BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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                                    THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 1041
          Author:   Chesbro (D), et al.
          Amended:  9/3/13 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE  :  5-1, 6/25/13
          AYES:  Yee, Emmerson, Evans, Liu, Wright
          NOES:  Berryhill

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  6-1, 8/30/13
          AYES:  De León, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
          NOES:  Walters

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  68-7, 5/29/13 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Developmental services:  Employment First Policy

           SOURCE  :     State Council on Developmental Disabilities 


           DIGEST  :    This bill establishes an Employment First Policy and  
          requires each regional center to consider the policy when  
          developing an individual program plan (IPP) for a transition age  
          youth or working age adult.  This bill also requires regional  
          centers to provide consumers aged 16 and older with information  
          about the Employment First Policy, options for integrated  
          competitive employment, and services and supports, including  
          postsecondary education, that are available to enable the  
          consumer to transition from school to work, and to obtain and  
          keep an integrated competitive job.  This bill requires the  
          State Council on Developmental Disabilities (SCDD) to develop an  
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          informational brochure and Web site information about options  
          for integrated competitive employment.

           ANALYSIS  :    

          Existing law:

           1. Establishes the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities  
             Services Act, which states that California is responsible for  
             providing an array of services and supports sufficiently  
             complete to meet the needs and choices of each person with  
             developmental disabilities, regardless of age or degree of  
             disability, and at each stage of life and to support their  
             integration into the mainstream life of the community.

           2. Establishes a system of nonprofit regional centers to  
             provide fixed points of contact in the community for all  
             persons with developmental disabilities and their families,  
             to coordinate services and supports best suited to them  
             throughout their lifetime.

           3. Declares legislative intent that agencies serving persons  
             with developmental disabilities produce evidence that their  
             services have resulted in consumer or family empowerment and  
             in more independent, productive, and normal lives for the  
             persons served.

           4. Establishes the IPP process as the central planning process  
             for services and supports of an individual, defines steps  
             that the process must include, states that the plan is  
             developed through individualized needs determination,  
             requires that an individual and, when appropriate, parents or  
             legal guardian, participate in the IPP process.

           5. Requires that within the IPP planning process, a regional  
             center must create 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. 

           6. States that these goals and objectives should maximize  
             opportunities for the consumer to develop relationships, be  
             part of community life in the areas of community  

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             participation, housing, work, school, and leisure, increase  
             control over his or her life, acquires increasingly positive  
             roles in community life, and develop competencies to help  
             accomplish these goals.

           7. Establishes within the SCDD a standing committee entitled  
             the Employment First Committee and specifies its duties and  
             composition.

           8. Includes among those duties the requirement to recommend  
             legislative, regulatory, and policy changes to increase the  
             number of individuals with developmental disabilities in  
             integrated employment, self-employment, and microenterprises,  
             and who earn wages at or above minimum wage. Requires that  
             this include development of an Employment First Policy.

           9. Requires that public schools provide an individualized  
             education plan (IEP) for children with exceptional needs that  
             identifies the student's academic needs, sets goals and  
             defines progress toward achieving those goals, and, beginning  
             at age 16, sets appropriate measurable postsecondary goals.

           10.Defines "integrated work" as the engagement of an employee  
             with a disability in work in a setting typically found in the  
             community wherein the employee interacts with individuals  
             without disabilities other than those who are providing  
             services to those individuals, to the same extent that  
             individuals without disabilities in comparable positions  
             interact with other persons. 

          This bill establishes a state Employment First Policy for  
          individuals with developmental disabilities, under the Lanterman  
          Act.  Specifically this bill:  

          1.Declares that it is the policy of the state, to be known as  
            the Employment First Policy, that opportunities for  
            integrated, competitive employment be given the highest  
            priority for working age individuals with developmental  
            disabilities, regardless of the severity of their  
            disabilities.

          2.Requires implementation of the policy to be consistent with,  
            and not infringe upon, the rights of people with developmental  
            disabilities to make informed choices with respect to services  

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            and supports through the Individual Program Plan process.

          3.Provides that integrated competitive employment is intended to  
            be the first option considered by planning teams for working  
            age adults, but individuals may choose goals other than  
            integrated competitive employment.

          4.Adds to the Employment First Committee's responsibilities by:

             A.   Requiring it to identify 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.

             B.   Recommending goals for measuring employment  
               participation and outcomes for various consumers within the  
               developmental services system.

          1.Requires a regional center planning team to consider the  
            Employment First Policy, as specified, when developing an  
            Individual Program Plan for a transition age youth or working  
            age adult.

          2.Provides that provisions of this bill not be construed to  
            expand the existing entitlement to services for persons with  
            disabilities.

          3.Provides that provisions of this bill will not alleviate  
            schools of their responsibility to provide transition services  
            to individuals with developmental disabilities.

          4.Requires SCDD to develop an informational brochure about the  
            Employment First Policy, translate it into various languages,  
            and to post it on its Web site.

          5.Requires regional centers to provide consumers, beginning at  
            16 years of age with information about the Employment First  
            Policy.

           Background
           

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          According to the Senate Human Services Committee analysis,  
          employment of individuals with developmental disabilities is a  
          state and national priority.  Historically in California, DDS  
          consumers have worked in a range of settings.  Those requiring  
          supported employment settings may participate in the Work  
          Activity Program, where services are provided in a sheltered  
          work environment and reimbursed at a daily per capita rate.   
          Consumers also may participate in supported employment work in  
          the community with support services provided by on the job by  
          community rehabilitation programs.

          However, people with developmental disabilities remain  
          significantly under-represented in the workforce.  According to  
          the State Council on Developmental Disabilities, data indicates  
          that just 13% of working age individuals with developmental and  
          intellectual disabilities were in competitive or supported  
          employment in 2010. This equates to an unemployment rate of 87%  
          for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities in  
          California, making the state 41st in the nation for the  
          employment of this portion of our population. 

          In recent years, efforts have been made to move more consumers  
          into competitive or supported employment.  AB 287 (Beall,  
          Chapter 31, Statutes of 2009) required that the state establish  
          an "Employment First" committee in the State Council on  
          Developmental Disabilities to identify strategies to increase  
          the number of people with developmental disabilities who are  
          employed and earning at least minimum wage.

          In August 2011, the council released an Employment First report  
          outlining goals and objectives to improve integrated employment  
          outcomes. Objectives include interagency collaboration,  
          transition planning for students in secondary education,  
          obtaining and maintaining employment and assessing the impact of  
          employment on public benefits.  The report notes on page 4 that,  
          "Employment First is about focusing on real jobs, real wages,  
          and real business settings for individuals with developmental  
          disabilities to have the ability to increase their income and  
          benefits, accrue assets and build wealth." 

          A subsequent annual report released in 2012 identified critical  
          next steps, including passage of a bill establishing an  
          Employment First Policy for the state.  Should this bill pass,  
          according to SCDD, California would become the nineteenth state  

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          with such a policy. 

           Prior Legislation

           AB 2338 (Chesbro, 2012) was virtually identical to this bill.   
          That bill was held on the Senate Appropriations Committee's  
          suspense file. 

          AB 254 (Beall, 2011) was substantially similar to this bill and  
          required a regional center to be guided by the Employment First  
          policy in developing the IPP of a transitional-age youth. 

          AB 287 (Beall, Chapter 231, Statutes of 2009) established the  
          Employment First Committee as a standing committee of the SCDD  
          to identify strategies and best practices for significantly  
          increasing the numbers of people with developmental disabilities  
          in competitive integrated employment and the number who earn  
          wages at or above minimum wage. 

          AB 2424 (Beall, 2008) would have established an employment-first  
          policy and made significant changes to the IPP process and  
          imposed responsibilities on regional centers and DDS related to  
          the development of materials, the provision of information, and  
          the conduct of IPP meetings. It was held by the Senate  
          Appropriations Committee. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  No

          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

           Unknown potential increase in demand for supported employment  
            services by regional centers (General Fund and federal funds).  
             By making competitive employment the highest priority for  
            individuals with developmental disabilities, it is likely that  
            there will be increased demand for the services that assist  
            individuals with developmental disabilities in successfully  
            attaining competitive employment, such as supported employment  
            services. Some regional center consumers may require  
            additional supported employment services, while continuing to  
            receive day program or sheltered workshop services, until the  
            consumer is ready for competitive employment. In the short  
            run, this is likely to increase overall program costs.


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           Unknown potential increase in demand for pre-vocational  
            training services by special education local plan areas  
            (General Fund).  Under current law, school-age individuals  
            with developmental disabilities are entitled to certain  
            special education services, including services to assist the  
            individual with the transition from school to employment.   
            Under an Employment First Policy, there may be additional  
            demand for pre-vocational services. 

           Unknown potential long-term savings due to reduced demand for  
            sheltered workshop services or day program services.  To the  
            extent that the Employment First Policy is successful in  
            assisting regional center consumers with achieving long-term  
            competitive employment, there is likely to be a reduction in  
            the demand for other services.  It is important to note that  
            regional centers spend, on average, about $4,100 per consumer  
            per year on individual supported employment services, while  
            the regional centers spend on average $5,300 for sheltered  
            workshop services and $11,700 for day programs.

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  9/3/13)

          State Council on Developmental Disabilities (source) 
          Alameda County Developmental Disabilities Planning and Advisory  
          Council
          The Alliance
          The ARC California 
          California State PTA
          Developmental Disabilities Area Board 10
          Disability Rights California
          East Bay Developmental Disabilities Legislative Coalition
          East Bay Innovations
          Self-Advocacy Board of Los Angeles County
          State Independent Living Council
          Tarjan Center at UCLA
          United Cerebral Palsy
          USC University Center for Excellence in Developmental  
          Disabilities

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    The author states that AB 1041 would  
          prioritize opportunities for integrated competitive employment  
          for working age individuals with developmental disabilities,  
          regardless of the severity of their disabilities. For the last  
          40 years it has been the policy of the State of California,  

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          through the Lanterman Developmental Services Act, that people  
          with developmental disabilities be supported "to approximate the  
          pattern of everyday living available to people without  
          disabilities of the same age ? to be integrated into the  
          mainstream of life in their home communities" and to receive  
          services and supports that enable them to live "more  
          independent, productive, and normal lives." However, the author  
          states that California has failed to adequately support people  
          with developmental disabilities to achieve one of the central  
          elements of leading a normal, productive life:  employment.

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  68-7, 5/29/13
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,  
            Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown,  
            Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Cooley,  
            Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Garcia,  
            Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman,  
            Hall, Roger Hernández, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder,  
            Lowenthal, Maienschein, Medina, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin,  
            Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel  
            Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone,  
            Ting, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John  
            A. Pérez
          NOES:  Allen, Donnelly, Beth Gaines, Harkey, Logue, Melendez,  
            Wagner
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Conway, Holden, Mansoor, Patterson, Vacancy


          JL:AL:nl  9/3/13   Senate Floor Analyses 

                           SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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