§ 51.5-5. Powers and duties of Council
The Council shall exercise the following general powers and duties:
1. Provide access to the Department;
2. Publicize the policies and programs of the Department in order to educate the public and elicit public support for the Department's programs;
3. Monitor the activities of the Department and have the right of access to Department information, provided that such access does not violate the confidentiality of client records;
4. Advise the Governor, the Secretary of Health and Human Resources, the Commissioner, and the General Assembly on the delivery of public services to and the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities on matters relating to this title, and on such other matters as the Governor, Secretary, Commissioner, or the General Assembly may request;
5. Advise on programmatic and fiscal policies governing the provision of services by the Department of Rehabilitative Services and the awarding of grants or contracts to any person or any public or private agency by the Department;
6. Review and comment on all budgets and requests for appropriations for the Department prior to their submission to the Secretary of Health and Human Resources and the Governor and on all applications for federal funds;
7. Advise on such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of the laws of the Commonwealth administered by the Commissioner of the Department; and
8. Perform such other duties as may be prescribed to the Council by Title I and Title VI of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. § 701 et seq. and 29 U.S.C. § 795 et seq., respectively).
(Code 1950, §§ 2.1-576, 22-330.1:1; 1978, c. 635; 1980, c. 559; 1982, c. 12; 1984, c. 720; 1985, c. 421, § 51.01-5; 1992, c. 755; 2003, cc. 57, 73.)
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