BILL ANALYSIS �
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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