(a)For the purposes of implementing this chapter, the Governor shall appoint the Interagency Coordinating Council. The council shall consist of not less than 15 members nor more than the number allowed by regulation.
(b)The Governor shall designate a member of the council to serve as the chair, or shall require the council to designate a member to serve as the chair.
(c)The council shall be composed as follows:
(1)At least 20 percent of the members shall be parents, including minority parents, of infants and toddlers with disabilities or children with disabilities aged 12 or younger. At least one member shall be a parent of an infant or toddler with a disability or a child with a disability aged 6 or younger.
(2)At least 20 percent of the members shall be public or private providers o
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(a) For the purposes of implementing this chapter, the Governor shall appoint the Interagency Coordinating Council. The council shall consist of not less than 15 members nor more than the number allowed by regulation.
(b) The Governor shall designate a member of the council to serve as the chair, or shall require the council to designate a member to serve as the chair.
(c) The council shall be composed as follows:
(1) At least 20 percent of the members shall be parents, including minority parents, of infants and toddlers with disabilities or children with disabilities aged 12 or younger. At least one member shall be a parent of an infant or toddler with a disability or a child with a disability aged 6 or younger.
(2) At least 20 percent of the members shall be public or private providers of early intervention services.
(3) One representative from the Alabama Legislature.
(4) One person involved in personnel preparation.
(5) The directors of the appropriate agencies involved in the provision of or payment for early intervention services to eligible infants, toddlers, and their families, or their designated representative. These agencies include, but are not limited to, each of the following:
a. Alabama Department of Education.
b. Alabama Department of Human Resources.
c. Alabama Department of Insurance.
d. Alabama Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation.
e. Alabama Department of Public Health.
f. Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind.
g. Alabama Medicaid Agency.
h. Others selected by the Governor, which may include a representative of the local coordinating councils.
(d) The seven enumerated directors of state agencies or their designees shall serve ex officio. All other appointments shall be made by the Governor with initial staggered terms and subsequent terms of two years.
(e) The council shall meet at least quarterly. Meetings shall be open to the public.
(f) The council shall advise and assist the lead agency in the performance of its responsibilities consistent with its role in federal law, regulations, and state policy.
(g) No member of the council shall cast a vote on any matter which would provide direct financial benefit to that member or otherwise give the appearance of a conflict of interest under state law.
(h) The Governor shall designate an executive committee, composed of the seven enumerated directors of the state agencies and at least two family members represented on the Interagency Coordinating Council, as the policy making body for the early intervention program. Its authority to set policy is limited to those broad policy areas which the executive committee or Interagency Coordinating Council has identified as having significant impact on the early intervention system, policies, and funding of the respective agencies. The policies shall be adopted only after deliberation and consultation with the Interagency Coordinating Council. The executive committee shall have each of the following duties:
(1) Ensure interagency collaboration and mutual sharing of information to facilitate policy decisions and implementation of the comprehensive statewide system of early intervention services.
(2) Assure the development of a state plan to coordinate available resources related to early intervention.
(3) Identify areas of duplicative or fragmented public policies and regulations which may require modification or amendment and plan action directed at those issues.
(4) Resolve interagency disputes.
(5) Provide for coordinated program planning and joint budget development related to early intervention services based on the studies and recommendations of the council.
(6) Assign financial responsibility among appropriate agencies.