30:6D-32.6 Findings, declarations relative to services for persons with developmental disabilities.

1. The Legislature finds and declares that:

a. Reliable and current data about the service needs of persons with developmental disabilities who are eligible for services from the Division of Developmental Disabilities in the Department of Human Services is fundamental to the division's ability to plan effectively to meet those needs;

b. Similarly, in order to make appropriate decisions about State funding for these services, it is important to understand the needs of persons with developmental disabilities served by the division;

c. Information about service needs is also essential for service providers as they seek to expand services, acquire or build infrastructure where needed, make services available at the time they are needed, and ensure that the services they provide are compatible with the needs of persons with developmental disabilities residing in their particular service areas;

d. Additionally, persons with developmental disabilities and their family members and guardians need access to current data so that they can develop informed expectations about the system that provides services for persons with developmental disabilities;

e. As this system evolves into one in which more persons with developmental disabilities and their family members and guardians play a larger role in obtaining necessary support services in the community, it is critical to create a truly transparent system on which persons with developmental disabilities and their family members and guardians can rely, and which they can trust; and

f. In order to ensure that the State and persons with developmental disabilities and their family members and guardians have reliable data about the service needs of persons with developmental disabilities and that such data can be made available to those who need to factor that information into their decision-making, planning, funding, and expectations for services, it is the policy of the State to provide for the collection and dissemination of data on persons with developmental disabilities.

L.2011, c.163, s.1.