At its September 12 meeting, the State Executive Council for Children’s Services approved seeking public comment for 45 days on two notices of intent to develop policy. This is the first step in the policy development process.
- SEC Policy 4.4.2 – Medicaid Funded Services: Comments are being sought on a proposed repeal of SEC Policy 4.4.2, dealing with Medicaid-funded services. As explained in the SEC’s summary, this policy restates language in the state budget that stipulates that Community Policy and Management Teams must use Medicaid-funded services when they are available for the appropriate treatment of children and youth, and that CSA pool funds cannot be used for a service that can be funded through Medicaid, except when Medicaid-funded services are unavailable or inappropriate. Repealing the policy is intended to eliminate this duplicative language. An explanation of the proposed change may be found at this link, and the full text of the language proposed to be removed may be found at this link.
- SEC Policy 4.5.3 – Administrative Funds: Comments are also being sought on proposed revisions to SEC Policy 4.5.3, which deals with administrative funds provided to local CSA offices. The proposed changes are intended to align with a new, streamlined process for distribution of funds to localities. An explanation of the proposed change may be found at this link, and the full text of the proposed policy revisions may be found at this link.
Comments on these policies may be submitted through the SEC’s Policy Public Comments Form (available at this link), via email to csa.office@csa.virginia.gov or via US mail or other forms of delivery to the Office of Children’s Services, 1604 Santa Rosa Road, Suite 137, Richmond, VA 23229. Comments are due by 5:00 p.m. on November 1, 2024.
The State Executive Council also approved a final 60-day public comment period on a proposed repeal of SEC Policy 4.3, which sets out a process for two or more localities to set aside a portion of their state and local pool fund allocations (up to $100,000 per jurisdiction, or 5 percent of the local allocation, whichever is smaller) to cover start-up costs for new or expanded CSA services, with an aggregate statewide cap of $2 million. The Office of Children’s Services is proposing to repeal this policy, as its implementation is contingent on a state appropriation of $2 million, which has never been funded. A summary may be found at this link, and the full text of the language that is proposed to be repealed may be found at this link. This policy was previously circulated for an initial 45-day public comment period, which closed on August 1.
Comments on this proposed repeal are due by November 15 and may be submitted through the SEC’s Policy Public Comments Form (available at this link), via email to csa.office@csa.virginia.gov or via US mail or other forms of delivery to the Office of Children’s Services, 1604 Santa Rosa Road, Suite 137, Richmond, VA 23229.
Member feedback will inform VACo’s public comments and may be sent to Katie Boyle (kboyle@vaco.org). If members submit comments directly to the Office of Children’s Services, VACo staff would greatly appreciate receiving a copy of your comments.
VACo Contact: Katie Boyle