BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 368|
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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 : 76-0, 9/7/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Developmental services: decision making
SOURCE : Public Counsel
DIGEST : This bill gives juvenile courts the authority to
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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Legislature this session, but prior action was rescinded in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.
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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
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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
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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
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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.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 9/7/11
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Beth
Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman,
Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill,
Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara,
Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza,
Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen,
Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino,
Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao,
Wagner, Wieckowski, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Furutani, Gorell, Mansoor, Williams
CTW:kc 9/8/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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