LAN 24 By Laws

The name of the organization shall be the Child and Adolescent Local Area Network; hereinafter referred to as C&A LAN 24 and/or Consortium.

The purpose of the Child and Adolescent Local Area Network shall be to plan and establish a unified, comprehensive, community-based system of care for children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbance and mental illness (see Attachment #2 for definition of term) and their families in Planning Area 24. This effort will be guided by the following principles:

1. A strong commitment to Interagency Coordination of planning, implementation and evaluation process, with the understanding that child-serving agencies cannot operate in a vacuum when serving children with emotional disturbances;

 

2. A strong commitment to both Home and Community Based Services with a commitment to providing services in the least restrictive setting;

 

3. A strong commitment to Empowering Parents to be active participants in the planning, provision, and evaluation of services;

 

A strong commitment to assuring Adequate Representation of parents of children with emotional disturbances;

 

A strong commitment to Family Focused Services with the understanding that children cannot be adequately served outside the context of their family;

 

A strong commitment to Individualized Services which are tailored to meet the needs of the child and his or her family;

 

A strong commitment to Unconditional Services for the child and family;

 

A strong commitment to Cultural Competence in the organization, service providers, and the delivery of services.

Based on these principles the C&A LAN 24 will attempt to facilitate the development of a "system of care" firmly grounded in a philosophy of services which is child-centered, family-focused, strength-based and community-based.

Section I LAN 24 Membership

All members of the general LAN organization shall sign a Letter of Commitment For Participation and Membership, see Attachment # 1. In addition, organizations shall be assessed an annual fee in an amount to be established by the Consortium of which 80% shall be earmarked to support and enhance the involvement of parents and consumers in LAN 24 committees and consortium meetings.

Members and Representatives shall come from the following populations: parents and consumers, schools and related organizations, funding agencies, business, local government, law enforcement and court services, faith community, service providers, state agencies and citizens at large.

The Steering Committee shall develop and sponsor C&A LAN 24 Consortium Meetings. The primary objectives of the C&A LAN Consortium Meetings are three-fold: 1. To provide stakeholders with information regarding the C&A LAN 24 planning process and State agency priorities; and 2. To gather input of a broad range of stakeholders in the C&A LAN planning process, and 3. Conduct dialog on salient issues that are barriers to system of care development and implementation.

The Consortium Meetings shall be held bimonthly or as often as necessary and shall include representatives from Ford, Iroquois, and Champaign Counties. The participants of the C&A LAN Consortium meetings shall include all members of the C&A LAN 24 Steering Committee in addition to other representatives of major stakeholders as identified in the "Guidelines for Child and Adolescent Local Area Networks."

The Consortium shall elect three individuals to act as Tri-Conveners; one tri-convener shall be elected from the sub LAN – Champaign, one tri-convener shall be elected from the sub LAN – Ford-Iroquois, and one tri-convener shall be elected at-large from the C&A LAN 24. The individuals elected shall be members of the Steering Committee. At least one of the three tri-conveners elected shall be a parent.

Each Tri-Convener will be assigned one of the following specific responsibilities:

A) Facilitate the process and conduct meetings in accordance with simplified Roberts Rules of Order.

B) Bring to the agenda issues related to the Resource Components as reported by the chairs of the service components named in Article V, Section II.

C) Bring to the Agenda Parent/Consumer issues and report back to the Parent Involvement Committee. This shall be a responsibility of the parent elected as a tri-convener.

SPECIFIC OFFICES AND DUTIES OF THE LAN ARE:

Secretary - Publish and distribute a Master Agenda prior to meetings and be responsible for minutes at LAN 24 meetings.

Treasurer - Collects dues and delivers an annual/quarterly financial report to the consortium.

Recorder - Interprets and identifies proper application of the by-laws, brings simplified Robert’s Rules of Orders and maintains written history of arbitrations, precedents and bylaw changes for the Secretary.

MEETING TIMES AND LOCATIONS

Shall be selected with the over arching goal of facilitating and encouraging maximum parent and consumer involvement. Accessible locations such as a local government building, library etc. are preferred.

DECISION MAKING

Tri-conveners shall have no special powers or authority other than those authorized by the Steering Committee and the general membership of the LAN 24 Consortium.

Simplified Roberts Rule of Order shall govern all meetings

Bylaw changes shall only be made by a super majority (i.e., two-thirds of the membership). All other issues brought to a vote shall be decided by the majority.

Voting Responsibility shall be related to attendance of members and representatives. There shall be 1 vote per organization and parent.

The term for officers and tri-conveners shall be for two years and shall be staggered terms. Within the guidelines as stated in ARTICLE IV, Section 1, the Consortium shall elect the tri-convener(s) on an annual basis.

The duties of the Tri-Conveners shall consist of presiding over all meetings of the C&A LAN, call meetings as herein provided, and perform such duties as provided by these bylaws.

The Consortium shall operate by consensus. In those instances where consensus cannot be reached, the matter shall be subject to a vote to be decided by the majority.

The Tri-Conveners shall be voting members of the LAN Consortium. All voting is subject to a roll call vote. An agency or organization may have more than one representative participating on the Consortium. However, all organizations are limited to only one vote per motion. A signed Letter of Commitment must be completed by each member/organization of the Consortium. Only those members/organizations/parents with Letters of Commitment on file are eligible to vote. Any member/organization missing two consecutive Consortium meetings will not be entitled to vote until after attending one meeting. Parent voting rights will be predicated by regular participation in committees and/or the full consortium. The Letter of Commitment is attached as Attachment #1.

A quorum shall consist of a simple majority of the members of the Consortium present.

Section I

Standing Committees of the C&A LAN shall consist of:

C & A LAN Steering Committee: Responsible for the organization of C&A LAN 24 system-level meetings. System issues or problems shall be directed to the steering committee in advance of the regular LAN 24 meetings. The Steering committee shall plan the agenda and assure that all system level issues raised are fully addressed. This includes inviting persons and agencies that are directly involved and have a part to play in resolution of issues or service system improvement initiatives. The Steering Committee shall be responsible for receiving the Quality Assurance Plans from each service component; to present such plans for approval by the LAN 24, and to perform oversight responsibilities of such plans.

Representation on the Steering Committee shall include the tri-conveners, the LAN officers, the chairs of all standing committees, a representative from each service component, and a representative from each of the state agencies, i.e. Department of Children and Family Services, Illinois State Board of Education, Department of Human Services-Office of Mental Health, and Community Residential Services Authority.

The Steering Committee shall meet at least bimonthly or as often as necessary to address the planning needs of C&A LAN 24. The meetings shall be open and conducted according to Robert's Rules of Order, except as modified by these bylaws.

The Steering Committee shall appoint Ad Hoc Committees or special Planning Committees as recommended by the Consortium. Any Ad Hoc or Special Planning Committee shall report to the Steering Committee on its activities.

Ford-Iroquois Committee - Shall consist of the representatives of consumers and organizations from those counties. Representation shall include at a minimum the Co-Chairpersons, Fiscal Agents, 2 Consumers, and a representative from the local Special Education District. The committee shall act on behalf of the Steering Committee between regularly scheduled meetings, except for adopting amendments to or repealing the Bylaws. Meetings shall be open to all interested parties.

Champaign Committee - Shall consist of the representatives of consumers and organizations from the county. Representation shall include at a minimum the Co-Chairpersons, Fiscal Agents, 2 Consumers, and a representative from the local Special Education District. The committee shall act on behalf of the Steering Committee between regularly scheduled meetings, except for adopting amendments to or repealing the Bylaws. Meetings shall be open to all interested parties.

Parent Involvement Committee – Shall convene at least quarterly, by which a parent shall chair, to address parent related issues and be responsible for assuring parent recruitment and involvement in the Consortium. The Committee must be representative of children in the service population, including parents of children with mental illness, Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED), Emotional Behavior Disorder (EBD), juvenile justice, and/or DCFS involved, and be culturally representative of the target population. In addition, the Committee is responsible for developing a fiscal management system for the Parent Involvement Fund. The Fiscal management system shall also include criteria for reimbursement of parent expenses associated with LAN participation and shall be approved by the Steering Committee prior to implementation. The parent tri-convener shall participate in this committee.

Membership and Nominating Committee - The Steering Committee shall appoint a Membership and Nominating Committee which will be responsible for recruiting consumers, parents, and other organizational representatives to be members of the LAN#24 Consortium and to assure consistent representation. This committee shall be responsible for the nomination of officers and conveners.

LAN 24 SERVICE COMPONENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Coalition for Community Kids in Care: Responsible for community foster parent and adoptive home recruitment. The Coalition shall prepare a quality assurance plan and submit same to the Steering Committee for review, comment and approval.

Family Centered Services: Responsible for planning, development and implementation of programs to address the reduction of child abuse and neglect through a child-centered, family-focused, community-based system that is integrated with local resources and is responsive to community needs. Services shall be delivered by agencies selected by LAN 24. The selected agencies shall prepare a quality assurance plan and submit same to the Steering Committee for review, comment and approval.

Child and Family Assistance Team: Responsible for Screening and Referral in the Champaign, Ford-Iroquois sub-areas respectively. The CFAT is responsible for approval of access to the Interagency Management Team (IMT) Flex Funds for children and adolescents that are not wards of DCFS. The CFAT shall develop policies, procedures and protocols that clearly define function, process and rules of operation (e.g., compliance with confidentiality statutes, process for applying for funds, etc.). Members of the CFAT are mandated reporters and shall fully comply with reporting requirements of Child Abuse and Neglect statutes. The CFAT shall prepare a quality assurance plan and submit same to the Steering Committee.

WSAA – Wraparound System Administrative Agent: Responsible for administration of DCFS funds allocated for financing wraparound service. Manages the wraparound services payment system and associated quality assurance (QA). The WSAA shall prepare a quality assurance plan and submit same to the Steering Committee.

These Bylaws may be amended by a 2/3 vote of the Consortium members when a notice has been sent in writing ten days prior to the meeting, clearly swing the proposed amendment. Members voting shall be in good standing according to the stated terms in ARTICLE 111, Section 1.

These Bylaws shall become effective immediately following their adoption by a majority of those members present at the meeting of the Consortium called for the purpose of adopting Bylaws.

_________________________ does hereby affirm it's commitment to cooperate in the planning, integration, delivery, and evaluation of comprehensive services to meet the needs of children and their families within the geographical area of LAN 24. In demonstration of this commitment, the above named participant agrees to:

Affirm that the participant or parent is a member of the community who can contribute to at risk youth and their families, integrating its efforts at the individual, family, school, community and system level and improving the effectiveness of the services it provides.

 

Respond to the needs and risks that affect children and their families within the geographical area of LAN 24 by providing feedback and/or resources directly or through community organizations and coalitions in conducting these assignments.

 

Inform, review and coordinate Federal, State and Local funding proposals in order to avoid duplication of effort and to enhance the continuum of efforts within the geographical area of LAN 24.

 

Each participant agrees to be active in this process, by attending the majority of meetings; keeping informed of progress and/or developments; and working on committees/projects as needed. Rules for participation will be developed through the Steering Committee.

 

Provide feedback and/or services in the most appropriate manner and at locations accessible to children and families within the geographical area of LAN 24 without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, physical condition, previous/current mental condition or ability to pay.

 

It is the responsibility of each participant to become knowledgeable about service needs, availability, and inadequacies throughout the service area.

 

It is the responsibility of each participant to serve on at least one standing or ad-hoc committee.

 

It is the responsibility of each participant to attend general LAN meetings regularly.

 

It is the responsibility of each participant to be an active participant in the debate over issues confronting the LAN.

Participating members must establish their presence at LAN meetings by sending an official representative regardless of the availability of their initially selected official representative.

 

 

 

Signature: ____________________________ _______________

Executive Director/Parent Date

____________________________

Name (type or print)

Emotional Disturbance (includes schizophrenia but does not apply to children who are socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that they have an emotional disturbance) means a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child’s educational performance:

An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors;

An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers;

Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances;

A general pervasive mood of anxiety or unhappiness or depression; or

A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.

Source: Illinois State Board of Education, Special Education Categories

U.S. Public Health Service, Report of the Surgeon General’s Conference on Children’s Mental Health: A National Action Agenda. Washington D.C.: department of health and Human Services, 2000. This Report can be accessed on the Internet at www.surgeongeneral.gov/cmh/childreport.htm

U.S. Public Health Service, Children and Mental Health, Chapter 3 in Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. Washington D.C.: Department of Health and Human Services, 1999. This report can be accessed at www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/chapter3/sec3.html#general

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