BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 367| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- UNFINISHED BUSINESS Bill No: SB 367 Author: Block (D) Amended: 8/15/13 Vote: 21 SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE : 6-0, 4/9/13 AYES: Yee, Berryhill, Emmerson, Evans, Liu, Wright SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 05/23/13 AYES: De León, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg SENATE FLOOR : 38-0, 5/30/13 (Consent) AYES: Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Calderon, Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Emmerson, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Hancock, Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Knight, Lara, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Monning, Nielsen, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Roth, Steinberg, Torres, Walters, Wolk, Wyland, Yee NO VOTE RECORDED: Wright, Vacancy ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 8/26/13 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Developmental services: regional centers: cultural and linguistic competency SOURCE : Center for Autism and Related Disorders SEARCH Family Autism Resource Center DIGEST : This bill requires a regional center to include in its training and support to board members, issues relating to CONTINUED SB 367 Page 2 linguistic and cultural competency and to post on its Internet Web site information regarding the training and support provided. Requires the governing board to annually review the performance of the regional center in providing services that are linguistically and culturally appropriate and authorizes the governing board to provide recommendations to the director of the regional center based on the results of that review. Assembly Amendments clarify that the annual performance review is of the regional center rather than the director but that the governing board is authorized to provide recommendations to the director based on the results of the review. ANALYSIS : Existing law: 1. Requires the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) to contract with regional centers to provide support and services to individuals with developmental disabilities. 2. Requires the governing board of the regional center to satisfy specified requirements, including annually reviewing the performance of the director of the regional center, and providing necessary training and support to board members. 3. Requires the state to contract only with agencies, the governing boards of which conform to all of the following criteria: A. The governing board shall be composed of individuals with demonstrated interest in, or knowledge of, developmental disabilities. B. The membership of the governing board shall include persons with legal, management, public relations, and developmental disability program skills. C. The membership of the governing board shall include representatives of the various categories of disability to be served by the regional center. D. The governing board shall reflect the geographic and CONTINUED SB 367 Page 3 ethnic characteristics of the area to be served by the regional center. E. A minimum of 50% of the members of the governing board shall be persons with developmental disabilities or their parents or legal guardians. No less than 25% of the members of the governing board shall be persons with developmental disabilities. F. Members of the governing board shall not be permitted to serve more than seven years within each eight-year period. G. The regional center shall provide necessary training and support to these board members to facilitate their understanding and participation This bill: 1. Requires the regional center to provide necessary training and support to board members to facilitate their understanding and participation, including issues relating to linguistic and cultural competency. 2. Requires each regional center to post on its Internet Web site information regarding the training and support provided to board members. 3. Requires the governing board to annually review the performance of the regional center in providing services that are linguistically and culturally appropriate and may provide recommendations to the director of the regional center based on the results of that review. Background Regional Centers . Regional Centers are part of a system of care overseen by the DDS. With a proposed budget of $4.3 billion for community-based services in 2013-2014, DDS is responsible for coordinating care and providing services for more than 250,000 people with developmental disabilities who receive services and supports to live in their communities, as well as approximately 1,560 people who resided in developmental centers as of March 6, 2013. California's 21 regional centers are non-profit CONTINUED SB 367 Page 4 organizations that provide local services and supports to individuals through contracts with DDS. Historically, the regional centers have been praised for providing services that are tailored to local needs and responsive to individuals in communities, and criticized for their inconsistency across the state. While DDS sets some common standards, there are variations among regional centers in access to services across the regional center system. Senate hearing . The Senate Select Committee on Autism and Related Disorders held an informational hearing on April 30, 2012, to discuss questions surrounding equal access to regional center services for consumers with autism spectrum disorders. The hearing was prompted by a series of articles in the Los Angeles Times in 2011, which explored the different experiences that families of children with autism had in accessing services. The articles looked at variations in services among families with different ethnic backgrounds, socio-economic status, geography and other factors, including differences in practices at various regional centers. As a result of that hearing, Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg created a 20-member Taskforce on Equity and Diversity for Regional Center Autism Services, which was charged with finding recommendations to ensure that consumers of regional center services receive appropriate and timely supports regardless of race, ethnicity, educational background and other socio-economic factors. A 119-page report, "A Preliminary Report by the Taskforce on Equity and Diversity for Regional Center Autism Services," was published on March 18, 2013, and identified 19 recommended changes to practice within the Developmental Services system. The task force also noted that DDS and regional centers should build more effective community-based partnerships with health and other providers that already serve consumers in underserved communities. Some examples from the report include the promotoras community health model in Latino communities, faith-based groups and other grass-roots organizations. These providers could serve as ambassadors for families who might not otherwise seek or obtain services. (p 22-23) Access to health care services . The United States Department of CONTINUED SB 367 Page 5 Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health has issued 14 standards for health organizations to ensure Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS). In 2001, the Office of Minority Health released a report which identified adoption of CLAS standards as a way to correct inequities that currently exist in the provision of health services, and to make these services more responsive to the individual needs of all patients/consumers. Standards are intended to be inclusive of all cultures and not limited to any particular population group or sets of groups. However, they are especially designed to address the needs of racial, ethnic, and linguistic population groups that experience unequal access to health services. "The CLAS standards ? provide a common understanding and consistent definitions of culturally and linguistically appropriate services in health care. They offer a practical framework for the implementation of services and organizational structures that can help health care organizations and providers be responsive to the cultural and linguistic issues presented by diverse populations." FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: The regional centers indicate that they will need additional staff to identify barriers to utilization of services and work with outside groups to reduce disparities in service utilization. The regional centers indicate that the total cost to undertake these activities is likely to be about $800,000 per year (General Fund). To the extent that there are barriers to the utilization of services and the regional centers are successful in reducing or eliminating such barriers to utilization, there could be increased demand for regional center services. The extent of this impact is unknown. SUPPORT : (Verified 5/23/13) Center for Autism and Related Disorders (co-source) CONTINUED SB 367 Page 6 SEARCH Family Autism Resource Center (co-source) ACT Today! Association of Regional Center Agencies Autism Research Group Public Counsel's Children's Rights Project The Help Group ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : This bill's sponsor, Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD), writes: The executive director and founder of CARD, Doreen Granpeesheh, Ph.D., BCBA-D, was part of the Senate taskforce that identified the need for regional center programs that consider the cultural and linguistic diversity that characterizes California. The work of this task-force culminated in the identification of several important goals, one of which would be met through the passage and implementation of SB 367. The Centers for Disease Control estimates autism prevalence at 1 in every 88 children, with recent data indicating that prevalence may be as high as 1 in every 50 children. Two-thirds of all new regional center consumers are diagnosed with ASD. The cost to the State decreases significantly when diagnosis is made early, and individuals receive early intensive intervention. ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 8/26/13 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NO VOTE RECORDED: Donnelly, Mansoor, Vacancy, Vacancy CONTINUED SB 367 Page 7 JL:k 8/29/13 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED