Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 98 Part 3.djvu/290

 98 STAT. 2662

PUBLIC LAW 98-527—OCT. 19, 1984

Public Law 98-527 98th Congress An Act Oct. 19, 1984 [H.R. 5603] Developmental Disabilities Act of 1984. 42 USC 6000 note. Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act.

To revise and extend programs for persons with developmental disabilities.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled. That this Act may be cited as the "Developmental Disabilities Act of 1984". SEC. 2. Title I of the Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act of 1963 is amended to read as follows: "TITLE I—PROGRAMS FOR PERSONS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES "PART A—GENERAL PROVISIONS "SHORT TITLE

42 USC 6000 note.

"SEC. 100. This title may be cited as the 'Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act'. "FINDINGS AND PURPOSES

42 USC 6000.

"SEC. 101. (a) The Congress finds that— "(1) there are more than two million persons with developmental disabilities in the United States; "(2) individuals with disabilities occurring during their developmental period Eire more vulnerable and less able to reach an independent level of existence than other handicapped individuals who generally have had a normal developmental period on which to draw during the rehabilitation process; "(3) persons with developmental disabilities often require specialized lifelong services to be provided by many agencies in a coordinated manner in order to meet the persons needs; "(4) generic service agencies and agencies providing specialized services to disabled persons tend to overlook or exclude persons with developmental disabilities in their planning and delivery of services; and "(5) it is in the national interest to strengthen specific programs, especially programs that reduce or eliminate the need for institutional care, to meet the needs of persons with developmental disabilities. "(b)(1) It is the overall purpose of this title to assist States to (A) assure that persons with developmental disabilities receive the care, treatment, and other services necessary to enable them to achieve their maximum potential through increased independence, productivity, and integration into the community, and (B) establish and operate a system which coordinates, monitors, plans, and evaluates services which ensures the protection of the legal and human rights of persons with developmental disabilities. (2) The specific purposes of this title are—

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