Georgia § 37-2-5 - 2. Local offices - Duties, functions, and powers.

§ 37-2-5. 2. Local offices - Duties, functions, and powers.

Under the supervision of the department, each local office shall have the following duties and functions: To receive and administer gifts, moneys, and donations for purposes pertaining to mental health, developmental disability, and addictive disease services; To encourage the development, in cooperation with the department, of private and public providers of programs and disability services which respond to the needs of consumers and families of consumers within the region; To serve as the representative of the citizens of the area in regard to disability services; To receive and consider complaints and grievances submitted by individuals, associations, or agencies involved with the delivery or receipt of disability services and, if deemed appropriate, to seek resolution in coordination with the department, through processes which may include impartial mediation and alternative dispute resolution, of such complaints and grievances with the appropriate hospital, community service board, or other private or public provider of service; To assure the highest achievable level of public awareness and understanding of both available and needed disability services; To visit regularly disability services facilities and programs which serve the region in order to assure contracted providers are licensed and accredited by the designated agencies prescribed by the department, and in order to evaluate the effectiveness and appropriateness of the services, as such services relate to the health, safety, and welfare of service recipients, and to provide technical assistance to programs in delivering services; and To participate with other local offices and planning boards, the department, local, state, or federal government agencies, educational institutions, and public and private organizations in the coordination of planning, research, service development, and evaluation activities: To work cooperatively with all units of county and local government, including the county boards of health, within the region; and To establish goals and objectives, not inconsistent with those established by the department, for its region. (Code 1981, § 37-2-5.2 , enacted by Ga. L. 1993, p. 1445, § 16; Ga. L. 2002, p. 1324, § 1-7; Ga. L. 2009, p. 453, § 3-1/HB 228; Ga. L. 2010, p. 286, § 7/SB 244; Ga. L. 2010, p. 878, § 37/HB 1387; Ga. L. 2015, p. 1361, § 5/HB 512.) Editor's notes. - Ga. L. 1993, p. 1445, § 18.1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "Nothing in this Act shall be construed to repeal any provision of Chapter 5 of Title 37 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, the 'Community Services Act for the Mentally Retarded.' " Ga. L. 1993, p. 1445, § 19, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "This Act shall become effective on July 1, 1994; provided, however, that provisions relating to the establishment of regional and community service board boundaries and the appointments of regional boards and community service boards shall become effective on July 1, 1993, or upon whatever date is stipulated in the Act and provided, further, that the provisions authorizing a county board of health to agree to serve as the lead county board of health for only that county shall become effective upon the approval of this Act by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval." The Act was approved by the Governor on April 27, 1993. Ga. L. 1993, p. 1445, which enacts this Code section, provides, in § 19.1, not codified by the General Assembly, that this Code section is repealed on June 30, 1999; however, Ga. L. 1998, p. 870, § 1, struck § 19.1 of Ga. L. 1993, p. 1445, which would have repealed this Code section.