BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | ACR 77|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: ACR 77
Author: Mark Stone (D), et al.
Amended: 7/9/15 in Assembly
Vote: 21
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: Read and adopted, 7/9/15
SUBJECT: California Early Intervention Services Act
SOURCE: Children Now
First 5 Association of California
DIGEST: This resolution makes legislative findings and
declaration related to children's development and urges the
Legislature to leverage existing efforts and statutes to ensure
an accountable, results-oriented, and coordinated network of
resources in order to provide multidisciplinary early
identification and intervention services and supports to
California infants and toddlers.
ANALYSIS: This resolution makes the following legislative
findings:
1)The period between a child's birth and third birthday is a
time of intense and ongoing development across the cognitive,
motor, language, and social-emotional domains.
2)Adversity during the early years can impair development, and
has a cumulative impact, with children exposed to maltreatment
and additional risk factors facing increased likelihood of
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having one or more delays in their cognitive, language, or
emotional development.
3)Unaddressed developmental delays and disabilities result in
persistently impaired learning and health outcomes for
children.
4)One in four California children have moderate or higher risk
for a developmental delay, such as speech or language
impairment, and that nationally one in every 68 children were
affected by autism spectrum disorder in 2014.
5)The American Academy of Pediatrics recommend routine, regular,
and formalized developmental and behavioral screening for all
infants and toddlers as the most effective way of identifying
children in need of supports and services. Fewer than
one-third of California infants and toddlers received the
recommended developmental and behavioral screenings according
to 2011-12 parent reported data.
6)Nearly three out of four California children with special
health care needs under three years of age do not receive
early intervention services they could benefit from, and the
2012 annual report for California's Early Start program shows
that it serves fewer infants and toddlers with early
intervention services than the national average.
7)A system of universal developmental and behavioral screenings
should work hand in hand with a robust early intervention
system, and should be linked by facilitated family-focused
referral, care coordination, child-centered health homes, and
information-sharing mechanisms to guide and support families
while maintaining accountability.
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This resolution recognizes that every child who needs
comprehensive health and early intervention services and
supports in order to achieve his or her developmental potential
should have those services easily accessible, sufficient,
responsive, timely, and of high quality. This resolution urges
the Legislature to leverage existing efforts and statutes to
ensure an accountable, results-oriented, and coordinated network
of resources in order to provide multidisciplinary early
identification and intervention services and supports to
California infants and toddlers.
Comments
According to the author, "Children need access to developmental
screening tools to ensure they can access appropriate resources
and care. While most experts in the health field agree early
screening is important for the future development of children,
many children are not being properly screened. Seventy-two
percent or 1.7 million Californian children are not being
screened with recommended tools, putting them at risk for late
or no identification of developmental or behavioral delays. The
problem is especially pronounced for children of color; for
instance, Latino children are diagnosed with autism an average
of 2.5 years later than white children. When children are not
diagnosed with developmental delays or other problems, they may
not receive the care they need and may fall further behind.
When delays are not early identified during children's first
years of life, they must wait to get the help they need when
they enroll in school. Since development is often sequential, a
developmental or behavioral delay can often cause more problems
if it is not identified and if the child does not access the
appropriate care. Without proper intervention treatment,
developmentally delayed children may experience academic and
social hardships. ? It has been shown that the earlier the
identification and intervention, the more beneficial to children
and families because it strengthens families' ability to support
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their child's growth and development while maintaining the
greatest cost effectiveness."
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified7/31/15)
Children Now (co-source)
First 5 Association of California (co-source)
Association of Regional Center Agencies
Autism Speaks
Center for Autism and Related Disorders
Family Resource Centers Network of California
Fight Crime Invest in Kids California
First 5 Fresno County
First 5 Monterey County
First 5 San Luis Obispo
First 5 Santa Clara County
First 5 Santa Cruz County
Lucille Packard Stanford Children's Health
ZERO TO THREE Western Office
OPPOSITION: (Verified7/31/15)
None received
Prepared by:Melissa Ward / SFA / (916) 651-1520
8/13/15 13:13:45
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