BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 577 Page 1 SENATE THIRD READING SB 577 (Pavley) As Amended August 21, 2014 Majority vote SENATE VOTE :32-0 HUMAN SERVICES 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 16-1 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Stone, Maienschein, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow, | | |Ammiano, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian | | |Ian Calderon, Garcia, | |Calderon, Campos, Eggman, | | |Grove, Lowenthal | |Gomez, Holden, Jones, | | | | |Linder, Pan, Quirk, | | | | |Ridley-Thomas, Wagner, | | | | |Weber | | | | | | |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------| | | |Nays:|Donnelly | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY : Establishes a new community-based vocational development service to better support and prepare individuals with developmental disabilities for employment. Specifically, this bill : 1)Declares legislative findings pertaining to the difficulties individuals with developmental disabilities experience when seeking employment and the need to adequately assess the skills and needs of individuals with developmental disabilities who are seeking jobs in order to promote employment success, as specified. 2)States the intent of the Legislature that in order to increase effectiveness and opportunity to gain meaningful integrated competitive employment opportunities pursuant to the state's Employment First Policy, habilitation services shall also provide community-based vocational development services to enhance community employment readiness, develop social skills necessary for successful community employment, and build a network of community and employment opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities. 3)Requires the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) to SB 577 Page 2 conduct a four-year demonstration project in five regional centers, as specified, to determine whether community-based vocational development services increase integrated competitive employment outcomes and reduce purchase of service costs for working age adults receiving regional center services. 4)Provides that the pilot will only be implemented to the extent federal financial participation is obtained, as specified, and requires DDS to notify the Legislature of its findings regarding the effectiveness of community-based vocational development services upon the conclusion of the pilot. 5)Defines community-based vocational development services as all of the following: a) Services provided to enhance community employment readiness, which may include the use of discovery and job exploration opportunities; b) Social skill development services necessary to obtain and maintain community employment; c) Services to use internship, apprenticeship, and volunteer opportunities to provide community-based vocational development skills development opportunities; d) Services to access and participate in postsecondary education or career technical education; and e) Building a network of community and employment opportunities. 1)Requires the development of a community-based vocational development services plan, as specified, if such services are deemed necessary to help a person with a developmental disability achieve a supported employment outcome. 2)Requires the habilitation service provider and the regional center to review the plan for community-based vocational services semiannually, as specified. 3)Authorizes hours of participation in community-based vocational development services to be provided in lieu of hours of participation in other community-based day program SB 577 Page 3 services for up to two years and provides that such services can be authorized for up to an additional two years if the consumer is making significant progress toward his or her habilitation services objectives, as specified. 4)Establishes, for purposes of the pilot, a new $40 per hour rate for the provision of services identified in a consumer's community-based vocational development services plan for a maximum of 75 hours per calendar quarter. 5)Requires the DDS to secure federal Medicaid funding prior to the implementation of community-based vocational development services. EXISTING LAW : 1)Establishes the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act (Lanterman Act), under which DDS is authorized to contract with private non-profit regional centers to provide case management services and arrange for, or purchase, services that meet the needs of individuals with developmental disabilities, as defined. (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)Requires the development of an Individual Program Plan (IPP) for each regional center consumer, which specifies services to be provided to the consumer, based on an individualized needs determination. (WIC Section 4512) 4)States the Legislature's intent that habilitation services for adults with developmental disabilities be planned and provided in a manner that enables them to approximate the pattern of everyday living available to nondisabled people of the same age. (WIC Section 4850) 5)Defines "habilitation services" as community-based services purchased or provided for adults with developmental disabilities, including services provided under the Work SB 577 Page 4 Activity Program (WAP) and the Supported Employment Program (SEP), to prepare and maintain them at their highest level of vocational functioning, or to prepare them for referral to vocational rehabilitation services. (WIC Section 4851) 6)Requires a work activity program to which a consumer has been referred for habilitation services to submit a work skills evaluation report to the regional centers, which includes information about the skills and productivity of the consumer, to be used to determine the appropriateness of the work placement. (WIC Section 4853) 7)Requires a regional center to authorize appropriate habilitation services for a consumer while he or she awaits service authorization from the Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) if the regional center has referred that consumer to the DOR for vocational rehabilitation services, and the consumer is put on a waiting list. (WIC Section 4855) 8)Establishes the following rates and fees to be paid to interim providers of vocational rehabilitation services that are authorized by the regional center for the period during which a consumer is on a waiting list for vocational services from the DOR: a) A rate of $30.82 per hour for supported employment services provided to consumers receiving individualized or group services; b) A $360 fee to be paid to a program provider upon intake of a consumer into a supported employment program; c) A $720 fee to be paid upon placement of a consumer in an integrated job, as specified; and d) A $720 fee to be paid after a 90-day retention period of a consumer in a job, as specified. (WIC Section 4860) 1)Establishes an Employment First Policy in California to prioritize opportunities for integrated, competitive employment for individuals with developmental disabilities, regardless of the severity of their disabilities, as specified. (WIC Section 4869) SB 577 Page 5 FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee: 1)Minor and absorbable costs to DDS to administer and evaluate the project. 2)If community-based vocational development services are implemented statewide at some future date, unknown, potential short-term costs ranging from $0 to $9,400 (General Fund and federal funds) per consumer to the extent that those who use community-based vocational development services at the new $40 per hour rate will be using less of some other less costly service. Exact costs will depend on how many consumers use the new services and what services they were previously using. 3)In the long term, if the intended outcomes of enhancing employment opportunities and reducing purchase of service costs are achieved, there will be cost savings over time because more consumers will move from the more expensive day programs into the less expensive supported employment programs. COMMENTS : This bill establishes a pilot project for the provision of community-based vocational development services to ensure individuals with developmental disabilities who desire to work and need additional basic skills training and education are better prepared for employment and experience better employment outcomes. Background: The Lanterman Act (WIC Section 4500 et seq.) 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 substantial disability for that individual. It includes intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and autism spectrum disorders. Other developmental disabilities are those disabling conditions similar to an intellectual disability that require SB 577 Page 6 treatment (i.e., care and management) similar to that required by individuals with an intellectual disability. Direct responsibility for implementation of the Lanterman Act service system is shared by 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 Lanterman Act. The 21 regional centers throughout the state serve 270,000 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 activities. Over 130,000 regional center consumers are of working age. 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. The Lanterman Act requires that the IPP promote community integration and maximize 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. The IPP must give the highest preference to those services and supports that allow minors to live with their families and adults to live as independently as possible in the community. Employment services: Regional centers contract with employment services programs and providers to address the employment needs of individuals with developmental disabilities. Consumers are placed in jobs according to their individual skills, needs and choices, and they are provided support services on an individual or group basis. In addition to meeting the employment needs of the consumer, work programs can also greatly increase opportunities for community integration for consumers. WAPs are employment services programs in a sheltered work environment for consumers who have acquired basic vocational and independent living skills. All WAP work is paid at a daily per capita rate based on productivity. Alternatively, SEPs are community-based rehabilitation programs that focus on helping consumers obtain, retain or maintain employment in integrated settings. SEPs often involve job coaches that provide SB 577 Page 7 on-the-job services and training, and wages paid directly to the consumer by the employer. If it is determined that some form of supported employment would best meet the employment needs of a consumer, a regional center will refer the consumer to DOR, which is responsible for increasing employment opportunities in the community and providing time-limited employment services to individuals with disabilities. If a regional center consumer needs long-term support to continue in their place of employment, the responsibility for providing a job coach and maintaining supported employment services shifts back to DDS. The DOR provides and pays for three tiers of employment-related services with set corresponding rates for individuals with developmental disabilities. These include: intake to determine employment needs and develop a plan of action; placement in a particular job; and retention for 90 days in a particular job. Need for this bill: While DOR is charged with helping people with disabilities obtain and maintain employment, supporters of this bill claim that people with developmental disabilities need additional vocational development to ensure success in the workplace. Current statute outlines a process for evaluating a consumer's readiness for the workplace and the appropriateness of the chosen workplace. However, there is no explicit language in statute that requires attention to work-related "soft skills" needs and the provision of these services prior to employment if it is determined that the consumer may not yet be prepared for employment in an integrated work environment. Furthermore, supporters of the bill state that many individuals with developmental disabilities are placed in inappropriate job placements, and the current process facilitates more traditional settings (e.g., warehouses and grocery stores), and does not promote non-traditional placements (e.g., jobs in a medical or technical field), which might better meet the consumer's interests and goals and could lead to long-term employment. In order to ensure adult regional center consumers experience better employment outcomes, this bill requires DDS to implement a four-year pilot project for the provision of community-based vocational development services, after which the Legislature can decide whether to continue the provision of such services based on an evaluation of the pilot's effectiveness provided by DDS. SB 577 Page 8 Expressing the need for this bill, the author states: "In California, the employment rates for people with autism and other developmental disabilities are appalling. According to the 2010-2011 Department of Developmental Services report on employment and day services, as the number of individuals in regional centers has risen from 2007-2011, the percentage of working age regional center clients that are employed has steadily decreased to 12.5%. The 2011-12 National Core Indicators survey of 5,532 regional center clients indicated that less than 5% of those surveyed had a job in an integrated competitive employment setting. "[This bill] will help increase opportunities for individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities to gain integrated, competitive, community employment and career advancement by helping individuals develop general, non-job-task-specific strengths and skills." Analysis Prepared by : Myesha Jackson / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089 FN: 0005119