BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE HUMAN
SERVICES COMMITTEE
Senator Jim Beall, Chair
BILL NO: AB 1089
A
AUTHOR: Ian Calderon
B
VERSION: May 15, 2014
HEARING DATE: June 10, 2014
1
FISCAL: Yes
0
8
CONSULTANT: Mareva Brown
9
SUBJECT
Foster care
SUMMARY
This bill specifies transfer procedures between regional
centers that would apply when a consumer of regional center
services who also is placed in foster care is moved from a
home in one regional center's catchment area to another.
ABSTRACT
Existing law
1) Establishes that a child shall be within the
jurisdiction of the juvenile court, in foster care,
when the child has suffered, or is of substantial risk
of suffering, serious physical harm or illness as a
result of the following: (WIC 300 (b))
a. A failure or inability of the parent or
guardian to adequately supervise or protect the
minor;
b. A failure or inability of the parent or
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STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1089 (Ian Calderon)
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guardian to adequately supervise or protect the
minor from the conduct of a custodian with whom
the child has been left;
c. A willful or negligent failure of the
parent or guardian to provide the minor with
adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical
treatment;
d. The inability of the parent or guardian
to provide regular care for the minor due to the
parent's or guardian's mental illness,
developmental disability or substance abuse.
2) Establishes that, in all cases in which a minor is
adjudged a dependent child of the court as specified,
the court may limit parental control over a foster
child and requires the court to clearly and
specifically set forth those limitations. Provides
that such limitations may not exceed those necessary
to protect the child. (WIC 361)
3) Establishes the state Department of Developmental
Services (DDS) to administer the Lanterman
Developmental Disabilities Act, which entitles
individuals with developmental disabilities to
community services and supports. (WIC 4500)
4) Establishes the Early Intervention program, based
on federal statute, for infants and toddlers with a
developmental delay, as specified, and defines the
responsibilities of DDS and the California Department
of Education (CDE) to care for these children. (GOV
95014)
5) Requires DDS to contract with private non-profit
regional centers to provide fixed points of contact in
the community for persons with developmental
disabilities and their families, so that these persons
may have access to the services and supports best
suited to them throughout their lifetime. (WIC 4620)
6) Requires the regional centers to secure appropriate
services and supports, as identified in an Individual
Program Plan (IPP), and to give the highest preference
to those services and supports which would allow
minors to live with their families and adults to live
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1089 (Ian Calderon)
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as independently as possible within the community, as
specified. (WIC 4648)
7) Requires that if a consumer is or has been
determined to be eligible for services by a regional
center, he or she also shall be considered eligible by
any other regional center if he or she has moved to
another location within the state, and defines
transfer protocols for transfers between regional
centers. (WIC 4643.5 (a))
8) Requires that if the services and supports
identified in a consumer's IPP do not exist in the new
regional center catchment area, the new regional
center shall convene a meeting to develop a new IPP
within 30 days. (WIC 4643.5 (c))
This bill
1) States various Legislative declarations.
2) Adds to existing responsibilities of DDS and CDE
the requirement that specified transfer procedures and
timelines shall apply if an eligible infant or toddler
has an order for foster care placement, is awaiting
foster care placement, or is placed in out-of-home
care through voluntary placement as defined, and
transfers between regional centers or local
educational agencies.
3) Establishes procedures to apply to a regional
center consumer who is transferred from one regional
center's catchment area to a different catchment area
and either has an order for foster care placement, is
awaiting foster care placement, or is placed in
out-of-home care through voluntary placement as
defined. These procedures include:
a. The county social worker or county
probation officer shall immediately send a notice
of relocation regarding the consumer. The
consumer's court-appointed attorney may also
provide written notice of relocation. The notice
of relocation shall be deemed received when the
sending regional center receives written notice
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1089 (Ian Calderon)
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of relocation.
b. Upon receiving the notice of relocation,
the sending regional center shall immediately
send a notice of transfer, and records needed for
the planning process, including, but not limited
to, the current IPP or individualized family
services plan (IFSP), assessments, contact
information for the consumer, the caregiver, the
consumer's legal guardian, the current
developmental services decisionmaker, and the
current educational rights holder, by priority
mail, facsimile, or electronic mail, to the
receiving regional center.
c. The receiving regional center shall, as
soon as possible, provide the sending regional
center with contact information for a staff
member who is available to confer with the
planning team at the sending regional center
regarding the types of services and vendors
available to address the service needs of the
consumer in his or her new residential location.
d. Within 14 days of the notice of transfer,
the receiving regional center shall provide
authorization as needed to allow the sending
regional center to contract for services from
appropriate vendors through the courtesy
vendorization process, as well as information
regarding appropriate vendors and services to
meet the needs of the consumer.
e. The sending regional center shall confer
with the planning team and, using information
provided by the receiving regional center,
determine whether changes to the current IPP or
IFSP are needed to meet the service needs of the
consumer in the new residential location.
f. Prior to transfer of case management, the
sending regional center shall ensure that
services needed to support the consumer in the
new residential location are included in the IPP
or IFSP, a new service coordinator has been
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1089 (Ian Calderon)
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assigned, and the consumer is receiving the
services and supports listed in the new or
revised IPP or IFSP.
4) Requires that the sending regional center shall
make every reasonable effort to initiate services, as
provided for in the consumer's current IPP, as soon as
possible following the notice of transfer to a new
catchment area, but no later than 30 days from the
date of notice of transfer, except in cases in which
the consumer objects to the plan and has filed for a
fair hearing, as defined.
5) Requires that efforts to initiate services begin in
advance of the IPP meeting.
6) Requires that no later than 30 calendar days after
the notice of transfer, the sending regional center
shall report in writing to the court, the county
social worker or probation officer, as applicable, and
the developmental services decisionmaker, all services
that are being provided to the consumer, and the
process to secure any additional services that have
been identified in the consumer's IPP but not yet
initiated.
7) Requires that if all services identified in the
consumer's IPP have not been initiated within 30 days,
the regional center with responsibility for the case
shall report in writing to the court, county social
worker, probation officer, as applicable, and the
developmental services decisionmaker at 30-day
intervals until all services are initiated.
8) Requires that services shall continue to be
provided pending the court's appointment of a
developmental services decisionmaker, as specified,
and that if the regional center with responsibility
for the case is unable to obtain confirmation of the
parent's, guardian's, or current developmental
services decisionmaker's participation in the IPP
meeting, the regional center shall notify the court
having jurisdiction, the county placing agency, and
the consumer's attorney that the appointment of a new
developmental services decisionmaker may be necessary.
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1089 (Ian Calderon)
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9) If a consumer is receiving services under the
California Early Intervention Program, requires the
same processes and timelines be undertaken as in the
IPP process for regional center consumers, with the
following exceptions.
a. Substitutes the IFSP process and services
for IPP process and services, as applicable.
b. Requires notification to the educational
rights holder rather than the developmental
services decisionmaker of changes to the plan,
services and the notice if services have not been
put into place.
c. Acknowledges the pivotal role of the
education rights holder in approving services by
modifying the requirement that services continue
to be provided to requiring that all services not
requiring consent shall continue to be provided,
pending the court's appointment of an educational
rights holder.
10) Provides that the regional center of origin and the
consumer's parent, educational rights holder, or
developmental services decisionmaker, as applicable,
may agree that the regional center of origin will
continue to serve the consumer and not transfer the
case to the regional center in the consumer's new
catchment area only if the regional center of origin
continues to provide all of the services in the
consumer's IPP or IFSP.
11) Requires that the regional center of origin shall
notify the regional center in the consumer's new
catchment area within two business days of the receipt
of the notice of relocation that the regional center
of origin will continue to provide services despite
the consumer's relocation.
12) Defines the following terms for the purposes of
this section:
a. "Consumer" refers to individuals as
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1089 (Ian Calderon)
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defined in Section 4512 and any eligible infant
or toddler, as defined in Section 95014 of the
Government Code.
b. "Initiation of services" means the point
at which the consumer begins to receive a
particular service and may include assessment
procedures for services, if necessary, if those
services begin immediately following the
completion of the assessment.
c. "Notice of relocation" means a written
notice informing a regional center that currently
serves a consumer described in subdivision (d)
that the consumer has been relocated to a foster
home that is located in a catchment area that is
not served by that regional center. The notice
includes, at a minimum, the consumer's name, date
of birth, and current address, and the name of
the consumer's caregiver.
d. "Notice of transfer" means a written
notice that a consumer who also is a foster
child, as defined, is transferring from a
regional center located in one catchment area to
a regional center located in a different
catchment area and includes, at a minimum, the
following information:
i. The consumer's name and date
of birth.
ii. The name of, and contact
information for, the consumer's parent, or
the consumer's educational rights holder or
developmental services decisionmaker, if
applicable.
iii. The name of, and contact
information for, the consumer's current
caregiver.
iv. A copy of the consumer's
current IFSP or IPP.
FISCAL IMPACT
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This bill has been substantially amended since it was heard
in the Assembly Appropriations Committee, and many of the
timelines and processes in the original version have been
removed. The Appropriations analysis, reflecting the bill's
prior language, noted that 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 known how much cost pressure this
would create because it is difficult to know how many
children might be affected, the analysis noted. However,
cost pressures could easily exceed $100,000 dollars
statewide.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Purpose of the bill:
According to the author, this bill addresses a need to
create specific procedures for foster children who are
moved from the catchment area of one regional center to
another. A lack of specific procedures allows for delayed
services and loss of developmental progress, as a result.
Anecdotal information from attorneys for these foster
children indicates that delays of up to a year in the
resumption of developmental services may be experienced by
some young children in foster care who are transferred from
one regional center to another. This is an especially
critical time for children who have been identified as
needing behavioral treatment, as studies have proven that
intensive services delivered to children at young ages can
halt or reverse delays. The author states that by requiring
regional centers to coordinate transfers and ensure
implementation of services to foster children in a timely
manner, AB 1089 prevents developmental regression and
furthers developmental progress for this population.
Regional Centers
California's 21 nonprofit regional centers are part of a
system of care for individuals with developmental
disabilities that is overseen by DDS. The state is
responsible for overall coordination of services and
supports for more than 275,000 individuals who receive
services in their communities, and another 1,275 who
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1089 (Ian Calderon)
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currently reside in developmental centers. California
statute defines a developmental disability as a substantial
disability that originates before the age of 18 and
continues, or can be expected to continue, indefinitely,
such as intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy, epilepsy
and autism.
Early Start
In April 2014, more than 30,000 children between birth and
age 3 were served in California's Early Start program. The
Early Start Program is California's response to federal
legislation requiring that early intervention services to
infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families
are provided in a coordinated, family-centered system of
services that are available statewide. Families whose
infants or toddlers have a developmental delay or
disability or an established risk condition with a high
probability of resulting in a delay may be eligible to
receive supports that include service coordination,
healthcare providers, early intervention specialists,
occupational, physical and speech therapists, and parent
resource specialists to evaluate and assess infants or
toddlers and provide appropriate early intervention and
family support services.
Research on the use of intensive early intervention therapy
has proven effective in improving cognition and language
skills among very young children with autism. Early
intervention therapy has been shown to normalize brain
activity, decrease autism symptoms and improve social
skills, according to a nationwide study led by researchers
from the MIND Institute at UC Davis, which was funded by
the National Institute of Mental Health.<1> Participants
received 20 hours a week of therapy and their parents were
trained to deliver core features of the intervention.
Foster Children
In California, children may enter the foster care system
-------------------------
<1> "Early behavioral intervention is associated with
normalized brain activity in young children with autism,"
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent
Psychiatry, October 2012.
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for a variety of circumstances that permit a juvenile court
to find clear and convincing evidence that there is
substantial danger to the health, safety, protection or
physical and emotional well-being of a child. There were
61,020 children in foster care in California, as of January
1, 2014, an increase of about 5,000 children from a year
earlier.<2> Of those, approximately 11,750 children were
younger than age 3, and another 9,370 children were between
ages three and five - combined these young age groups are
one-third of all children in foster care.
Data from the Center for Social Services Research at the
University of California at Berkeley on Placement Stability
showed that more than half of foster children experience at
least two relocations within the first year of
placement.<3>
Overlapping populations
According to DDS, approximately 1,650 foster children were
receiving regional center services, and 339 children
younger than age three were receiving services from
regional centers.
Arguments in support:
The California Alliance of Child and Family Services write
that this bill will ensure that foster children do not
suffer unnecessary and detrimental delays in services by
creating uniform procedure regarding the transfer of cases
between regional centers. "Foster youth often move suddenly
and lack an advocate or consistent caregiver who can
navigate the smooth transfer of supports and services - the
very things that increase placement stability for these
-------------------------
<2> CWS/CMS 2013 Quarter 4 Extract, Center for Social
Sciences Research, U.C. Berkeley
<3>
http://cssr.berkeley.edu/ucb_childwelfare/Stability.aspx
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1089 (Ian Calderon)
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vulnerable youth."
The California Welfare Directors Association writes that AB
1089 requires the county to notify the regional center when
a child is moved. "Today there is not a formal notification
process, though counties often have identified liaisons
with their regional centers to make the transfer process go
more smoothly. It makes sense to have this notification
requirement set forth in statute to use as a starting point
for the time frames for the transition of services."
Arguments in opposition:
The Association of Regional Center Agencies writes that
regional centers agree that certain populations, foster
children included, require special attention in the case
transfer process, but ARCA does not believe that the
current structure of and lack of dedicated funding in AB
1089 will lead to improved outcomes in these cases. "Strict
timelines for service initiation have the potential to deny
foster children the opportunity to be connected to the most
appropriate service provider rather than the one that
happens to be available. In order to promote placement
stability, foster families need the opportunity to choose
from among the best providers."
COMMENTS
The author has worked with several organizations that
expressed concerns about the rigid timelines in this bill.
This version of the bill reflects several months of
collaboration and technical assistance. It redirects the
process to require the sending regional center to establish
services in the new catchment are rather than having those
services established by the receiving regional center.
Amendments have removed most of the timelines that
originally were established in the bill as well as other
contentious language. While the Association of Regional
Centers (ARCA) remains opposed to this version of the bill,
citing staggering caseloads and other unfunded mandates,
other organizations have removed their opposition.
Staff recommends a number of additional amendments to
Section 3 of the bill based in part on input from regional
center caseworkers, county welfare directors and others to
STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 1089 (Ian Calderon)
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clarify the scope and timelines. A mockup of those
amendments is attached.
PRIOR VOTES
Assembly Floor: 72 - 0
Assembly Appropriations: 17 - 0
Assembly Human Services Committee: 5 - 0
POSITIONS
Support: Alliance for Children's Rights
California SEIU, Developmental Disabilities
Council
California Welfare Directors Association
Developmental Disabilities Area Board 10
Disability Rights California
Public Counsel
Oppose: The Association of Regional Center Agencies
(ARCA)
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