BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 555
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          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 555 (Correa)
          As Amended  August 15, 2013
          Majority vote 

           SENATE VOTE  :37-0  
           
           HUMAN SERVICES      7-0                                         
           
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          |Ayes:|Stone, Maienschein,       |     |                          |
          |     |Ammiano,                  |     |                          |
          |     |Ian Calderon, Garcia,     |     |                          |
          |     |Grove, Hall               |     |                          |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |     |                          |     |                          |
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           SUMMARY  :  Strengthens conformity between current law and  
          regulations and regional center requirements related to  
          communication and the provision of documentation in the native  
          language of a regional center consumer and his or her family or  
          authorized representative.  Specifically,  this bill  :

          1)Declares legislative findings related to health equity and the  
            provision of culturally and linguistically competent regional  
            center services.

          2)Declares that, in order to address any disparities in the  
            regional center system, it is the intent of the Legislature  
            that the State Department of Developmental Services and  
            regional centers ensure both of the following:

             a)   That all consumers and their families receive culturally  
               and linguistically competent information, including written  
               documents, about the individual program plan and  
               individualized family service plan processes and  
               procedures; and

             b)   That regional centers comply with Part C of the federal  
               Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 United  
               States Code (U.S.C.) Section (Sec.) 1400 et seq.) and  
               implementing regulations, and with Sections 11135 to  
               11139.7, inclusive, of the Government Code and implementing  
               regulations.








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          1)Requires a regional center, pursuant to existing state and  
            federal law and regulations, as specified, to communicate and  
            provide written materials in a family's native language during  
            the assessment, evaluation, and planning process for the  
            individualized family service plan (IFSP).

          2)Requires a regional center to document the family's native  
            language in the IFSP. 

          3)Requires a regional center, pursuant to current law and  
            implementing regulations, as specified, to communicate in a  
            consumer's native language or, when appropriate, the native  
            language of his or her family or representative, as specified,  
            during the planning process for the individual program plan  
            (IPP), including during the program plan meeting, and  
            including through providing alternative communication  
            services.

          4)Requires a regional center, pursuant to current law and  
            implementing regulations, as specified, to provide alternative  
            communication services, including providing a copy of the  
            individual program plan in the native language of the consumer  
            or his or her family or representative, as specified.

          5)Requires regional centers to document the native language of  
            the consumer or his or her family, legal guardian,  
            conservator, or authorized representative, or both, in the  
            consumer's IPP.

          6)Defines "native language" as the language normally used or the  
            preferred language identified by the individual and, when  
            appropriate, his or her parent, legal guardian or conservator,  
            or authorized representative.

          7)Requires a regional center, pursuant to current law and  
            implementing regulations, to communicate with the consumer and  
            his or her family their native language, including providing  
            alternative communication services, when conducting intake and  
            assessment services for a consumer.

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Establishes an entitlement to services for individuals with  








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            developmental disabilities under the Lanterman Developmental  
            Disabilities Services Act (Lanterman Act).  (Welfare and  
            Institutions Code (WIC) Section 4500 et seq.)

          2)Grants all individuals with developmental disabilities, among  
            all other rights and responsibilities established for any  
            individual by the United States Constitution and laws and the  
            California Constitution and laws, the right to treatment and  
            habilitation services and supports in the least restrictive  
            environment.  (WIC Section 4502)

          3)Establishes a system of 21 nonprofit regional centers  
            throughout the state to identify needs and coordinate services  
            for eligible individuals with developmental disabilities and  
            requires the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) to  
            contract with those regional centers to provide case  
            management services and arrange for or purchase services that  
            meet the needs of individuals with developmental disabilities,  
            as defined.  (WIC Section 4620 et seq.)

          4)Requires public and private agencies serving regional center  
            consumers under the Lanterman Act to provide consumers  
            relevant information in an understandable form to aid them in  
            making decisions about their own day-to-day lives.  (WIC  
            Section 4502.1)

          5)Requires the development of an 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.  (WIC Section 4512)

          6)Requires the IPP planning processes to include:

             a)   A statement of the individual's goals and objectives, a  
               schedule of the type and nature of services to be provided  
               and other information and considerations, as specified;

             b)   Review and modification, as necessary, by the regional  
               center's planning team no less frequently than every three  
               years; and









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             c)   Statewide training and review of the IPP plan creation,  
               as specified.  (WIC Section 4646.5)

          1)Enacts, in 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 local education agencies to  
            provide early intervention services to infants and toddlers  
            with developmental delays, as specified.  (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400  
            et seq., Government Code (GOV) Section 95000 et seq.)

          2)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.  (GOV Section 95020)

          3)Authorizes regional centers to solicit an individual or agency  
            through a request for proposals or other means to provide  
            needed services or supports not presently available and  
            provided it is necessary to expand the availability of needed  
            services of good quality.  (WIC Section 4648(e)(1))

          4)Requires all regional centers to conduct casefinding  
            activities, including notification of the availability of  
            services in English and such other languages as may be  
            appropriate to the catchment area, outreach services in areas  
            with a high incidence of developmental disabilities, and  
            identification of persons who may need services.  (WIC Section  
            4641) 

          5)Requires a regional center to provide initial intake and  
            assessment services to any person believed to have a  
            developmental disability, as specified, and identifies  
            guidelines and timelines for the intake and assessment  
            process.  (WIC Section 4642 et seq.)

          6)Requires state agencies, as specified, that are directly  
            involved with providing information or rendering services to a  
            substantial number of members of the public who are  
            non-English speaking to employ a sufficient number of  
            qualified bilingual persons in public contact positions to  
            ensure provision of information and services to the public, in  
            the language of the non-English speaking persons.  (GOV  








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            Section 7292)

          7)Requires that every state agency which serves a substantial  
            number of non-English-speaking people and which provides  
            materials in English explaining services shall also provide  
            the same type of materials in any non-English language spoken  
            by a substantial number of the public served by the agency, as  
            specified.  (GOV Section 7295.2) 

          8)Defines a "substantial number of non-English-speaking people"  
            as members of a group who either do not speak English, or who  
            are unable to effectively communicate in English because it is  
            not their native language, and who comprise 5% or more of the  
            people served by any local office or facility of a state  
            agency.  (GOV Section 7296.2) 

          9)Prohibits discrimination against individuals in protected  
            classes, including national origin and ethnic group  
            identification, for purposes of providing full and equal  
            access to benefits or programs that are operated or funded by  
            the state.  (GOV Section 11135 et seq.)
           
          FISCAL EFFECT  :  None.  This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the  
          Legislative Counsel.

           COMMENTS  :  This bill is part of a package of legislation  
          intended to address disparities in the provision of regional  
          center services to underserved communities.  The author of this  
          bill seeks to ensure access to culturally and linguistically  
          competent services and supports by clarifying the current  
          requirement that regional centers communicate with consumers and  
          their families in their native languages when planning and  
          establishing services.
           
            Background  :  The Lanterman Act 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.  The term "developmental disability" means a  
          disability that originates before an individual attains 18 years  
          of age, is expected to continue indefinitely, and constitutes a  








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          substantial disability for that individual.  It includes  
          intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and autism  
          spectrum disorders (ASD).  Other developmental disabilities are  
          those disabling conditions similar to an intellectual disability  
          that require treatment (i.e., care and management) similar to  
          that required by individuals with intellectual disabilities.  

          Direct responsibility for implementation of the Lanterman Act  
          service system is shared by the DDS and 21 regional centers,  
          which are private nonprofit entities, established pursuant to  
          the Lanterman Act, that contract with DDS to carry out many of  
          the state's responsibilities under the 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.  

          Services provided to people with developmental disabilities are  
          determined through an individual planning process.  Under this  
          process, planning teams-which include, among others, the  
          consumer, his or her legally authorized representative, and one  
          or more regional center representatives-jointly prepare an IPP  
          based on the consumer's needs and choices.  For infants and  
          toddlers under three years of age, the plan generated is an  
          IFSP, which similarly dictates the services to be provided to a  
          child to meet his or her developmental and early intervention  
          needs.  The Lanterman Act requires that the planning process for  
          developmental services promotes community integration and  
          maximizes opportunities for each consumer to develop  
          relationships, be part of community life, increase control over  
          his or her life, and acquire increasingly positive roles in the  
          community.  

          Regional centers serve roughly 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 1,400 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.  July  
          2013 consumer characteristic data from DDS shows that 37% of the  
          individuals served by the regional centers are identified as  
          White, whereas 35% are identified as Hispanic just over 6%  








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          identify as Asian, 2.4% identify as Filipino, and nearly 10%  
          identify as Black or African American.  

           Need for the bill  :  Existing laws and regulations prohibit  
          discrimination against people with disabilities with respect to  
          their receipt of public services and establish circumstances  
          under which regional centers are required to provide information  
          to consumers and family members in languages other than English.  
           More specifically, state regulations require the use of an  
          interpreter or translator during IPP meetings if all members of  
          the planning team-which includes the consumer-do not speak the  
          same language, and state law requires that information exchanged  
          by members of the planning team be done so in a way that is  
          understandable to the consumer and his or her family.  State law  
          further requires that the final IPP be prepared in a form that  
          is understandable to the consumer and family. 

          While current law, regulations, and the DDS Manual of Policies  
          and Procedures set forth standards for regional centers to  
          communicate with consumers and their family members in a  
          language they can understand, supporters of this bill assert  
          that consumers and their families continue to find adequate and  
          appropriate services to be inaccessible due to linguistic and  
          cultural barriers.  The Lanterman Act requires consumer and  
          family voice and choice to be represented in a consumer's IPP or  
          IFSP planning process and in the written IPP or IFSP document  
          that will guide services.  This bill seeks to ensure that  
          consumers and their family members are able to understand and  
          fully participate in the regional center service planning  
          process by clarifying that regional centers have an obligation  
          to communicate with consumers and their family members in their  
          native language.  According to the author, conducting the IPP  
          and IFSP planning and meeting processes in a language that is  
          spoken and understood by a consumer and his or her family plays  
          an essential role in effectively addressing disparities in  
          regional center services.


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


                                                                FN: 0001815









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