(a) The lead agency shall establish a State Interagency Birth-to-Three Coordinating Council and shall provide staff assistance and other resources to the council. The council shall consist of the following members, appointed by the Governor: (1) Parents, including minority parents, of children with disabilities twelve years of age or younger, with knowledge of, or experience with, programs for children with disabilities from birth to thirty-six months of age, the total number of whom shall equal not less than twenty per cent of the total membership of the council, and at least one of whom shall be a parent of a child six years of age or younger, with a disability; (2) two members of the General Assembly at the time of their appointment, one of whom shall be designated by the speaker of the House of Representatives and one of whom shall be designated by the president pro tempore of the Senate; (3) one person involved in the training of personnel who provide early intervention services; (4) one person who is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics; (5) the state coordinator of education for homeless children and youth, the state coordinator for early childhood special education and one person from each of the participating agencies, except the Department of Education, who shall be designated by the commissioner or executive director of the participating agency and who have authority to engage in policy planning and implementation on behalf of the participating agency; (6) public or private providers of early intervention services, the total number of whom shall equal not less than twenty per cent of the total membership of the council; and (7) a representative of a Head Start program or agency. The Governor shall designate the chairperson of the council who shall not be the designee of the lead agency.

(b) The Governor shall appoint all members of the council for terms of three years. No appointed member of the council may serve more than two consecutive terms, except a member may continue to serve until a successor is appointed.

(c) The council shall meet at least quarterly and shall provide public notice of its meetings, which shall be open and accessible to the general public. Special meetings may be called by the chairperson and shall be called at the request of the commissioner.

(d) Council members who are parents of children with disabilities shall be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties under this section.

(e) The council shall: (1) Assist the lead agency in the effective performance of the lead agency's responsibilities under section 17a-248, this section and sections 17a-248c to 17a-248g, inclusive, 38a-490a and 38a-516a, including identifying the sources of fiscal support for early intervention services and programs, assignment of financial responsibility to the appropriate agency, promotion of interagency agreements and preparing applications and amendments required pursuant to federal law; (2) advise and assist the commissioner and other participating agencies in the development of standards and procedures pursuant to said sections; (3) advise and assist the commissioner and the Commissioner of Education regarding the transition of children with disabilities to services provided under sections 10-76a to 10-76h, inclusive; (4) advise and assist the commissioner in identifying barriers that impede timely and effective service delivery, including advice and assistance with regard to interagency disputes; and (5) prepare and submit an annual report in accordance with section 11-4a to the Governor and the General Assembly on the status of the birth-to-three system. At least thirty days prior to the commissioner's final approval of rules and regulations pursuant to section 17a-248, this section, sections 17a-248c to 17a-248g, inclusive, 38a-490a and 38a-516a, other than emergency rules and regulations, the commissioner shall submit proposed rules and regulations to the council for its review. The council shall review all proposed rules and regulations and report its recommendations thereon to the commissioner within thirty days. The commissioner shall not act in a manner inconsistent with the recommendations of the council without first providing the reasons for such action. The council, upon a majority vote of its members, may require that an alternative approach to the proposed rules and regulations be published with a notice of the proposed rules and regulations pursuant to chapter 54. When an alternative approach is published pursuant to this section, the commissioner shall state the reasons for not selecting such alternative approach.

(P.A. 96-185, S. 8, 16; P.A. 98-250, S. 5, 39; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 99-2, S. 28; P.A. 00-27, S. 2, 24; P.A. 05-256, S. 7; P.A. 06-196, S. 206; P.A. 13-20, S. 5.)

History: P.A. 96-185 effective July 1, 1996 (Revisor's note: In Subsec. (a) a reference to the “chair” of the council was replaced editorially by the Revisors with “chairperson” for conformity with Subsec. (c) and customary statutory usage); P.A. 98-250 increased number of parents from five to six and added a representative of a Head Start program or agency, effective July 1, 1998; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 99-2 amended Subsec. (b) by replacing staggered appointments with appointed for three years; P.A. 00-27 made technical changes, effective May 1, 2000; P.A. 05-256 amended Subsec. (a)(1) to require that the total number of parents on council equal not less than 20% of total membership and Subsec. (a)(6) to require that the total number of public or private providers on council equal not less than 20% of total membership, effective June 30, 2005; P.A. 06-196 made a technical change in Subsec. (a)(1), effective June 7, 2006; P.A. 13-20 amended Subsec. (a)(5) by adding state coordinator of education for homeless children and youth and state coordinator for early childhood special education and adding exception to requirement of one person from each participating agency for Department of Education, and amended Subsec. (b) by adding provision re number of terms council member may serve.