BILL NUMBER: AB 1041 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 3, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 27, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Chesbro
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Garcia)
(Principal coauthor: Senator Beall)
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Ammiano)
FEBRUARY 22, 2013
An act to amend Sections 4646.5 and 4868 of, and to add Section
4869 to, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to developmental
services.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1041, as amended, Chesbro. Developmental services: Employment
First Policy.
The Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act authorizes
the State Department of Developmental Services to contract with
regional centers to provide support and services to individuals with
developmental disabilities. The services and supports to be provided
to a regional center consumer are contained in an individual program
plan (IPP), developed in accordance with prescribed requirements.
Existing law requires the State Council on Developmental
Disabilities to, among other responsibilities, form a standing
Employment First Committee to identify strategies and recommend
legislative, regulatory, and policy changes to increase integrated
employment, as defined, self-employment, and microenterprises for
persons with developmental disabilities, as specified.
This bill would define competitive employment, microenterprises,
and self-employment for these purposes. The bill would
additionally require the Employment First Committee to identify
existing sources of consumer data that can be matched with employment
data, as specified, and to recommend goals for meas uring
employment participation and outcomes for various consumers within
the developmental services system. The bill would require the State
Council on Developmental Disabilities to develop an informational
brochure about the Employment First Policy, translate the brochure
into various languages, and post the brochure on the council's
Internet Web site. This bill would require each regional center
planning team, when developing an individual program plan for a
transition age youth or working age adult, to consider a specified
Employment First Policy. The bill would also require regional centers
to provide consumers 16 years of age or older, and, where
when appropriate, other specified persons, with
information about the Employment First Policy, about
options for integrated competitive employment, and
about services and supports, including postsecondary
education, that are available to enable the consumer to
transition from school to work, and to achieve the outcomes of
obtaining and maintaining integrated competitive employment. The bill
would authorize the department to request information from regional
centers on current and planned activities related to the Employment
First Policy.
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. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that under
existing state and federal law, special education local planning
agencies (SELPAs) have concurrent responsibilities to eligible
students beginning at 16 years of age for the provision of
assessment, planning, and necessary services to aid in the transition
from school to postschool activities.
(b) This act shall not be construed to expand the responsibilities
and duties of SELPAs under state and federal law.
SEC. 2. 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, authorized representative, if applicable,
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 planning team shall consider the
Employment First Policy described in Chapter 14 (commencing with
Section 4868).
(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 individual program 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.
(6) When agreed to by the consumer, the parents, legally
appointed guardian, or authorized representative 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, subdivision (b) of Section 4701.6,
and subdivision (e) of Section 4705, a review of the general health
status of the adult or child, including 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 the 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.
(7) (A) The development of a transportation access plan for a
consumer when all of the following conditions are met:
(i) The regional center is purchasing private, specialized
transportation services or services from a residential, day, or other
provider, excluding vouchered service providers, to transport the
consumer to and from day or work services.
(ii) The planning team has determined that a consumer's community
integration and participation could be safe and enhanced through the
use of public transportation services.
(iii) The planning team has determined that generic transportation
services are available and accessible.
(B) To maximize independence and community integration and
participation, the transportation access plan shall identify the
services and supports necessary to assist the consumer in accessing
public transportation and shall comply with Section 4648.35. These
services and supports may include, but are not limited to, mobility
training services and the use of transportation aides. Regional
centers are encouraged to coordinate with local public transportation
agencies.
(8) 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, authorized representative, 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 embody 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 ensure that these
plans are being developed and modified in compliance with Section
4646 and this section.
SEC. 3. Section 4868 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
4868. (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
council.
(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, an organized labor organization representing service
coordination staff, 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) Identifying existing sources of consumer data that can be used
to provide demographic information for individuals, including, but
not limited to, age, gender, ethnicity, types of disability, and
geographic location of consumers, and that can be matched with
employment data to identify outcomes and trends of the Employment
First Policy.
(5) Recommending goals for measuring employment participation and
outcomes for various consumers within the developmental services
system.
(4)
(6) Recommending legislative, regulatory, and policy
changes for increasing the number of individuals with developmental
disabilities in integrated employment, self-employment, and
microenterprises, and who earn wages at or above minimum wage,
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. This shall include,
but shall not be limited to, the development of a policy with the
intended outcome of significantly increasing the number of
individuals with developmental disabilities who engage in integrated
employment, self-employment, and microenterprises, and in the number
of individuals who earn wages at or above minimum wage. This proposed
policy shall be 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. The
proposed policy shall not limit service and support options
otherwise available to consumers, or the rights of consumers, or,
where appropriate, parents, legal guardians, or conservators to make
choices in their own lives.
(d) For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall
apply:
(1) "Competitive employment" means work in the competitive labor
market that is performed on a full-time or part-time basis in an
integrated setting and for which an individual is compensated at or
above the minimum wage, but not less than the customary wage and
level of benefits paid by the employer for the same or similar work
performed by individuals who are not disabled.
(2) "Integrated employment" means "integrated work" as defined in
subdivision (o) of Section 4851.
(3) "Microenterprises" means small businesses owned by individuals
with developmental disabilities who have control and responsibility
for decisionmaking and overseeing the business, with accompanying
business licenses, taxpayer identification numbers other than social
security numbers, and separate business bank accounts.
Microenterprises may be considered integrated competitive employment.
(4) "Self-employment" means an employment setting in which an
individual works in a chosen occupation, for profit or fee, in his or
her own small business, with control and responsibility for
decisions affecting the conduct of the business.
(e) The committee, by 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. The report due by July 1, 2011, shall include the
proposed policy described in paragraph (4) of subdivision (c).
SEC. 4. Section 4869 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
4869. (a) (1) In furtherance of the purposes of this division to
make services and supports available to enable persons with
developmental disabilities to approximate the pattern of everyday
living available to people without disabilities of the same age, to
support the integration of persons with developmental disabilities
into the mainstream life of the community, and to bring about more
independent, productive, and normal lives for the persons served, it
is the policy of the state that opportunities for integrated,
competitive employment shall be given the highest priority for
working age individuals with developmental disabilities, regardless
of the severity of their disabilities. This policy shall be known as
the Employment First Policy.
(2) Implementation of the policy shall be consistent with, and
shall not infringe upon, the rights established pursuant to this
division, including the right of people with developmental
disabilities to make informed choices with respect to services and
supports through the individual program planning process.
(3) Integrated competitive employment is intended to be the first
option considered by planning teams for working age individuals, but
individuals may choose goals other than integrated competitive
employment.
(4) Postsecondary education, technical or vocational training, and
internship programs may be considered as a means to achieve
integrated competitive employment or career advancement.
(5) This chapter shall not be construed to expand the existing
entitlement to services for persons with developmental disabilities
described in this division.
(6) This chapter shall not alleviate schools of their
responsibility to provide transition services to individuals with
developmental disabilities.
(b) The State Council on Developmental Disabilities shall develop
an informational brochure about the Employment First Policy,
translate the brochure into various languages, and post the brochure
on its Internet Web site.
(b)
(c) Regional centers shall provide consumers 16 years
of age or older, and, where when
appropriate, their parents, legal guardians, conservators, or
authorized representative with information, in an understandable
form for the consumer and, as appropriate, the consumer's
representative, form, about the Employment First
Policy, about options for integrated competitive
employment, and about services and supports,
including postsecondary education, that are available to
enable the consumer to transition from school to work, and to achieve
the outcomes of obtaining and maintaining integrated competitive
employment.
(c)
(d) The department may request information from
regional centers on current and planned activities related to the
Employment First Policy.