BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 368| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 445-6614 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ UNFINISHED BUSINESS Bill No: SB 368 Author: Liu (D) Amended: 9/2/11 Vote: 21 SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/12/11 AYES: Liu, Emmerson, Berryhill, Hancock, Strickland, Wright, Yee SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 8-0, 5/26/11 AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Lieu, Pavley, Price, Runner, Steinberg NO VOTE RECORDED: Emmerson SENATE FLOOR : 40-0, 6/1/11 AYES: Alquist, Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Calderon, Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Dutton, Emmerson, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Hancock, Harman, Hernandez, Huff, Kehoe, La Malfa, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio, Runner, Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland, Vargas, Walters, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not available SUBJECT : Developmental services: decision making SOURCE : Public Counsel DIGEST : This bill gives juvenile courts the authority to CONTINUED SB 368 Page 2 limit a parent or guardian's right to make decisions about the regional center and other developmental services for a child with developmental disabilities, and to appoint a developmental services decisionmaker. NOTE: This bill previously passed both houses of the Legislature this session, but prior action was rescinded in order to add clean-up language to clarify Department of Developmental Services Trailer Bill language related to the ability of the court to determine eligibility for regional center and developmental center services. Assembly Amendments give a court-appointed developmental services decisionmaker the right to access the minor's information, to participate in the individualized program plan process, and to participate in the fair hearing process, and add double jointing language with SB 146 (Wyland), clarify that, in cases where the juvenile court steps in to make developmental services decisions on behalf of a child at risk of abuse or neglect, and the child receives services from a regional center, the court's decisions regarding developmental service must be consistent with the child's individual program plan, and make other changes described below. ANALYSIS : Existing law: 1. Gives the juvenile court the authority to limit a parent's right to make educational decisions about their child and to appoint an "educational rights holder" to make those decisions. 2. Assigns to probation departments the responsibility to consider identifying a person to make educational decisions for the child when the parents of a ward of the court are unable to unwilling to make those decisions. 3. Provides authority to the juvenile court to appoint an education rights holder to make educational decisions for a dependent or ward of the court. CONTINUED SB 368 Page 3 4. Provides access to records and information of a minor with developmental disabilities to a parent, guardian, conservator, or limited conservator, under specific circumstances. 5. Establishes a system of regional centers to provide case management and purchase of services to individuals found to have one of several specific developmental disabilities before their 18th birthday. 6. Directs regional centers to establish an individualized program plan (IPP) with each client detailing needs and services. 7. Establishes processes by which clients of regional centers can share information contained in the IPP with other person and can identify those who can represent them in the writing of an IPP. 8. Establishes a legal process for the appointment of an "authorized representative," defined as "the conservator of an adult, Ýor] the guardian, conservator, or parent or person having legal custody of a minor claimant" who is a client of a regional center, to assist a client in a fair hearing procedure for resolving conflicts with a regional center or to assist an area board for developmental disabilities in its pursuit of legal, administrative, or other appropriate remedies to ensure the protection of the legal, civil, and service rights of person who require services or who are receiving services in the area. This bill: 1. Includes changes to provisions of AB 104 (Assembly Budget Committee), Chapter 37, Statutes of 2011, related to how the juvenile court will determine whether a minor is competent enough to participate in juvenile court proceedings based on a determination of whether the minor is developmentally disabled. 2. Includes technical clean-up to SB 1115 (Senate Public Safety Committee), Chapter 178, Statutes of 2010, including changes to add authorized representatives to CONTINUED SB 368 Page 4 the individuals permitted to request confidential records or information, related to minors with developmental disabilities, and add surgeons and clinical counselors to the list of professionals not required to reveal this confidential information. 3. Changes provisions of AB 104 (Assembly Budget Committee), Chapter 37, Statutes of 2011, related to how the juvenile court will determine whether a minor is competent enough to participate in juvenile court proceedings based on a determination of whether the minor is developmentally disabled as follows: A. Delete langue stating that the court shall appoint the director of a regional center or his/her designee to evaluate the minor and make a determination, in writing, about whether the minor is developmentally disabled. B. Direct the court to appoint an expert to evaluate whether the minor has a developmental disability and whether the developmental disability impairs the minor's competency. C. Direct the court, if the expert believes the minor is developmentally disabled, to appoint the director of a regional center or his/her designee to evaluate the minor and determine, in writing, whether the minor is eligible for services under the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act (Lanterman Act). D. Delete language allowing the court to make orders for services that may assist the minor in attaining competency consistent with the Lanterman Act. E. Allow the court to make orders for services to assist the minor in attaining competency and that, in ordering services to assist the minor in attaining competency, the court is not authorized to place an incompetent minor in a developmental center or state-operated community facility without a determination by the regional center director or his/her designee that the minor has a developmental CONTINUED SB 368 Page 5 disability and is eligible for services under the Lanterman Act. F. Clarify that the director of the regional center or his/her designee is not authorized by these provisions to make determinations regarding the minor's competency. G. Specify that the expert opinion that a minor is developmentally disabled does not supersede an independent determination by the regional center regarding eligibility for Lanterman Act services. Comment This bill gives court-appointed authorized representatives the right to have access to a child's information and records, including the child's regional center case file, the right to participate in the IPP process, and the right to provide written consent for the child in dealings with a regional center that include assessment, eligibility, and the creation of an IPP. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee analysis of this bill as amended July 14, 2011, costs associated with this bill should be minor and absorbable within existing resources. SUPPORT : (Verified 9/7/11) Public Counsel (source) California Probation, Parole and Correctional Association Children's Law Center County Welfare Directors Association of California Developmental Disabilities Area Board 10 Disability Rights California State Council on Developmental Disabilities The Executive Committee of the Family Law Section of the State Bar of California Youth Law Center CONTINUED SB 368 Page 6 ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Public Counsel, this bill's sponsor, notes that adoptive cases processed through the county dependency system are frequently not receiving regional center services, despite eligibility, and the children's caregivers have no access to the child's regional center records, including the IPP. In these cases, court-appointed educational rights holders do not have access to the regional center records and may be denied status as the child's representative when seeking regional center services. CTW:kc 9/7/11 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED