In fulfilling its responsibilities the department shall:
The department shall adopt rules and regulations that are reasonably necessary to implement a program of mental health services for seriously emotionally disturbed children.
Each community, as defined in chapter 7 of title 16, shall contribute to the department, at least in accordance with rules and regulations to be adopted by the department, at least its average per-pupil cost for special education for the year in which placement commences, as its share of the cost of educational services furnished to a seriously emotionally disturbed child pursuant to this section in a residential treatment program that includes the delivery of educational services.
"Seriously emotionally disturbed child" means any person under the age of eighteen (18) years, or any person under the age of twenty-one (21) years, who began to receive services from the department prior to attaining eighteen (18) years of age and has continuously received those services thereafter; who has been diagnosed as having an emotional, behavioral, or mental disorder under the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual and that disability has been ongoing for one year or more or has the potential of being ongoing for one year or more; and the child is in need of multi-agency intervention; and the child is in an out-of-home placement or is at risk of placement because of the disability.
A child with a "functional developmental disability" means any person under the age of eighteen (18) years or any person under the age of twenty-one (21) years who began to receive services from the department prior to attaining eighteen (18) years of age and has continuously received those services thereafter.
The term "functional developmental disability" includes autism spectrum disorders and means a severe, chronic disability of a person that:
Funding for these clients shall include funds that are transferred to the department of human services as part of the managed healthcare program transfer. However, the expenditures relating to these clients shall not be part of the department of human services' caseload estimated for the semi- annual, caseload-estimating conference. The expenditures shall be accounted for separately;
R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-72-5