BILL NUMBER: SB 1475 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Torlakson
(Principal coauthor: Senator Steinberg)
(Coauthor: Senator Alquist)
FEBRUARY 21, 2008
An act to add and repeal Article 8 (commencing with Section 4698)
to Chapter 6 of Division 4.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code,
relating to autism.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1475, as introduced, Torlakson. Autism pilot program.
Under existing law, the State Department of Developmental
Services, the State Department of Education, the State Department of
Health Care Services, the State Department of Mental Health, and the
State Department of Social Services collaborate to provide early
intervention for children with disabilities or at risk of having
disabilities. Under existing law, the State Department of
Developmental Services contracts with private nonprofit regional
centers to provide or purchase services and supports for persons with
developmental disabilities, including Autism Spectrum Disorders
(ASD). The State Department of Education and school districts also
provide services in the schools for children with ASD.
This bill would require the State Department of Development
Services to establish a 2-year pilot project to identify best
practices in integrating the services and supports provided to
children with ASD through the regional centers and through the school
districts and local educational agencies. This bill would require
the department to establish an Early Autism Intervention and
Transition Advisory Counsel to assist the department in administering
the program. This bill would also require the advisory council and
the department, no later than June 1, 2012, to report to the
Legislature and the Governor on the pilot project containing
specified information. This bill would create the Early Autism
Intervention and Transitional Services Program Fund in the State
Treasury, to be used by the department, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, for purposes of this pilot program. This bill would make
its provisions inoperative on July 1, 2012, and repeal them on
January 1, 2013.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The number of children diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum
Disorder (ASD) has grown dramatically in recent years and is a
serious public health crisis that must be addressed.
(b) Currently, children with ASD receive services from regional
centers through the Early Start Program, but must transition to
services provided by school districts when they are between three to
five years of age.
(c) This transition currently presents a severe crisis to many
families because it disrupts the continuity of programs and
interventions that have already been implemented and are proving
efficient in overcoming ASD and improving developmental outcomes.
(d) The transition is often inefficient and not cost effective
because the regional centers and the school districts are not
coordinated with regard to programs, services, and interventions.
(e) In many cases this transition is also disruptive because the
programs, professionals, and providers who contract to provide
services to regional services and school districts are different.
(f) The transition is not cost effective because the school
districts, despite lacking the resources and administrative supports,
must duplicate complex assessments that have already been performed
by the regional centers.
(g) Crucial services and interventions for children with ASD are
often delayed while regional centers and school districts quarrel
over the financial responsibilities of implementing the services.
(h) The California Legislative Blue Ribbon Commission on Autism
noted that there are models of voluntary collaboration between
regional centers and school districts that provide comprehensive,
integrated, and seamless services to children with ASD and that these
models have increased family and consumer satisfaction and have
produced more effective outcomes than the traditional model.
SEC. 2. Article 8 (commencing with Section 4698) is added to
Chapter 6 of Division 4.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, to
read:
Article 8. Early Autism Intervention and Transition Pilot
Program
4698. (a) As used in this article "ASD" means Autism Spectrum
Disorder.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to implement a two-year
pilot project in key geographic areas around the state that will
identify solutions to significantly improve the transition of
children with Autism Spectrum Disorder from receiving services from
regional centers to the school system and, thereby, improve the
quality of early intervention and educational programs for children
with ASD from birth to five years of age.
(c) The intent of the pilot program is to identify and implement
existing models of excellence and best practices that will establish
a seamless, comprehensive, and integrated service delivery model
between regional centers and school districts for children with ASD
and their families, particularly in culturally, linguistically, and
geographically diverse or underserved populations.
4698.1. (a) The department, in partnership with one or more
regional centers, shall establish and administer a pilot project
which shall be called The Centers of Excellence for Early Autism
Intervention and Transitional Services.
(b) At least three pilot locations shall be established for a
period of two years. Each location shall require a collaborative,
integrated proposal between at least one regional center and at least
one school district or local educational agency.
(c) Pilot project proposals may include the participation of other
agencies, organizations, foundations, or other providers as long as
the participation is approved by the department.
(d) The department and the Early Autism Intervention and
Transition Advisory Council, established pursuant to Section 4698.2,
may partner with existing public or private, state or national
programs and initiatives to share information and avoid duplication
and shall build upon the work and recommendations of recent reports
and published models.
4698.2. (a) The department shall establish an Early Autism
Intervention and Transition Advisory Council that shall advise and
assist the department in administering this article.
(b) Members of the advisory council shall include, but not be
limited to, multidisciplinary autism experts, representatives and
advocates for families and consumers served by regional centers and
school districts, regional center staff, local educational agency
staff, early intervention providers, and stakeholders in the pilot
project counties.
(c) The advisory council shall do all of the following:
(1) Establish innovative, collaborative, integrated, and seamless
methods, instruments, and systems of care between regional centers
and school districts for the early identification and assessment of
children with autism spectrum disorder from birth to five years of
age.
(2) Establish innovative, collaborative, integrated, and seamless
system of programs, services, and providers for the early
intervention and treatment of children with ASD from birth to five
years of age.
(3) Establish innovative best practices that can provide
collaborative, integrated, and seamless case management for children
with ASD from birth to five years of age.
(4) Establish innovative fiscal models using pooled funding and
resources that have demonstrated cost-effective benefits and
outcomes.
(5) Establish best practices and recommendations that will improve
communication between regional centers, school districts and local
educational agencies, providers, and families and consumers.
(6) Identify and recommend future changes in regulations,
policies, procedures, or other legislation at the local or statewide
level to improve the early identification and intervention of
children with ASD from birth to five years of age by regional centers
and school districts or local educational agencies.
(7) Determine how the use of telehealth, telemedicine, and other
innovative web-based technology strategies may improve the
professional development, outreach, and training of families,
consumers, professionals, and staff who are affiliated with, or
served by, regional centers, school districts, or local educational
agencies.
(d) Advisory council members shall receive no compensation, except
for reimbursement of travel expenses.
4698.3. (a) No later than June 1, 2012, the department, working
with the advisory council, shall provide to the Legislature and the
Governor with a report on the pilot program. The report shall make
legislative, regulatory, and fiscal recommendations that would
further the goal of providing a seamless, integrated, and coordinated
system of care for the early identification and treatment of ASD
between the regional centers and school districts and local
educational agencies.
(b) The report shall specifically address all of the following:
(1) The effectiveness of the pilot program in terms of early
identification of children with ASD.
(2) Benchmarks and indicators of the therapeutic efficacy and
developmental improvements achieved by the pilot program.
(3) Indicators of consumers who have dropped out of the pilot
program.
(4) Family satisfaction indicators.
(5) Cost effectiveness of the pilot program.
(6) Benchmarks and quality service indicators for the services
provided by the pilot program.
(7) Other outcomes and indicators reflecting changes in referral
numbers and patterns from baseline historical trends after training
and implementation of screening, referral, and assessment protocols.
(8) Based on the pilot program data, all of the following:
(A) The planning and resource allocation that is necessary at the
state and federal levels to build capacity in, and ensure access to,
the regional centers and Early Start Programs to prepare for the
influx of children and families that will result from routine
screening, including achieving reasonable wait times after a family
has been referred for assessment.
(B) The accessability of diagnostic evaluation and intervention
resources for children identified as having ASD.
(C) The fiscal impact on health care professionals and regional
centers of increased screening and referral.
(D) The changes in practice patterns for participating physicians,
including new residents establishing practices, and other health
care professionals.
(E) The effectiveness of physicians' developmental monitoring and
screening efforts over time.
(F) Cost effectiveness of routine early screening, referral, and
intervention conducted in a coordinated fashion using the medical
home model.
(G) The impact on families in an environment of universal wide
spread developmental screening, including the impact of false
positives on parent-child interaction.
(H) Other factors the department and the advisory council deem
appropriate.
(c) The preparation of the report shall be funded through federal,
state, or private funds secured with the help of the advisory
council. No state general funds shall be used to prepare the report.
4698.4. (a) The Early Autism Intervention and Transitional
Services Program Fund is hereby created in the State Treasury. The
department shall deposit any moneys received from the state, federal
government, or from private donations into the fund, to be used by
the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the pilot
program. Notwithstanding Section 16305.7 of the Government Code,
interest and dividends on moneys in the fund shall accrue to the
fund.
(b) No state general funds shall be used to fund the pilot program
unless a specific appropriation is made in the Budget Act or other
statute.
4698.5. This article shall become inoperative on July 1, 2012,
and, as of January 1, 2013, is repealed unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2013, deletes or extends
the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.