BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1089
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 30, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Mark Stone, Chair
AB 1089 (Ian Calderon) - As Amended: April 18, 2013
SUBJECT : Foster care: developmental services
SUMMARY : Establishes timelines and procedures for the transfer
of responsibility and records, and the provision of early
intervention and developmental services, to foster youth who
move from one regional center catchment area to another.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes the following findings and declarations:
a) Children in foster care are at increased risk for
serious developmental delays and disabilities as a result
of abuse, neglect, and prenatal exposure to drugs; and
b) Timely and consistent provision of quality remediation
and therapeutic services for children with developmental
delays and disabilities, such as those provided by
California's regional centers, have been shown to greatly
improve outcomes for these children. Unfortunately,
children in foster care are at increased risk for a
disruption in services due to frequent placement changes.
These disruptions cause dramatic set-backs in a child's
development and well-being.
c) It is imperative that children in foster care be
protected from interruptions in their developmental
services, and thus, a clear set of timelines for the
transfer process from one regional center's catchment area
to another's is needed.
1)Provides that children in foster care shall include children
who have an order for foster care placement, children that are
awaiting foster care placement, or children that are placed in
out-of-home care through voluntary placement, as specified.
2)Requires transfer procedures and timelines related to the
provision of early education services by local education
agencies (LEAs) and early intervention services by regional
centers to be consistent with transfer requirements outlined
AB 1089
Page 2
in the Lanterman Act for purposes of providing consistent
services to a foster child, as specified, who transfers from
between regional centers, between LEAs, or from an LEA to a
regional center catchment area in which there are no services
available to the foster child through the LEA.
3)Requires a regional center, consistent with current law under
the Lanterman Act, to provide interim early intervention
services comparable to those outlined in a foster child's
individualized family service plan (IFSP) if the child
transfers from one regional center catchment area to another,
regardless of whether the new regional center has deemed the
child eligible for provision and payment of early intervention
services.
4)Adds education rights holders for infants or toddlers who are
eligible to receive early intervention services to the list of
representatives to whom confidential information and records
pertaining to the intake, assessment and services, as
specified, for persons with developmental disabilities may be
disclosed.
5)Provides that any regional center consumer, infant or toddler
receiving early intervention services who is a foster child,
as specified, shall be entitled either directly or through his
or her representative, education rights holder or
developmental services decisionmaker, to a complete copy, at
no charge, of his or her regional center records upon
presenting to the regional center a written request stating
that the records are needed to support an application or
appeal regarding eligibility for a public benefit program.
6)Imposes the following requirements and responsibilities on
regional centers when a foster child, as specified, who is a
regional center consumer or an infant or toddler eligible for
early intervention services, transfers from one regional
center catchment area to another:
a) Requires the sending regional center to prepare and send
the physical case file to the receiving regional center no
later than two business days following the receipt of
notice that the consumer has moved out of the sending
regional center's catchment area, and notify the receiving
regional center of the consumer's relocation, including the
person's name and age, and a list of services currently
AB 1089
Page 3
listed in the IFSP or individual program plan (IPP);
b) Requires notice of the transfer to be immediately
provided by the county social worker or probation officer,
and allows notice to also be provided by the caregiver, the
consumer's attorney or court-appointed special advocate
(CASA), or the court itself;
c) Requires the receiving regional center to accept
financial responsibility for the incoming consumer's case
and notify the caregiver and county placing agency of the
assignment of a service coordinator within two business
days of receipt of the physical file, and requires services
and supports provided for in the consumer's existing IFSP
or IPP to commence within five business days of the sending
regional center receiving notice of relocation of the
consumer;
d) Requires the receiving regional center to provide
services comparable to those in the consumer's existing
IFSP or IPP until a meeting can be held to determine
appropriate services if, upon transfer to the receiving
regional center, identical services to those outlined in
the consumer's existing IFSP or IPP are not available; and
e) Authorizes the sending regional center to continue to
provide services to the consumer and not transfer the case,
provided that the regional center continues to provide all
of the services outlined in the consumer's IFSP or IPP, and
requires the sending regional center to notify the
receiving regional center within two days of the consumer's
move that the sending regional center will continue to
provide services.
1)Establishes requirements and duties for LEAs, with respect to
the transfer of services and the case file, consistent with
those imposed on regional centers.
AB 1089
Page 4
EXISTING LAW
1)Establishes the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services
Act (Lanterman Act), under which the Department of
Developmental Services (DDS) is authorized to contract with
private non-profit regional centers to provide case management
services and arrange for, or purchase, services that meet the
individual needs and choices of each person with developmental
disabilities, regardless of age or degree of disability, and
at each stage of life, to support their integration into the
mainstream life of the community.
2)Requires the development of an IPP for each regional center
consumer, which specifies services to be provided to the
consumer, based on his or her individualized needs
determination and preferences, and defines that planning
process as the vehicle to ensure that services and supports
are customized to meet the needs of consumers who are served
by regional centers.
3)Requires that the planning processes to create an IPP include:
a) A statement of the individual's goals and objectives, a
schedule of the type and nature of services to be provided
and other information and considerations, as specified;
b) Review and modification, as necessary, by the regional
center's planning team no less frequently than every three
years; and
c) Statewide training and review of the IPP plan creation,
as specified.
1)Defines a Local Education Agency (LEA) as a school district, a
county office of education, a nonprofit charter school
participating as a member of a special education local plan
area, or a special education local plan area.
2)Enacts, through federal law, the Early Intervention Program
for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities of 1986 under the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and
requires DDS, regional centers and LEAs to provide early
intervention services to infants and toddlers with
developmental delays, as specified.
AB 1089
Page 5
3)Establishes that an infant or toddler under age 3 who is
eligible for regional center services shall have an IFSP to
direct services, as specified, and defines the types of
services, supports and staffing that should be considered when
creating the plan.
4)Provides that for infants and toddlers and their families who
are eligible to receive services from both a regional center
and a LEA, the regional center shall be the agency responsible
for providing or purchasing appropriate early intervention
services that are required under federal IDEA but are beyond
the mandated responsibilities of LEAs.
5)Provides that a consumer who is or has been determined to be
eligible for services by a regional center shall also be
considered eligible by any other regional center if he or she
has moved to another location within the state.
6)Provides that an individual who is determined by a regional
center to have a developmental disability shall remain
eligible for regional center services unless, upon conducting
a comprehensive assessment, a regional center concludes that
the original determination that the individual has a
developmental disability is clearly erroneous.
7)Requires the level and types of services and supports
specified in a consumer's IPP to be authorized and secured, if
available, pending the development of a new IPP, whenever a
consumer transfers from one regional center catchment area to
another.
8)Requires a regional center in a catchment area to which a
consumer has transferred to convene a meeting to develop a new
IPP within 30 days if the services and supports in the
consumer's existing IPP are not available, and prior to
approval of a new IPP, requires the regional center to provide
alternative services and supports to the consumer that best
meet his or her IPP objectives in the least restrictive
setting.
9)Establishes a statewide system of child welfare services,
including foster care, under which county welfare departments
are responsible for providing services to dependent children
who are victims of, or substantial risk of, among other
AB 1089
Page 6
things, physical abuse, sexual abuse, exploitation, emotional
damage or neglect due to a child's parent or guardian
inflicting nonaccidental harm on the child or willfully
neglecting the child, or when parental rights have otherwise
been terminated.
10)Provides that it is the policy of the Legislature that foster
care should be a temporary method of care for the children of
this state, that children have a right to a normal home life
free from abuse in a permanent family setting, and that the
current practice of moving children receiving foster care
services from one foster home to another until they reach the
age of majority should be discontinued.
11)Requires regional centers to purchase or secure services that
are contained in the IPP or IFSP of children who are regional
center consumers and are receiving Aid to Families with
Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) benefits, provided
that the services are not already provided under federal or
state AFDC-FC provisions, or Adoption Assistance Program (AAP)
benefits.
12) Requires regional centers to assist county welfare and
probation departments in identifying appropriate placement
resources for children who are recipients of AFDC-FC and who
are eligible for regional center services.
13)Authorizes the court to limit the rights of a parent or
guardian to make educational or developmental services
decisions for a dependent child or nonminor dependent, if such
limitation is determined to be in the best interest of the
child or nonminor dependent, and requires the court upon
making such a determination to appoint a responsible adult to
make educational or developmental services decisions for the
dependent child or nonminor dependent, as specified.
14)Requires the court to refer a child to the LEA for
appointment of a surrogate parent, pursuant to IDEA, if the
court cannot identify a responsible adult to make educational
decisions for a child who has been referred to the LEA for
special education and related services or has a valid
individualized education plan.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
AB 1089
Page 7
COMMENTS : This bill establishes timelines for the transfer of
files and provision of services to children in foster care who
are also receiving early intervention services and other
developmental services through a regional center or local
education agency. Additionally, this bill provides consumers,
and specified representatives, greater access to a consumer's
regional center records, free of charge. The author seeks to
ensure timely access to needed interventions and services for
vulnerable foster youth who move from one placement to another.
Developmental services
The Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act (Welfare &
Institutions Code § 4500 et seq.) guides the provision of
services and supports for Californians with developmental
disabilities. Each individual under the Act, typically referred
to as a "consumer," is legally entitled to treatment and
habilitation services and supports in the least restrictive
environment. Lanterman Act services are designed to enable all
consumers to live more independent and productive lives in the
community.
Direct responsibility for implementation of the Lanterman Act
service system is shared by the Department of Developmental
Services and 21 regional centers, which are private nonprofit
entities, established pursuant to the Lanterman Act, that
contract with DDS to carry out many of the state's
responsibilities under the Act. The principal roles of regional
centers include intake and assessment, individualized program
plan development, case management, and securing services through
generic agencies or purchasing services provided by vendors.
Regional centers also share primary responsibility with local
education agencies (LEAs) for the provision of early
intervention services under the California Early Intervention
Services Act through Early Start. In this shared role, LEAs
provide services for children with low-incidence disabilities
(e.g.: blindness, deafness, hard of hearing, orthopedic
impairments).
Services provided to people with developmental disabilities are
determined through an individual planning process. Under this
process, planning teams-which include, among others, the
consumer, his or her legally authorized representative, and one
or more regional center representatives-jointly prepare an
Individual Program Plan (IPP) based on the consumer's needs and
choices. For infants and toddlers under 3 years of age, the
AB 1089
Page 8
plan generated is an individualized family service plan (IFSP),
which similarly dictates the services to be provided to a child
to meet his or her developmental and early intervention needs.
The IPP must give the highest preference to those services and
supports that allow minors to live with their families and
adults to live as independently as possible in the community.
Regional centers serve nearly 260,000 consumers who receive
services such as residential placements, supported living
services, respite care, transportation, day treatment programs,
work support programs, and various social and therapeutic
programs. Approximately 1,600 consumers reside at one of
California's four Developmental Centers-and one state-operated,
specialized community facility-which provide 24-hour
habilitation and medical and social treatment services.
Foster care
The purpose of California's Child Welfare Services (CWS) system
is to provide for the protection and the health and safety of
children. In the case of children who are at risk of abuse,
neglect or abandonment, county juvenile courts hold legal
jurisdiction and children are served by the CWS system through
the appointment of a social worker. Through this system, there
are multiple stages where the custody of the child or his or her
placement is evaluated, reviewed and determined by the judicial
system, in consultation with the child's social worker to help
provide the best possible services to the child.
While the desired outcome of the system is to preserve and
strengthen families through reuniting children with their
biological parents, when that option is not safe or appropriate,
some children are placed with a relative, or with a nonrelative
extended family member. Although efforts have been made to
place children and youth in the most familiar, permanent and
safe settings possible, many children remain in foster care,
residing in group homes and other placement types that are not
conducive to permanency. In addition to decreasing a child's
ability to make a permanent connection with a trusted family
member, this can pose major issues for children with
developmental delays and disabilities who need a stable and
consistent advocate to ensure they receive timely access to
appropriate early intervention and developmental services.
According to DSS data from 2011, there were 1,650 children in
foster care who also received regional center services, also
AB 1089
Page 9
referred to as "dual agency" children. Because these children
and youth are more likely to move than children who aren't in
foster care, and are more likely to move without warning,
supporters of the bill contend that having a seamless process
for transfer of the case file and continuity of services is
especially important.
Transfers of regional center consumers
Current statute requires a regional center that receives a
consumer from another catchment area to authorize and pay for
the same supports and services or comparable supports and
services that the consumer was receiving under his or her IPP
through the previous regional center, if they are available.
This occurs while a new IPP meeting is pending, which is
required to occur within 30 days if the services and supports
provided for the consumer's IPP don't exist in the new catchment
area. Statute also requires the regional center to provide
alternative services and supports to meet the consumer's needs
pending the development of a new IPP. This same process is also
referenced in DDS regulations (CCR Title 17, Div. 2, Section
52111), with respect to the provision of services in an IFSP for
babies and toddlers 0-3 years old.
Need for the bill
Although current law and regulations outline the duties of the
receiving regional center when a consumer transfers to ensure
continuity of services to the extent possible, there aren't any
timelines provided in current law mandating a specific timeframe
for the transfer of the case file or the actual initiation of
services for that consumer. According to sponsors of the bill,
this lack of specificity results in some foster youth waiting
for services for up to six or nine months, if not longer. They
additionally contend that this delay can be particularly
detrimental for very young children whose services may mitigate
further developmental delay, as well as older foster youth for
whom continuity of services, especially if they are receiving
behavioral intervention services, can play a major role in
whether their new placement is successful.
This bill requires the receiving regional center, for a transfer
of a foster youth consumer, to assign a service coordinator for
the consumer within two business days of receipt of the physical
case file, and requires the services indicated in the consumer's
IPP or IFSP to commence within five business days of the sending
regional center receiving notice of the relocation of the
AB 1089
Page 10
consumer. By also requiring LEAs to adhere to the same
timelines for case transfer and provision of services as
regional centers, the bill seeks to ensure application to young
children with low-incidence disabilities and keep the
coordinated approach to early intervention services intact.
This bill also requires consumers and specified representatives
to be able to receive a copy of the consumer's regional center
records, at no charge, upon providing written notice that the
records are needed for purposes of securing eligibility for a
public benefits program.
According to the author:
"Regional centers are responsible for coordinating and
providing individualized services-such as case management,
speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy,
behavior services, parent/caregiver training, respite and
nursing care, social skills training?Currently when a child
moves, his or her services can be interrupted, as there is
no standard procedure for the transfer of a cases, which
often results in loss of developmental progress for service
recipients. Foster children, who often lack adult
advocates, are especially impacted by the lack of timelines
as placement moves often happen quickly with little or no
time to arrange for the transfer of services, leaving
children without services for months. AB1089 provides for
quick implementation of services following a foster child's
move and reduces the risk for lost developmental progress
in the state's most vulnerable youth."
In support, California CASA Association writes:
"AB 1089 works to solve one of the greatest barriers to
positive youth outcomes: bureaucratic delay and waste. By
enhancing procedures to stop delay and ensuring timely
transfer and ready client access to children's records, we
can ensure that foster children do not go without the
services they desperately need."
Arguments in opposition
In opposition, the Association of Regional Center Agencies
(ARCA) states:
The frequent movement of foster children, particularly
those under the age of three, requires the coordination of
AB 1089
Page 11
several local agencies in order to ensure the continuity of
services?Thus, the actions of other agencies impact the
pace at which regional centers can initiate services in a
child's new community. Any proposed legislative solution
must outline the roles and responsibilities of each
involved agency, which Assembly Bill 1089 does not do.
Rather, AB 1089 places significant workload requirements
and fiscal pressures on regional centers without fully
outlining the role of child welfare agencies and the local
courts in ensuring the smooth transition of children from
one area to another.
AB 1089
Page 12
Staff comments
While the most recent amendments to the bill seek to address
some of the concerns raised by organizations opposing the bill,
there are additional issues the author may want to address as
the bill moves forward.
1) One of the primary concerns is whether the timelines
provided in the bill with respect to sending of the case
file and the initiation of services is actually feasible.
Although it is reasonable for the author to seek a strict
timeline to ensure continuity of services given that the
current structure leaves many foster children without
services for months, the inclusion of a five day timeline
for services to be initiated may be too short a time period
for the receiving regional center, for example, to take
appropriate steps to address the consumer's needs. Too
little time for a regional center to act may lead to
administrative problems or inappropriate attention to care
needs, which could ultimately further delay services for a
consumer.
2) Some services, like speech therapy, may be accessible
through a number of providers in the area to which a foster
child moves, and can be readily provided within current
statutory requirements for consumers who transfer regional
centers to be provided services comparable to those in
their IPP or IFSP. However, behavioral health services,
for example, are tailored even more so to the individual
needs of each consumer and would likely require an
extensive assessment before services begin. The author may
wish to clarify whether the commencement of services in the
new catchment area refers to a consumer's first interaction
with a provider (i.e. assessment), or the initiation of
ongoing services, regardless of the service type.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Advokids
Alameda County Foster Youth Alliance
Alliance for Children's Rights
Bellows Consulting
California Alliance of Child and Family Services
AB 1089
Page 13
California CASA Association
California Speech-language Hearing Association (CSHA)
Care Givers of Kern County
Center for Juvenile Law and Policy at Loyola Law School
Children Now
Children's Advocacy Institute
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations, Inc.
Disability Rights California
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF)
Disability Rights Legal Center (DRLC)
East Bay Children's Law Offices (EBCLO)
Goodman and Bhutani, LLP
Grandparents As Parents, Inc.
Legal Services for Children
National Center for Youth Law (NCYL)
Public Counsel
Redwood Children's Services
Seneca Family Agencies
Special Needs Network (SNN)
State Public Affairs Committee (SPAC)
Woodland Community College Foster & Kinship Care Education
Youth Law Center
ZERO TO THREE Western Office
1 Individual
Opposition
Association of Regional Center Agencies (ARCA)
North Los Angeles County Regional Center
Analysis Prepared by : Myesha Jackson / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089