1. The individuals who have priority for services are:
   • Infants and toddlers with significant developmental delays
   • Children and adults with Intellectual Disabilities,
   • Adults with serious mental illnesses, and
   • Children with serious emotional and/or behavioral disorders.
2. Public resources should be the last resort for supporting individuals and families to remain productive in the community. These scarce public funds will be used for individuals and families within the priority populations.
3. The system will strive to satisfy its customers by balancing professional recommendation with individual and family preference, and available resources.
4. Resources should be distributed among the three counties of the joinder so that eligible persons from each County receive their fair share proportionate to their County’s population ratio in the joinder.
5. Services should be individualized, based on strengths as well as needs, and delivered in a timely, accessible, and practical fashion.
6. Individuals, their family members, their advocates, and other service systems involved with the person should actively participate in developing individualized service or treatment plans.
7. Comprehensive system planning should include representatives from consumers and families, contracted agencies, physical health providers, Local Authorities, other human service and law enforcement bodies which collaborate with the Program to improve the quality and quantity of services.
8. The provision of service to priority populations is the responsibility of the contracted agencies, through their professional and support staffs in a coordinated fashion, and within the boundaries of available resources.
9. The Contracted Base Service Unit is an agent of the Local Authorities and their Program for admission, case management, and monitoring of services to eligible persons.