BILL NUMBER: AB 287 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Beall
( Coauthors: Assembly Members
Fuentes and Yamada )
FEBRUARY 13, 2009
An act to amend Section 4646.5 of, and to add Chapter 14
(commencing with Section 4868) to Division 4.5 of, the Welfare and
Institutions Code, relating to developmental services.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 287, as amended, Beall. Persons with developmental
disabilities: employment.
Existing law, the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services
Act, grants persons with developmental disabilities the right to
receive services and supports to meet their needs. Existing law
requires that the State Department of Developmental Services contract
with private nonprofit corporations for the operation of regional
centers to obtain services and supports for an individual with a
developmental disability in accordance with his or her
Individual Program Plan individual program plan
(IPP).
Existing law establishes an independent State Council on
Developmental Disabilities to, among other things, develop and
implement the state plan required by the federal government.
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to
enact legislation that would result in a significant increase in the
number of individuals with developmental disabilities who engage in
gainful employment, including integrated employment
require the individual program planning process for transition age
youth and working age adults to be guided by the
Employment First Policy, as established by the bill. Additionally,
the bill would require, beginning when the consumer is 14 years of
age, that the planning team discuss school-to-work opportunities
during individual program plan meetings and the regional center
representative to inform the consumer, parent, legal guardian, or
conservator that the regional center is available, upon request, to
participate in the consumer's individualized education plan meetings
to discuss transition planning .
This bill would establish the Employment First Policy, as
described, and would require the State Council on Developmental
Disabilities to form a standing Employment First Committee, as
specified, to implement that policy and, no later than July 1, 2011,
and annually thereafter, report to the Legislature and the Governor
describing its work and recommendations.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 4646.5 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:
4646.5. (a) The planning process for the individual program plan
described in Section 4646 shall include all of the following:
(1) Gathering information and conducting assessments to determine
the life goals, capabilities and strengths, preferences, barriers,
and concerns or problems of the person with developmental
disabilities. For children with developmental disabilities, this
process should include a review of the strengths, preferences, and
needs of the child and the family unit as a whole. Assessments shall
be conducted by qualified individuals and performed in natural
environments whenever possible. Information shall be taken from the
consumer, his or her parents and other family members, his or her
friends, advocates, providers of services and supports, and other
agencies. The assessment process shall reflect awareness of, and
sensitivity to, the lifestyle and cultural background of the consumer
and the family.
(2) A statement of goals, based on the needs, preferences, and
life choices of the individual with developmental disabilities, and a
statement of specific, time-limited objectives for implementing the
person's goals and addressing his or her needs. These objectives
shall be stated in terms that allow measurement of progress or
monitoring of service delivery. These goals and objectives should
maximize opportunities for the consumer to develop relationships, be
part of community life in the areas of community participation,
housing, work, school, and leisure, increase control over his or her
life, acquire increasingly positive roles in community life, and
develop competencies to help accomplish these goals.
(3) When developing individual program plans for children,
regional centers shall be guided by the principles, process, and
services and support parameters set forth in Section 4685.
(4) When developing an individual program plan for a transition
age youth or working age adult, the regional center shall be guided
by the Employment First Policy set forth in Chapter 14 (commencing
with Section 4868). Beginning when a consumer is 14 years of age, the
planning team shall discuss school-to-work opportunities during
individual program plan meetings, and the regional center
representative shall inform the consumer, parent, legal guardian, or
conservator that the regional center is available, upon request, to
participate in the consumer's individualized education plan meetings
to discuss transition planning.
(4)
(5) A schedule of the type and amount of services and
supports to be purchased by the regional center or obtained from
generic agencies or other resources in order to achieve the
individual program plan goals and objectives, and identification of
the provider or providers of service responsible for attaining each
objective, including, but not limited to, vendors, contracted
providers, generic service agencies, and natural supports. The plan
shall specify the approximate scheduled start date for services and
supports and shall contain timelines for actions necessary to begin
services and supports, including generic services.
(5)
(6) When agreed to by the consumer, the parents or
legally appointed guardian of a minor consumer, or the legally
appointed conservator of an adult consumer or the authorized
representative, including those appointed pursuant to subdivision (d)
of Section 4548 and subdivision (e) of Section 4705, a review of the
general health status of the adult or child
consumer including a medical, dental, and mental health needs
shall be conducted. This review shall include a discussion of current
medications, any observed side effects, and the date of last review
of the medication. Service providers shall cooperate with the
planning team to provide any information necessary
to complete the health status review. If any
concerns are noted during the review, referrals shall be made to
regional center clinicians or to the consumer's physician, as
appropriate. Documentation of health status and referrals shall be
made in the consumer's record by the service coordinator.
(6)
(7) A schedule of regular periodic review and
reevaluation to ascertain that planned services have been provided,
that objectives have been fulfilled within the times specified, and
that consumers and families are satisfied with the individual program
plan and its implementation.
(b) For all active cases, individual program plans shall be
reviewed and modified by the planning team, through the process
described in Section 4646, as necessary, in response to the person's
achievement or changing needs, and no less often than once every
three years. If the consumer or, where appropriate, the consumer's
parents, legal guardian, or conservator requests an individual
program plan review, the individual program shall be reviewed within
30 days after the request is submitted.
(c) (1) The department, with the participation of representatives
of a statewide consumer organization, the Association of Regional
Center Agencies, an organized labor organization representing service
coordination staff, and the Organization of Area Boards shall
prepare training material and a standard format and instructions for
the preparation of individual program plans, which embodies an
approach centered on the person and family.
(2) Each regional center shall use the training materials and
format prepared by the department pursuant to paragraph (1).
(3) The department shall biennially review a random sample of
individual program plans at each regional center to assure that these
plans are being developed and modified in compliance with Section
4646 and this section.
SEC. 2. Chapter 14 (commencing with Section 4868)
is added to Division 4.5 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code , to read:
CHAPTER 14. EMPLOYMENT FIRST POLICY
4868. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Employment First Policy.
4868.1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Working age people with disabilities are among the most
unemployed and underemployed members of society.
(b) People with developmental disabilities are an important and
largely untapped employment resource.
(c) Research demonstrates that wages and hours worked increase
dramatically as individuals move from facility-based to integrated
employment, and suggests that other benefits include expanded social
relationships, heightened self-determination, and more typical job
acquisition and job roles.
(d) Recent data indicate that, with 13 percent of working age
individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities in
competitive or supported employment, California ranks 41st when
compared with other states.
(e) Because the likelihood of individuals with developmental
disabilities obtaining employment is greater if they move directly
from school to work, education programs must prepare transition age
students for employment in community settings.
(f) Increasing integrated and gainful employment opportunities for
people with developmental disabilities requires collaboration and
cooperation by state and local agencies, including, but not limited
to, the State Department of Developmental Services and regional
centers, the State Council on Developmental Disabilities, the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the State Department of
Education and local school districts, and the Employment Development
Department.
4868.3. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
shall apply:
(a) "Committee" means the Employment First Committee established
pursuant to Section 4868.7.
(b) "Gainful employment" means work where the individual with a
developmental disability earns minimum wage or higher. Gainful
employment also includes self-employment and microenterprises.
(c) "Integrated employment" shall have the same definition as
"integrated work" as defined in subdivision (o) of Section 4851.
4868.5. (a) The Legislature places a high priority on providing
supported employment and other integrated employment opportunities
for working age adults with developmental disabilities. Integrated
employment is the primary service option for working age adults upon
completion of their formal education, including postsecondary
education or vocational training.
(b) The intended outcome of the Employment First Policy is a
significant increase in the number of individuals with developmental
disabilities who engage in integrated and gainful employment. The
Employment First Policy is in furtherance of the intent of this
division that services and supports be available to enable persons
with developmental disabilities to approximate the pattern of
everyday living available to people without disabilities of the same
age and that support their integration into the mainstream life of
the community, and that those services and supports result in more
independent, productive, and normal lives for the persons served.
4868.7. (a) The State Council on Developmental Disabilities shall
form a standing Employment First Committee consisting of the
following members:
(1) One designee of each of the members of the state council
specified in subparagraphs (B), (C), (D), (F), and (H) of paragraph
(2) of subdivision (b) of Section 4521.
(2) A member of the consumer advisory committee of the state
counsel.
(b) In carrying out the requirements of this section, the
committee shall meet and consult, as appropriate, with other state
and local agencies and organizations, including, but not limited to,
the Employment Development Department, the Association of Regional
Center Agencies, one or more supported employment provider
organizations, and one or more consumer family member organizations.
(c) The responsibilities of the committee shall, include, but need
not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) Identifying the respective roles and responsibilities of state
and local agencies in enhancing integrated and gainful employment
opportunities for people with developmental disabilities.
(2) Identifying strategies, best practices, and incentives for
increasing integrated employment and gainful employment opportunities
for people with developmental disabilities, including, but not
limited to, ways to improve the transition planning process for
students 14 years of age or older, and to develop partnerships with,
and increase participation by, public and private employers and job
developers.
(3) Identifying existing sources of employment data and
recommending goals for, and approaches to measuring progress in,
increasing integrated employment and gainful employment of people
with developmental disabilities.
(4) Recommending legislative, regulatory, and policy changes for
increasing the percentage of people with developmental disabilities
in integrated and gainful employment, including, but not limited to,
recommendations for improving transition planning and services for
students with developmental disabilities who are 14 years of age or
older.
(d) The committee, no later than July 1, 2011, and annually
thereafter, shall provide a report to the appropriate policy
committees of the Legislature and to the Governor describing its work
and recommendations.
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature
to enact legislation that would result in a significant increase in
the number of individuals with developmental disabilities who engage
in gainful employment, including integrated employment.