BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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                                 UNFINISHED BUSINESS


          Bill No:  SB 555
          Author:   Correa (D) and Padilla (D)
          Amended:  8/15/13
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE  :  4-0, 4/9/13
          AYES:  Yee, Emmerson, Evans, Wright
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Berryhill, Liu

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  7-0, 5/23/13
          AYES:  De León, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg

           SENATE FLOOR  :  37-0, 5/29/13
          AYES:  Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Calderon, Cannella,  
            Corbett, Correa, DeSaulnier, Emmerson, Evans, Fuller, Gaines,  
            Galgiani, Hancock, Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson,  
            Lara, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Monning, Nielsen, Padilla, Pavley,  
            Price, Roth, Steinberg, Torres, Walters, Wolk, Wright, Wyland,  
            Yee
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  De León, Knight, Vacancy

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  71-0, 9/3/13 - See last page for vote


            SUBJECT  :    Developmental services:  regional centers:   
                      individual program plans and individualized family  
                      service plans

           SOURCE :     Disability Rights California


           DIGEST  :    This bill requires a regional center to communicate  
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          in the familys native language during the individualized family  
          service plan (IFSP) planning process and to provide a copy of  
          the IFSP in the family's native language.  This bill similarly  
          requires a regional center to communicate in the consumer's  
          native language, or, when appropriate, the native language of  
          his/her family, legal guardian, conservator, or authorized  
          representative, during the individual program plan (IPP)  
          planning process and to provide a copy of the IPP in the native  
          language of the consumer or his or her family, legal guardian,  
          conservator, or authorized representative, or both.

           Assembly Amendments  clarify that regional centers are required  
          to communicate in the family's native language during the IFSP  
          planning process and make other technical changes.

           ANALYSIS  :   

          Existing law:

           1. Establishes the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities  
             Services Act, which states that California is responsible for  
             providing an array of services and supports sufficiently  
             complete to meet the needs and choices of each person with  
             developmental disabilities, regardless of age or degree of  
             disability, and at each stage of life and to support their  
             integration into the mainstream life of the community. 

           2. Establishes a system of nonprofit regional centers to  
             provide fixed points of contact in the community for all  
             persons with developmental disabilities and their families,  
             and to coordinate services and supports best suited to them  
             throughout their lifetime. 

           3. 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. 

           4. Defines various terms used in Welfare and Institutions Code  
             relating to individuals served by the Department of  
             Development Services (DDS), and the services provided. 

           5. Requires all regional centers to notify consumers and  

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             families of the availability of services in English and such  
             other languages as may be appropriate to the service area,  
             provide outreach services in areas with a high incidence of  
             developmental disabilities, and identify persons who may need  
             services. 

           6. Identifies specific guidelines and timelines for conducting  
             an assessment of an individual who is identified as  
             potentially needing services and supports. 

           7. Establishes an IPP 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. 

           8. 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. 

          This bill:

           1. Declares the following legislative findings:

              A.    California's diverse language and ethnic communities  
                account for about 60% of its population.  The number of  
                people in the United States who do not speak English as  
                their native language has grown 140% over the past three  
                decades.  In California, about 40% of Californians speak a  
                language other than English at home, and the number of  
                individuals whose first language is not English is rapidly  
                growing.

              B.    Health disparities can result in significant health,  
                social, and economic consequences.  Culturally and  
                linguistically competent health care services can assist  
                in achieving health equity.  Health literacy plays a  
                central role in promoting quality of life, health  
                development, and health behaviors across all groups and  
                life stages.

              C.    To address any disparities in the regional center  

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                system, it is the intent of the Legislature that the DDS  
                and regional centers ensure that all consumers and their  
                families receive culturally and linguistically competent  
                information, including written documents, about the IPP  
                and IFSP processes and procedures and that regional  
                centers comply with Part C of the federal Individuals with  
                Disabilities Education Act, as specified. 

           1. Requires a regional center to communicate and provide  
             written materials in the family's native language during the  
             assessment, evaluation, and planning process for the IFSP,  
             including during the IFSP meeting.

           2. Requires the family's native language to be documented in  
             the IFSP.

           3. Adds to the list of definitions related to the DDS system  
             "Native language."

           4. Adds to the list of required elements of a regional center  
             assessment the requirement that a regional center communicate  
             with the consumer and his/her family in their native  
             language.

           5. Requires a regional center to communicate in the consumer's  
             and his/her family's native language, including providing  
             alternative communication services, as specified

           6. Requires a regional center to provide a copy of the IPP in  
             the native language of the consumer or his or her family,  
             legal guardian, conservator, or authorized representative, or  
             both.

           7. Requires the native language of the consumer or his or her  
             family, legal guardian, conservator, or authorized  
             representative, or both, to be documented in the IPP.

           Background 
           
          This bill is part of a package that arose from a hearing in 2012  
          by the Senate Select Committee on Autism and Related Disorders  
          that focused on disparities in services in underserved  
          communities.


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           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.  

          A key point of the series was that parents who fought more for  
          their children gained more services.  Often, these parents are  
          wealthier, more sophisticated in navigating bureaucratic  
          systems, fluent in English, and able to devote significant time  
          to providing for their children. 

          Non-English speaking families also are less likely to seek  
          regional center services and tend to be more comfortable going  
          to health clinics or providers who are culturally and  
          linguistically sensitive to their own race/ethnicity.  

          An outcome of the Select Committee's hearing was a 20-member  
          Taskforce on Equity and Diversity for Regional Center Autism  
          Services, appointed by Senate President pro Tempore Darrell  
          Steinberg.  The group 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.

          Among them was the recommendation that DDS and regional centers  
          ensure that all consumers and their families receive  
          information, including written documents, about the IPP and IFSP  
          processes and information about supports in a manner that is  
          culturally and linguistically competent.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  No

          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, there will be  
          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.

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  5/23/13) (Unable to reverify at time of  

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          writing)

          Disability Rights California (source)
          American Civil Liberties Union  
          Center for Autism and Related Disorders
          Chinese Parents Association for the Disabled
          FUERZA
          Japanese Speaking Parents Association of Children with  
          Challenges
          Loving Your Disabled Child
          The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy California Collaboration
          The Public Counsel 
          Vietnamese Parents with Disabled Children Association, Inc. 

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    The author's office states that for  
          people with developmental disabilities, health disparities can  
          result in significant health, social, and economic consequences.  
           The author's office states consumers and family members who are  
          limited English proficient have the right to get culturally and  
          linguistically competent information about the IPP and IFSP  
          processes and procedures.

          Disability Rights California, this bill's sponsor, notes that it  
          is the responsibility of DDS and the regional centers to provide  
          services and supports for consumers in a way that is  
          person-centered, individualized, and take into account the  
          needs, preferences, and choices of the consumer and the family.


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  71-0, 9/3/13
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,  
            Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian  
            Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,  
            Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Frazier, Beth Gaines,  
            Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Grove,  
            Hagman, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer,  
            Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Medina,  
            Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian,  
            Nestande, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk,  
            Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner,  
            Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Allen, Donnelly, Fox, Hall, Mansoor, Olsen,  
            Wilk, Vacancy, Vacancy


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          JL:k  9/3/13   Senate Floor Analyses 

                           SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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