PARRIS N. GLENDENING, Governor

Ch. 709

CHAPTER 709
(House Bill 1045)

AN ACT concerning

Mental Hygiene Administration - Core Service Agencies — Procedure

FOR the purpose of requiring the Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene to establish
certain procedures within the Mental Hygiene Administration that give certain
community mental health programs the right to certain hearings and the right to
appeal certain decisions in a certain manner; requiring the Secretary to adopt
certain regulations access a certain mediation process and the right to request a
certain hearing under certain circumstances; and generally relating to certain
procedures within the Mental Hygiene Administration.

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments,
Article - Health - General
Section 10-1203
Annotated Code of Maryland
(1994 Replacement Volume and 1996 Supplement)

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
MARYLAND, That the Laws of Maryland read as follows;

Article - Health - General

10-1203.

(a)     To the extent resources are available, the Secretary, after consultation with
the Maryland Advisory Council on Mental Hygiene as established in Subtitle 3 of this title
and federal requirements mandated under P.L. 99-660, may initiate the development of
core service agencies as a mechanism for community planning, management, and
financing of mental health services.

(b)     When core service agencies are initiated, the Secretary shall:

(1)     Define the priority populations to be served by the core service agencies,
with a special emphasis on the provision of services to the seriously mentally ill
populations;

(2)     Define the essential mental health and associated support services to be
provided under the auspices of the core service agencies;

(3)     Define the essential administrative functions to be carried out by core
service agencies; and

(4)     Outline the requirements for the core service agencies' governance
structure.

(c)     To assure the continuing provision of appropriate services, the Secretary shall:

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