AS Title 47, Chapter 75: Social Services Planning

Chapter 75. Social Services Planning. Sec. 47.75.010. Purpose. The purpose of the state plan for social services is to assess the state's needs for existing and new social services, to establish priorities among these needs, and to present an annual implemental plan to meet those needs based upon available state and federal financing with the goals of (1) achieving or maintaining economic self-support to prevent, reduce, or eliminate dependency; (2) achieving or maintaining self-sufficiency, including reduction or prevention of dependency; (3) preventing or remedying neglect, abuse, or exploitation of children and adults unable to protect their own interests, or preserving, rehabilitating, or reuniting families; (4) preventing or reducing inappropriate institutional care by providing alternative types of care including community-based care, home-based care, or other forms of less intensive care; and (5) securing referral or admission for institutional care when other forms of care are not appropriate, or providing services to individuals in institutions. Sec. 47.75.020. State plan. (a) The department shall annually provide to the legislature a detailed state plan for the delivery of social services. It includes the following: (1) a needs analysis of social services presently provided or purchased by the state; (2) a needs analysis of social services that are not presently provided or purchased by the state or not available from any other source in the state; (3) a needs analysis of social services provided by local governments, nonprofit and charitable organizations, and profit corporations and partnerships, with an emphasis on their availability for purchase by the state; (4) a priority listing of social services to be provided or purchased by the state for the succeeding fiscal year, including (A) a justification of how each proposed social service shall meet the goals established under AS 47.75.010 ; (B) the categories of individuals to whom the services are to be provided, including categories based on the income of individuals or their families; (C) the geographic areas in which the services are to be provided, with the nature and amount of the services to be provided in each area; (D) a description of the planning, evaluation, and reporting activities to be carried out in order to provide the service; (E) a description of the organizational structure through which the program will be administered, including the extent to which public and private agencies and volunteers will be utilized in the provision of the services; (F) estimated expenditures required for each of the services to be provided, each of the categories of individuals to whom the services are to be provided, and each of the geographic areas in which the services are to be provided; and a comparison between estimated state and other expenditures for the services necessary to insure adequate availability of services to the entire population of the state; (5) a comprehensive budget for services provided or purchased by the state based upon the prioritized listing required in (4) of this subsection including expenditures for administration, planning, evaluation, and personnel training directly related to the provision of those services; and (6) recommendations as to any necessary changes in existing laws, including licensing to improve the quality and availability of social services, facilities and institutions, and social services manpower. (b) The state plan required by this chapter is the official state plan prepared for the delivery of social services in the state and shall include and meet all the applicable provisions required by title XX of the Social Security Act, P.L. 93-647. The state plan may not be limited to the planning of services funded by title XX, but must include all the social services purchased or provided by the state or any of its subdivisions. Sec. 47.75.030. Annual public meetings required. (a) During the first quarter of each fiscal year, the department shall hold public meetings for the purposes of gathering information and testimony on the availability and need of social services in the regional office service areas designated by the department. (b) Notice of these public meetings shall be made by publication in newspapers of general circulation published in each region at least once each week for three successive weeks before the meeting. (c) All meetings shall be recorded. The recordings and all information submitted at the meeting shall be maintained by the department for a period of at least two years. Sec. 47.75.040. Public hearings on proposed state plan. (a) Upon completion of the needs analysis required in AS 47.75.020 and the public meetings required in AS 47.75.030 , the department shall prepare a state plan. (b) At least 90 days before the first day of each regular legislative session, the department shall publish and make available to the public and members of the legislature the proposed state plan for the following fiscal year. (c) The department shall conduct public hearings for the purpose of obtaining comment on the proposed state plan as provided for in the Administrative Procedure Act ( AS 44.62 ). Sec. 47.75.050. Submission to the legislature. (a) The department shall submit the state plan and supporting commentary reflecting the public input and comment provided for in AS 47.75.030 and 47.75.040 to the legislature on the first day of each regular session. (b) The department shall submit a budget for proposed state expenditures in conformity with the state plan. In addition, the department shall submit a budget and a detailed analysis of those prioritized needs and funds which were addressed in the needs analysis and public hearings, but were not included in the published state plan as a result of fiscal or legal constraints. Sec. 47.75.060. Definitions. In this chapter, (1) “department” means the Department of Health; (2) “social services” means child care services, protective services for children and adults, services for children and adults in foster care, services related to the management and maintenance of the home, day care services for adults, transportation services, training and related services, employment services, information, referral, and counseling services, the preparation and delivery of meals, health support services, a full range of legal services, and appropriate combinations of services designed to meet the special needs of children, the aged, persons with developmental disabilities, persons who are blind, persons with mental illness, persons with physical disabilities, and persons with substance abuse disorders.