BILL ANALYSIS Ó Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary Senator Kevin de León, Chair SB 555 (Correa) - Developmental services: regional centers: individual program plans and individualized family service plans. Amended: April 1, 2013 Policy Vote: Human Services 4-0 Urgency: No Mandate: No Hearing Date: May 23, 2013 Consultant: Brendan McCarthy SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED. Bill Summary: SB 555 would generally require that the provision of services and supports to be provided in a regional center consumer's native language. Fiscal Impact (as approved on May 23, 2013): Likely costs of $1 million to $2 million per year for the regional centers to provide translation services (General Fund) for initial intake and assessment meetings and translation of certain documents. Background: The Department of Developmental Services is responsible for coordinating care and services 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 a variety of vendors to provide direct services to the developmentally disabled. In the regional center system, infants or toddlers under three years of age are required to have an individualized family service plan which is used to direct services and supports for the child and its family. Regional center consumers over three years of age are required to have an individual program plan that directs the services and supports that will be provided to meet the consumer's needs. Both individualized family service plans and individual program plans are developed by the regional center staff for individual consumers to meet the consumer's specific needs for services. In April 2012, the Senate Select Committee on Autism and Related Disorders held an informational hearing to investigate equal SB 555 (Correa) Page 1 access to regional center services for consumers with autism spectrum disorders. Following the hearing, a Taskforce on Equity and Diversity for Regional Center Autism Services was established to study and make recommendations to ensure that consumers of regional center services receive appropriate services, regardless of race, ethnicity, or other socio-economic factors. Based on the deliberations of the taskforce, staff of the Select Committee compiled recommendations and findings of the taskforce into a draft report. The 2012-13 developmental services trailer bill (AB 1472, Chapter 25 of 2012) requires the Department and the regional centers to collect and analyze data on the utilization of services by consumers with respect to age, race, language spoken, and disability. Proposed Law: SB 555 would generally require that the provision of services and supports to be provided in a regional center consumer's native language. Specifically, the bill would require: Individualized family service plans and the provision of services and supports to be designed to meet the cultural preferences, values and lifestyle of the infant or toddler and to be provided in the family's native language; Regional centers to make information about regional center services available to the public in a culturally and linguistically competent manner; Regional centers to provide all communication with a potential consumer and his/her family in the family's native language during the initial intake and assessment (during which the potential consumer is evaluated for eligibility); Individualized program plans and the provision of services and supports to be designed to meet the cultural preferences, values and lifestyle of the consumer and his/her representative and to be provided in the consumer's native language. Related Legislation: SB 158 (Correa) would establish a pilot project to identify underserved communities and improve autism identification and service delivery. That bill is on this committee's Suspense File. SB 208 (Lara) would require any request for proposal that SB 555 (Correa) Page 2 is prepared by the Department of Developmental Services or a regional center to include a section relating to issues of equity and diversity. That bill is on this committee's Suspense File. SB 319 (Price) would require the Department of Developmental Services to ensure that regional centers report certain information on the services they provide in a uniform manner. The bill would require the regional centers to report on whether there are disparities in the provision of services and plans to reduce disparities. That bill will be heard in this committee. SB 321 (Price) would require the Department of Developmental Services to establish contract guidelines and performance measures relating to cultural and linguistic competence. That bill will be heard in this committee. SB 367 (Block) would require regional centers to establish a process to review cultural and linguistic competence. That bill is on this committee's Suspense File. AB 1232 (V. M. Perez) would require an existing Department of Developmental Services quality assurance tool to assess the provision of services in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner. That bill is in the Assembly Human Services Committee. Staff Comments: The Administrative Procedure Act (beginning at Section 11340 of the Government Code) prohibits state agencies from issuing or enforcing any rule, regulation, order, or standard of general application unless it has been issued as a regulation under the Administrative Procedure Act. In order to clarify the requirements of this bill, the Department will most likely have to adopt implementing regulations. According to the Select Committee on Autism and Related Disorders, there are indications of disparities in the provision of services to racial and ethnic minorities - both in the larger healthcare system and within the state's regional center system. This implies that there may be significant unmet needs for services for racial and ethnic minorities with developmental disabilities. Under California law, services and supports for the developmentally disabled are entitlements and the regional centers are required to provide services and supports for eligible individuals. SB 555 (Correa) Page 3 According to the Census Bureau, about 9.5 million Californians over the age of five speak Spanish at home and an additional 4.8 million Californians speak another non-English language at home. (Although many in both groups are bilingual in English and another language.) Given the large number of Californians who speak another language at home and the potential costs to provide translation services for every phone call or meeting with regional center staff, the regional centers' cost estimates above appear reasonable. To the extent that limited English proficiency is a barrier to receiving services by current or potential regional center consumers, better communication with non-English speaking consumers and their families may increase the demand for services. The extent of this impact is unknown. Proposed author's amendments: would narrow the bill's requirements for translation services to planning for individual program plans and individualized family service plans.