BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
AB 1112 (Ammiano) - Developmental services: habilitation.
Amended: April 18, 2013 Policy Vote: Human Services 6-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: July 1, 2013 Consultant: Brendan McCarthy
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 1112 would require certain employment support
services provided by regional centers to be paid at the same
rates that the Department of Rehabilitation pays for those
services.
Fiscal Impact:
Unknown potential impacts on regional center expenditures
for supported employment services to the extent that the
Department of Developmental Services is required to increase
rates, if the Department of Rehabilitation increases the
rates it pays for those services. (General Fund and federal
funds).
No significant fiscal impact is anticipated by requiring
the regional centers to pay for employment preparation
services in cases where regional center consumers are placed
on a waiting list for services from the Department of
Rehabilitation (General Fund and federal funds).
Background: The Department of Developmental Services is
responsible for coordinating services and supports for about
250,000 people with developmental disabilities. The vast
majority of these people are served by 21 regional centers,
which are non-profit entities that contract with the state. The
regional centers, in turn, contract with vendors to provide
direct services to the developmentally disabled.
Under current law, when regional center consumers require
habilitation services to prepare for employment, they are
referred to the Department of Rehabilitation for habilitation
services. If a regional center consumer is placed on a waiting
list for services by the Department of Rehabilitation (due to
AB 1112 (Ammiano)
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budget constraints), current law requires certain habilitation
services to be provided by regional centers (via vendors).
Current law specifies the rates to be paid by the regional
centers for certain services, but current law does not specify
the rate to be paid for employment preparation services by
regional centers.
In addition to the habilitative services provided by the
Department of Rehabilitation, the regional centers provide
supported employment services for consumers who are employed
(for example, job coaching).
Proposed Law: AB 1112 would require certain employment support
services provided by regional centers to be paid at the same
rates that the Department of Rehabilitation pays for those
services.
Specifically, the bill would
Require the regional centers to pay for employment
preparation services in cases where regional center
consumers are placed on a waiting list for services from the
Department of Rehabilitation, at a flat rate of $700. (This
is the rate that the Department of Rehabilitation currently
pays.)
Require the Department of Developmental Disabilities to set
the supported employment rates paid by regional centers at
the level specified in statute or the level set by the
Department or Rehabilitation, whichever is greater.
Related Legislation: SB 577 (Pavley) would establish a pilot
program to provide additional support to regional center
consumers, with the intention of increasing employment of
participants in the pilot program. That bill was held on this
committee's Suspense File.
Staff Comments: The Department of Rehabilitation has authority
in statute to increase the rates it pays for services, including
supported employment services.
The regional centers currently spend about $90 million per year
to provide supported employment services to consumers. Any
increase in the rates paid by the Department of Rehabilitation,
would significantly increase costs to the Department of
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Developmental Disabilities.
In the last 25 years, the Department or Rehabilitation has only
placed regional center consumers on a waiting list for one brief
period. Under current practice, regional center consumers are
given priority for habilitation services. Therefore, it is
unlikely that this bill will result in any significant increase
in costs to the regional centers by requiring the regional
centers to pay for employment preparation services, if regional
center consumers are placed on a waiting list by the Department
of Rehabilitation.