may be excused from attending a coordination group meeting if the coordination group determines that the member agency's service responsibilities do not apply to the child or youth whose services will be discussed at the meeting.
Cont'd...