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sHB5556 / File No. 440 1
General Assembly File No. 440
February Session, 2026 Substitute House Bill No. 5556
House of Representatives, April 7, 2026
The Committee on Human Services reported through REP.
GILCHREST of the 18th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on
the part of the House, that the substitute bill ought to pass.
AN ACT CONCERNING COMPLEX CARE SERVICE DELIVERY FOR
YOUNG PERSONS WITH CO-OCCURRING MENTAL HEALTH AND
INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY OR AUTISM DIAGNOSES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) ( Effective July 1, 2026) (a) The Commissioners of 1
Children and Families, Developmental Services, Education, Social 2
Services and Mental Health and Addiction Services shall design and 3
implement a system to close service gaps for young persons ages 4
seventeen to twenty-two, inclusive, with intellectual or developmental 5
disabilities, including, but not limited to, autism spectrum disorder, 6
who (1) have co -occurring behavioral health needs, (2) are in urgent 7
need of community placement or state agency services, and (3) may 8
qualify for support from more than one state agency. 9
(b) The system designed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section 10
shall include, but need not be limited to: 11
(1) Memoranda of understanding signed by each commissioner 12
concerning identification of such young persons who may be eligible for 13
services administered by each state agency; 14
(2) Calculation of any additional resources needed by each state 15
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agency to provide services for such young persons; 16
(3) An inventory of residential behavioral health options for such 17
young persons who receive special education services but are not in the 18
custody of the Commissioner of Children and Families; and 19
(4) Psychiatric residential treatment options, including, but not 20
limited to, (A) a request for proposals by the Commissioner of Social 21
Services for a facility of not more than ten beds that may be eligible for 22
federal Medicaid reimbursement, and (B) an inventory of available state 23
property that may be suitable for such a facility. 24
(c) Not later than October 1, 2026, the commissioners shall file a joint 25
report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general 26
statutes, with the joint standing committees of the General Assembly 27
having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and the budgets 28
of state agencies, children, education, human services and public health 29
and the Transforming Children's Behavioral Health Policy and Planning 30
Committee established pursuant to section 2-137 of the general statutes. 31
The report shall include, but need not be limited to, (1) any state 32
appropriations needed to implement the provisions of this section, (2) 33
an update on progress made by each state agency to close service gaps 34
for such young persons, and (3) recommendations for ways to close such 35
gaps in the future. 36
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2026 New section
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
"(NEW)" was inserted, references to "young adults" were changed to
"young persons" and "agency" was changed to "state agency"
throughout for accuracy and consistency.
HS Joint Favorable Subst. -LCO
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The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of
the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not
represent the intent of the General Assembly or either cha mber thereof for any purpose. In general,
fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional
knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final
products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill requires the Departments of Children and Families,
Developmental Services, Education, Social Services, and Mental Health
and Addiction Services to design and implement a system to close
service gaps for certain youth with intellectual or developmental
disabilities, resulting in no fiscal impact. The agencies have the
necessary expertise to meet the requirements of the bill.
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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 5556
AN ACT CONCERNING COMPLEX CARE SERVICE DELIVERY FOR
YOUNG PERSONS WITH CO -OCCURRING MENTAL HEALTH AND
INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY OR AUTISM DIAGNOSES.
SUMMARY
This bill requires commissioners of four state agencies (Department
of Children and Families (DCF), State Department of Education,
Department of Social Services (DSS), and Department of Mental Health
and Addiction Services) to design and implement a system to close
service gaps for young people ages 17 to 22 who:
1. have intellectual and developmental disabilities, including
autism spectrum disorder;
2. have co-occurring behavioral health needs;
3. urgently need community placement or state agency services;
and
4. may qualify for support from more than one state agency.
The bill sets certain requirements for the system and requires the
commissioners to report by October 1, 2026, to the Appropriations,
Children, Education, Human Services, and Public Health committees
and the Transforming Children’s Behavioral Health Policy and
Planning Committee. The report must include any state appropriations
needed to implement the bill’s provisions, a progress update on closing
service gaps, and recommendations for ways to close gaps in the future.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2026
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SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
The system the state agencies implement must include:
1. memoranda of understanding signed by each commissioner on
the identification of young people described above who may be
eligible for agency services;
2. calculation of additional resources each agency needs to serve
this population;
3. an inventory of residential behavioral health options for young
people who receive special education services but are not in DCF
custody; and
4. psychiatric residential treatment options, including a DSS
request for proposals for a facility with up to 10 beds that may be
eligible for Medicaid reimbursement, and an inventory of state
property suitable for this facility.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Human Services Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 23 Nay 0 (03/19/2026)