Okla. Admin. Code § 1:2015-17

Current through Vol. 42, No. 4, November 1, 2024

Section 1:2015-17

By Executive Order 2013-8, I established the Governor's Blue Ribbon Panel for Developmental Disabilities (Blue Ribbon Panel), which was tasked with developing a comprehensive plan to support individuals with developmental disabilities and their families in acquiring reliable, high-quality care. This Blue Ribbon Panel, comprised of individuals with developmental disabilities, their family members, and professionals from developmental disability-related fields, is scheduled to sunset on April 1, 2015. Much important work, however, remains unfinished.

It is for this reason that, I, Mary Fallin, Governor of the State of Oklahoma, pursuant to the authority vested in me by Sections 1 and 2 of Article VI of the Oklahoma Constitution, hereby create an executive council of State officials (Executive Council), which shall be composed of the individuals designated in Section A, below. The Executive Council is hereby authorized, with the support and guidance of an Advisory Committee as established in Section B, below, to continue improving the range and quality of services accessible to Oklahomans with developmental disabilities.

More specifically, the Executive Council shall coordinate and improve the information tools that key State agencies make publicly available regarding existing developmental disability services and community resources (hereinafter referred to as "resources"). As part of this initiative, the Executive Council shall:

1) provide for the regular, periodic dissemination of information about resources to individuals on the waiver services request list that are specifically-tailored to each individual's need;

2) develop and implement resource training programs that are designed both for State workers to employ at the point of intake, and for families and self-advocates to access, more generally, throughout Oklahoma; and

3) improve the ease-of-use and prominence of information on State agency websites concerning resources, including the potential creation of a uniform disability information web portal. In addition, the Executive Council shall analyze how best to prioritize the waiver services request list so that need and urgency of care, and not just date of application, are considered in the ordering of the list.

The Executive Council, however, is by no means restricted from considering and recommending implementation of statutorily authorized State agency action(s) on unanticipated issues critical to the developmentally disabled community, or from championing necessary statutory amendments to me or the Legislature, where appropriate.

A. The Executive Council shall be composed of the following State officials:

1. The Chief Executive Officer of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA), or his or her designee;

2. The State Superintendent of Public Instruction (Superintendent), or his or her designee;

3. The Director of the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services (DRS), or his or her designee;

4. The Commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS), or his or her designee;

5. The Chancellor of the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education (Chancellor), or his or her designee;

6. Director of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS), or his or her designee;

7. The Secretary of Health and Human Services, or his or her designee; and

8. The Secretary of Education and Workforce Development, or his or her designee.

The Chair(s) of the Executive Council shall rotate on an annual basis, with the DHS representative serving as Chair in 2015; the OHCA and ODMHSAS representatives serving as co-Chairs in 2016; the Superintendent and Chancellor representatives serving as co-Chairs in 2017; and the DRS representative serving as Chair in 2018. Administrative support for the Executive Council and its Advisory Committee, as is deemed necessary and appropriate to ensure compliance with this Order, shall be provided by the State agency of that year's designated Chair; except that, OHCA shall be exclusively responsible for providing administrative support in 2016, and the Chancellor shall be exclusively responsible for providing administrative support in 2017.

B. The Advisory Committee shall be comprised of the ten (10) non ex-officio members of the Blue Ribbon Panel. The Executive Council is hereby authorized to appoint, as it deems necessary, replacements for any vacancies that arise on the Advisory Committee; however, in no event shall the Advisory Committee include less than six (6) members. The Advisory Committee's composition shall remain restricted to individuals with developmental disabilities, parents of adults or children with developmental disabilities, and individuals with professional experience regarding developmental disabilities. Advisory Committee members shall not be compensated for their services, but may be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their duties in the same manner as provided State employees by the State Travel Reimbursement Act.

This Executive Order shall be distributed to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Education and Workforce Development, and all of the State officials designated to serve on the Executive Council in Section A, above, who shall cause the provisions of this Order to be implemented.

IN WITNESS WHERE OF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Oklahoma to be affixed at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, this 27th day of March, 2015.

BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE

STATE OF OKLAHOMA

Mary Fallin

ATTEST:

LeeAnn McNaughton Hayes

Acting Assistant Secretary of State

Okla. Admin. Code § 1:2015-17

Adopted by Oklahoma Register, Volume 32, Issue 15, April 15, 2015, eff. 3/27/2015