A. The Director of the Department of Human Services shall, within the constraints of funding appropriated to the Department, establish and maintain a community-based program of services that includes, but is not limited to, establishment of foster care and supported living arrangements for persons affected by Prader-Willi syndrome. The purpose of this section of law shall be to improve the quality of life of persons with developmental disabilities and to integrate such persons into the mainstream of society by ensuring availability of community services.

B. The programs established pursuant to this section shall be administered by the Developmental Disabilities Service Division. The Commission for Human Services shall promulgate rules for the operation of community-based programs for persons with developmental disabilities including, but not limited to, rules regarding the delivery of:

1. Health-related services. As used in this section, health-related services means services provided by community services providers or community services workers to persons with developmental disabilities, and includes, but is not limited to:

a.personal hygiene,

b.transferring,

c.range of motion,

d.supervision or assistance with activities of daily living,

e.basic nursing care, such as taking the person’s temperature, pulse or respiration, positioning, incontinent care, and identification of signs and symptoms of disease. Certain tasks that may be performed as basic nursing care by community services workers require appropriate training provided or approved by the Department, written agreement by the service recipient’s personal support team, and the primary care physician’s acknowledgment and specific order related to the task. Under such circumstances, basic nursing care may include, but need not be limited to:

(1)nutrition, including meals by gastrostomy tube or jejeunostomy tube,

(2)blood glucose monitoring,

(3)ostomy bag care,

(4)oral suctioning, and

(5)administration of oral metered dose inhalers and nebulizers;

2. Supportive assistance, which means the service rendered to persons with developmental disabilities that is sufficient to enable such person to meet an adequate level of daily living. Supportive assistance includes, but is not limited to, training and supervision of persons with developmental disabilities, assistance in housekeeping, assistance in the preparation of meals, and assistance in activities of daily living as necessary for the health and comfort of persons with developmental disabilities; and

3. Safe storage and administration of medications, first aid treatments and nutrition by oral, rectal, vaginal, otic, ophthalmic, nasal, skin, topical, transdermal and gastrostomy tube routes by community service workers who have successfully completed competency-based training approved by the Department.

C. The Department shall undertake to identify and utilize any and all federal funding which may be available for such services.

D. The Department is authorized to accept any gift of real or personal property made for the use or benefit of any program or services established pursuant to this section. Such gift may only be utilized for the purpose or purposes for which it is given.

Added by Laws 1994, c. 133, § 1, emerg. eff. May 2, 1994. Amended by Laws 2005, c. 38, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2005.