California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 286


Introduced by Assembly Member Achadjian

(Coauthor: Senator Monning)

February 11, 2015


An act to amend Section 4689 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to developmental services.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 286, as introduced, Achadjian. Developmental services: supported living services.

Existing law, the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, requires the State Department of Developmental Services to contract with regional centers to provide services and supports, including supported living services, to individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. Existing law lists the range of supported living services and supports to include, among other things, recruiting, training, and hiring individuals to provide personal care and other assistance, and requires supported living service providers to conduct comprehensive assessments for the purpose of getting to know the consumer they will be supporting.

This bill would require direct care workers providing supported living services to satisfactorily complete 15 hours of training in behavioral intervention within 3 months from the date the provider was hired.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 4689 of the Welfare and Institutions Code
2 is amended to read:

3

4689.  

Consistent with state and federal law, the Legislature
4places a high priority on providing opportunities for adults with
5developmental disabilities, regardless of the degree of disability,
6to live in homes that they own or lease with support available as
7often and for as long as it is needed, when that is the preferred
8objective in the individual program plan. In order to provide
9opportunities for adults to live in their own homes, the following
10procedures shall be adopted:

11(a) The department and regional centers shall ensure that
12supported living arrangements adhere to the following principles:

13(1) Consumers shall be supported in living arrangementsbegin delete whichend delete
14begin insert thatend insert are typical of those in which persons without disabilities reside.

15(2) The services or supports that a consumer receives shall
16change as his or her needs change without the consumer having
17to move elsewhere.

18(3) The consumer’s preference shall guide decisions concerning
19where and with whom he or she lives.

20(4) Consumers shall have control over the environment within
21their own home.

22(5) The purpose of furnishing services and supports to a
23consumer shall be to assist that individual to exercise choice in his
24or her life while building critical and durable relationships with
25other individuals.

26(6) The services or supports shall be flexible and tailored to a
27consumer’s needs and preferences.

28(7) Services and supports are most effective when furnished
29where a person lives and within the context of his or her day-to-day
30activities.

31(8) Consumers shall not be excluded from supported living
32arrangements based solely on the nature and severity of their
33disabilities.

34(b) Regional centers may contract with agencies or individuals
35to assist consumers in securing their own homes and to provide
36consumers with the supports needed to live in their own homes.

37(c) The range of supported living services and supports available
38include, but are not limited to, assessment of consumer needs;
P3    1assistance in finding,begin delete modifyingend deletebegin insert modifying,end insert and maintaining a
2home; facilitating circles of support to encourage the development
3of unpaid and natural supports in the community; advocacy and
4self-advocacy facilitation; development of employment goals;
5social, behavioral, and daily living skills training and support;
6development and provision of 24-hour emergency response
7systems; securing and maintaining adaptive equipment and
8supplies; recruiting, training, and hiring individuals to provide
9personal care and other assistance, including in-home supportive
10services workers, paid neighbors, and paid roommates; providing
11respite and emergency relief for personal care attendants; and
12facilitating community participation. Assessment of consumer
13needs may begin before 18 years of age to enable the consumer to
14move to his or her own home when he or she reaches 18 years of
15age.

16(d) Regional centers shall provide information and education
17to consumers and their families about supported living principles
18and services.

19(e) Regional centers shall monitor and ensure the quality of
20services and supports provided to individuals living in homes that
21they own or lease. Monitoring shall take into account all of the
22following:

23(1) Adherence to the principles set forth in this section.

24(2) Whether the services and supports outlined in the consumer’s
25individual program plan are congruent with the choices and needs
26of the individual.

27(3) Whether services and supports described in the consumer’s
28individual program plan are being delivered.

29(4) Whether services and supports are having the desired effects.

30(5) Whether the consumer is satisfied with the services and
31supports.

32(f) The planning team, established pursuant to subdivision (j)
33of Section 4512, for a consumer receiving supported living services
34shall confirm that all appropriate and available sources of natural
35and generic supports have been utilized to the fullest extent possible
36for that consumer.

37(g) Regional centers shall utilize the same supported living
38provider for consumers who reside in the same domicile, provided
39that each individual consumer’s particular needs can still be met
40pursuant to his or her individual program plans.

P4    1(h) Rent, mortgage, and lease payments of a supported living
2home and household expenses shall be the responsibility of the
3consumer and any roommate who resides with the consumer.

4(i) A regional center shall not make rent, mortgage, or lease
5payments on a supported living home, or pay for household
6expenses of consumers receiving supported living services, except
7under the following circumstances:

8(1) If all of the following conditions are met, a regional center
9may make rent, mortgage, or lease payments as follows:

10(A) The regional center executive director verifies in writing
11that making the rent, mortgage, or lease payments or paying for
12household expenses is required to meet the specific care needs
13unique to the individual consumer as set forth in an addendum to
14the consumer’s individual program plan, and is required when a
15consumer’s demonstrated medical, behavioral, or psychiatric
16condition presents a health and safety risk to himself or herself,
17or another.

18(B) During the time period that a regional center is making rent,
19mortgage, or lease payments, or paying for household expenses,
20the supported living services vendor shall assist the consumer in
21accessing all sources of generic and natural supports consistent
22with the needs of the consumer.

23(C) The regional center shall not make rent, mortgage, or lease
24payments on a supported living home or pay for household
25expenses for more than six months, unless the regional center finds
26that it is necessary to meet the individual consumer’s particular
27needs pursuant to the consumer’s individual program plan. The
28regional center shall review a finding of necessity on a quarterly
29basis and the regional center executive director shall annually
30verify in an addendum to the consumer’s individual program plan
31that the requirements set forth in subparagraph (A) continue to be
32met.

33(2) A regional center that has been contributing to rent,
34mortgage, or lease payments or paying for household expenses
35prior to July 1, 2009, shall at the time of development, review, or
36modification of a consumer’s individual program plan determine
37if the conditions in paragraph (1) are met. If the planning team
38determines that these contributions are no longer appropriate under
39this section, a reasonable time for transition, not to exceed six
40months, shall be permitted.

P5    1(j) All paid roommates and live-in support staff in supported
2living arrangements in which regional centers have made rent,
3mortgage, or lease payments, or have paid for household expenses
4pursuant to subdivision (i) shall pay their share of the rent,
5mortgage, or lease payments or household expenses for the
6supported living home, subject to the requirements of Industrial
7Welfare Commission Order No. 15-2001 and the Housing Choice
8Voucher Program, as set forth in Section 1437f of Title 42 of the
9United States Code.

10(k) Regional centers shall ensure that the supported living
11services vendors’ administrative costs are necessary and reasonable,
12given the particular services that they are providing and the number
13of consumers to whom the vendor provides services.
14Administrative costs shall be limited to allowable costs for
15community-based day programs, as defined in Section 57434 of
16Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations, or its successor.

17(l) Regional centers shall ensure that the most cost effective of
18the rate methodologies is utilized to determine the negotiated rate
19for vendors of supported living services, consistent with Section
204689.8 and Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations.

21(m) For purposes of this section, “household expenses” means
22general living expenses and includes, but is not limited to, utilities
23paid and food consumed within the home.

24(n) A supported living services provider shall provide assistance
25to a consumer who is a Medi-Cal beneficiary in applying for
26in-home supportive services, as set forth in Section 12300, within
27five days of the consumer moving into a supported living services
28arrangement.

29(o) For consumers receiving supported living services who share
30a household with one or more adults receiving supported living
31services, efficiencies in the provision of service may be achieved
32if some tasks can be shared, meaning the tasks can be provided at
33the same time while still ensuring that each person’s individual
34needs are met. These tasks shall only be shared to the extent they
35are permitted under the Labor Code and related regulations,
36including, but not limited to, Industrial Welfare Commission
37Minimum Wage Order No. 15. The planning team, as defined in
38subdivision (j) of Section 4512, at the time of development, review,
39or modification of a consumer’s individual program plan (IPP),
40for housemates currently in a supported living arrangement or
P6    1planning to move together into a supported living arrangement, or
2for consumers who live with a housemate not receiving supported
3living services who is responsible for the task, shall consider, with
4input from the service provider, whether any tasks, such as meal
5preparation and cleanup, menu planning, laundry, shopping, general
6household tasks, or errands can appropriately be shared. If tasks
7can be appropriately shared, the regional center shall purchase the
8prorated share of the activity. Upon a determination of a reduction
9in services pursuant to this section, the regional center shall inform
10the consumer of the reason for the determination, and shall provide
11a written notice of fair hearing rights pursuant to Section 4701.

12(p) (1) To ensure that consumers in or entering into supported
13living arrangements receive the appropriate amount and type of
14supports to meet the person’s choice and needs as determined by
15the IPP team, and that generic resources are utilized to the fullest
16extent possible, the IPP team shall complete a standardized
17assessment questionnaire at the time of development, review, or
18modification of a consumer’s IPP. The questionnaire shall be used
19during the individual program plan meetings, in addition to the
20provider’s assessment, to assist in determining whether the services
21provided or recommended are necessary and sufficient and that
22the most cost-effective methods of supported living services are
23utilized. With input from stakeholders, including regional centers,
24the department shall develop and post the questionnaire on its
25Internet Web site, and, by June 30, 2012, shall provide it to the
26regional centers.

27(2) Supported living service providers shall conduct
28comprehensive assessments for the purpose of getting to know the
29consumer they will be supporting and developing a support plan
30congruent with the choices and needs of the individual and
31consistent with the principles of supported living set forth in this
32section and in Subchapter 19 (commencing with Section 58600)
33of Chapter 3 of Division 2 of Title 17 of the California Code of
34Regulations. The independent assessment required by this
35paragraph is not intended to take the place of or repeat the service
36provider’s comprehensive assessment.

37(3) Upon a determination of a reduction in services pursuant to
38this section, the regional center shall inform the consumer of the
39reason for the determination, and shall provide a written notice of
40fair hearing rights pursuant to Section 4701.

P7    1(4) Nothing in this section precludes the completion of an
2independent assessment.

begin insert

3(q) Direct care workers providing supported living services
4shall satisfactorily complete 15 hours of training in behavioral
5intervention within three months from the date the direct care
6worker was hired.

end insert


O

    99