BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 1089
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          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
          AB 1089 (Ian Calderon)
          As Amended  April 18, 2013
          Majority vote 

           HUMAN SERVICES      5-0         APPROPRIATIONS      17-0        
           
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Ayes:|Stone, Maienschein,       |Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey, Bigelow,   |
          |     |Ammiano,                  |     |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian  |
          |     |Ian Calderon, Garcia      |     |Calderon, Campos,         |
          |     |                          |     |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez,  |
          |     |                          |     |Hall, Rendon, Linder,     |
          |     |                          |     |Pan, Quirk, Wagner, Weber |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           SUMMARY  :  Establishes timelines and procedures for the transfer  
          of responsibility and records, and the provision of early  
          intervention and developmental services, to children in foster  
          care who move from one regional center catchment area to  
          another.  Specifically,  this bill  :  

          1)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  
            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.

          2)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.

          3)Adds education rights holders for infants or toddlers who are  
            eligible to receive early intervention services to the list of  








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            representatives to whom confidential information and records  
            pertaining to the intake, assessment and services, as  
            specified, for persons with developmental disabilities may be  
            disclosed.

          4)Provides that any regional center consumer, infant or toddler  
            receiving early intervention services who is a foster child,  
            as specified, shall be entitled to a complete copy, at no  
            charge, of his or her regional center records, under specified  
            circumstances.

          5)Establishes a number of requirements and responsibilities for  
            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.

          6)Establishes requirements and duties for LEAs, with respect to  
            the transfer of services and the case file, consistent with  
            those imposed on regional centers.




           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  
            mainstream life in the community.

          2)Requires the development of an individual program plan (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.









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          3)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.

          4)Establishes that an infant or toddler under age three 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.

          5)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.

          6)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.

          7)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.

          8)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 to another.

          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  
            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  








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            neglecting the child, or when parental rights have otherwise  
            been terminated.

          10)Requires regional centers to purchase or secure services that  
            are contained in the IPPs or IFSPs 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.

          11) 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.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee this bill will likely not affect many children in the  
          less populated areas of the state or in areas where multiple  
          counties are covered by one regional center (such as the  
          Sacramento region) because it is unlikely that a change in  
          foster care placement will result in a change in the regional  
          center catchment area.  However, in Los Angeles and the Bay  
          Area, multiple regional centers provide services to  
          developmentally disabled children and adults.  A child could  
          easily be moved a very short distance and end up in a new  
          catchment area. Requiring regional centers to expedite transfers  
          and establish services within days, rather than within weeks,  
          could result in cost pressure for regional centers that have  
          taken cuts in funding over recent years.  It is not unknown how  
          much cost pressure this would create because it is difficult to  
          know how many children might be affected.  However, cost  
          pressures could easily exceed $100,000 statewide. 

           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 access to a consumer's regional  
          center records, free of charge, upon providing written notice  
          that the records are needed for purposes of securing eligibility  
          for a public benefits program.  The author seeks to ensure  
          timely access to needed interventions and services for  








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          vulnerable foster youth who move from one placement to another. 

           Developmental services  :  The Lanterman Act (Welfare and  
          Institutions Code Section 4500 et seq.) guides the provision of  
          services and supports for Californians with developmental  
          disabilities.  Each individual under the Lanterman 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 DDS and 21 regional centers, which  
          are private nonprofit entities that contract with DDS to carry  
          out many of the state's responsibilities under the Lanterman  
          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).

          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.

           Transfers of regional center consumers  :  Current law requires a  
          regional center that receives a consumer from another catchment  
          area to authorize and pay for the same supports and services or  
          supports and services that are comparable to those 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 in the consumer's  








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          IPP do not 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 (California Code of 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  :  According to DSS data from 2011, there were  
          1,650 children in foster care who received regional center  
          services, also referred to as "dual agency" children.  Because  
          these children and youth are more likely to move than children  
          who are not 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.

          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 are not 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.  

          To provide for a more standardized process and avoid delays in  
          service delivery, this bill requires a regional center receiving  
          a foster youth who is transferring from another regional center  
          to assign a service coordinator for that consumer within two  
          business days of receipt of the physical case file, and commence  
          the services indicated in the consumer's IPP or IFSP to within  
          five business days of receiving notice of the relocation of that  
          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.  








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           Analysis Prepared by  :    Myesha Jackson / HUM. S. / (916)  
          319-2089 


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