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Effective: 9/16/26

C1.11 Regional Interagency Councils (RIAC)

Legal Authority

Introduction

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RIACs work to develop and support a comprehensive, robust system of care at the regional level. The state has eighteen (18) RIACs. Members of each RIAC represent community mental health centers, the courts, special education, parents of children with behavioral health needs, transition age youth, the Department for Community Based Services (DCBS), the Department for Juvenile Justice (DJJ), Family Resource Youth Service Centers (FRYSC), Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, local health departments, and other agencies that provide services to children and transition age youth with behavioral health needs.   


Practice Guidance

  • Often, children and youth come to the attention of the Division of Protection and Permanency (DPP) or the courts because of unmet behavioral health needs. A robust, effective system of care helps ensure that children and transition-age youth and their families with, or at risk of developing, behavioral health needs have access to a spectrum of community-based services and supports. To be effective, the system of care is organized into a coordinated network, builds meaningful partnerships with families and youth, and addresses their cultural and linguistic needs to help them to function better at home, in school, in the community, and throughout life. To create an effective system of care in every community, the state created a State Interagency Council for Services and Supports to Children and Transition-Age Youth (SIAC), as well as RIACs​. 
  • The SIAC makes recommendations annually to the governor and the state legislature regarding the system of care for children and transition-age youth with or at risk of behavioral health needs. The SIAC also directs each RIAC to operate as the regional center of accountability for the system of care. The SIAC meets at least monthly, provides guidance to the RIACs, and works to develop a comprehensive array of services and supports to meet the behavioral health needs of children and transition-age youth.
  • RIACs conduct regional system of care needs assessment, planning, coordinate system-level continuous quality improvement, identify and develop system of care expansion opportunities, promote awareness of the system of care, initiate and adopt interagency agreements as needed for providing services and supports to children and transition-age youth, and advise the SIAC regarding the system of care within the region. Local interagency councils (LIAC) for the system of care may be formed by the RIAC to advance the mission and goals of the RIAC at the community level. 
  • ​Meaningful and active participation by DCBS representatives in RIACs and LIACs improves services to children and families and helps to ensure an effective system of care.  
  • DCBS representatives to the RIAC and LIAC may be the same or different staff, depending on regional needs.  



Procedure

​The SRA or Designee:

  1. Identifies a representative for each RIAC within the region; 
  2. Identifies a representative for each LIAC within the region;
  3. Encourages active and meaningful participation and allows attendance of additional staff in RIAC and LIAC meetings as needed or possible based on staffing needs.

DCBS representatives:

  1. Attend all scheduled meetings and serve the functions of the RIAC and LIAC;
  2. Provide information about DCBS services or other known resources which may meet the needs of individual youth and families or improve the system of care;
  3. May serve as the RIAC chair if selected to chair by a majority vote of the RIAC membership;
  4. Advise the Division of Prevention and Community Wellbeing (DPCW) of gaps in services identified during RIAC or LIAC meetings. 





Documents

Revisions